Zagreb

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Zagreb (Austrian/German: Agram) is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is the seat of the government, public administrative bodies and almost all government ministries. The transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific and research institutions and industrial tradition underlie its leading economic position in Croatia.

It is situated in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately 122 m (400 ft) above sea level. Its favourable geographic position in the southwestern part of the Pannonian Plain and Basin, which extends to the Dinaric Alps, Adriatic Sea and Pannonic regions, provides an excellent connection for traffic between Central Europe and the Adriatic.

The city

The town is very ancient and was partly destroyed by an earthquake on 9 November 1880, but was rebuilt. It consists of the Upper Town, the Lower Town, the capital city itself, and environs. In the Upper Town is the Presidential Palace, formerly the residence of the Austro-Hungarian Governor of Croatia until 1919. The Natural History Museum is also sited in the New Town as is St. Mark's Church, which dates from the 13th century. In the capital is the Archiepiscopal Palace in the square, in front of which rises a 'Column of the Virgin' by sculptor Anton Fernkorn and artist Franz Pönninger, and the Cathedral, a fine late-Gothic edifice of the 15th century. Its two towers were restored 1890-1902. In the Lower Town, the Jelačić Place has an equestrian statue, also by Fernkorn, of Count Josip Jelačić von Bužim a Croatian Lieutenant Field-Marshal in the Imperial and Royal Army, and politician, the 'Ban of Croatia' 1848 - 1859. The Palace of Justice is also in the Lower Town as is the South-Slovenian Academy of Science with its valuable collections. The Academy Place contains marble busts of the Croatian painters Clovi and Medulic, and General Frankopan, as well as an equestrian statue of St.George by Fernkorn. The formerly-named Royal Franz-Josef University (today University of Zagreb) is also cited in the Lower Town along with the Agricultural Society and the art gallery.


References

  • Baedeker, Karl, Austria-Hungary, Leipzig & London, 1905, p397-7.