ZAGREB, CROATIA

                                      Croatia's Capital
      Only 30 min from the Slovenia border, Zagreb, Croatia’s capital is a contrast to tourist coastal towns.  After centuries of being the de-facto religious, cultural, and political capital of Croatia, Zagreb became the official capital after independence in 1991.  With a population of one million, one in every five Croats lives there.

The capitol is hard to miss

     The 11^th century city, located on the southern slopes of the Medvednica hills, spreads up from the Sava River. The present city started as two medieval towns, Kaptol and Gradec, separated by the river. They merged in 1850, and like most medieval towns it has an Upper and Lower Town (Donji Grad).  Civic and historic monuments are in Lower Town as well as landscaped parks and open spaces while medieval landmarks are in Upper Town.

     Lower & Upper Towns are separated by Jelacic Square, the city’s main square. It is the hub of the city with its cafés, shops, trams, and baroque buildings. The gracious and hospitable city suffered little fighting or damage during the recent war.  A funicular runs every ten minutes to Upper Town. For a fee of 3kn one can enjoy the quick 55 second ride. We did.

       In Historic Upper Town street names can be confusing, as locals call them something other than what the signs say. Upper Town is the medieval heart of the city. At the overlook we had a great view of the city below.

      Our docent-led walking tour started at the Mirgoj cemetery. It is a lovely quiet area where many locals come to get away from the busy city. All religions are buried there. The cemetery is large and is bordered on the front by big long arcades. Walking down the wide walkway we noted crypts in the outer wall. Many were also buried under the walkway.. The arcades had several cupolas that were topped with the religious design of each religion housed within its section. There was a conventional cemetery beyond the arcades. These arcades provide quite a collection of lovely and varied sculptures. 

      It is a most unusual cemetery and was a very lovely landscaped quiet place. The landscape provided a lot of shade and it was easy to understand why people might take a respite here

 

One gorgeous day

     The 1841 St. Marks church had a most unusual mosaic roof. There are several mistakes in the coat of arms. It is reversed and the lion heads do not form a proper Y. The proper red is replaced with blue. None the less it is a beautiful colorful roof.

      The inside of the Church of St. Catherine is intricately decorated, while the outside is Zagreb baroque. This is typical of the mansions also--simple outside, but ornate inside.  It is still the most important church. In the mid 13^th century Tartars destroyed the church and used it as a stable. The quake of 1880 destroyed the rebuilt church. The present church, built to protect against Turks, is of neo-gothic design with Renaissance towers.    

      Zagreb has much to offer and although we would have liked to spend more time here, it was the very end of a fantastic trip and I think we all were anxious to get home. The city is on my return list.