Zagreb
Zagreb (German: Agram; Latin: Zagrabia) 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. Until 1919, it was an Austro-Hungarian city, capital of Croatia and Slavonia, situated near the Save river, about 160 miles from Vienna.
History
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 of the Imperial and Royal Army (Austrian 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.
- Zagreb is an important town today, but it wasn't always like that. The town was first mentioned in the year 1094 in connection with the foundation of a new diocese. At that time, Zagreb technically consisted of two different towns - one was the rather secular Gradec - today simply called Upper Town - the other one was the ecclesiastical district Kaptol. In 1242, Zagreb respectively the two towns were declared Free Town within the Hungarian empire. In 1557, Zagreb became the capital of Croatia for the first time, but Croatia was not an independent state at that time. During the 17th century, Jesuits founded a first academy in Zagreb. Later, this academy was turned into a university. In 1776, the Croatian government finally moved from Varaždin (75 km north of Zagreb) to Zagreb, but Croatia remained a province of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy. Nevertheless, the town developed well - culture, industry etc were booming, which can be still seen today. Zagreb first became the capital of an independent country during World War II and again after the year 1991. Although Zagreb was many kilometres away from the front line during the war between 1991 to 1995, it was not spared. Occasional air raids hit the capital - no heavy attacks, but still deadly. In spring 1995, minibombs aiming at the life of people were dropped above the old town. Those bombs, so-called 'little bells', wounded and killed several civilians. Furthermore, Serb jet fighters tried to bomb the president's residence and the American embassy. Today, Croatia is the political, cultural and industrial centre of Croatia. But not the touristic centre. Only few travelers find their way to the capital.[1]
Further reading
- Karl Baedeker: Austria-Hungary, Leipzig & London, 1905, p. 397
- Olga Orlić: From Agram to Zagreb – The Austro-Hungarian Legacy in Tourism Discourses of Croatian Capital, 2018
