In Balkan Ghosts, Robert Kaplan describes the city of Zagreb, Croatia’s capital, as best seen in the rain. The weather certainly cooperated for us. During our three days in the city, the weather was appropriately gloomy if not downright dismal. At its best, it was merely overcast or misty. Most of the time, the rain was gentle although we did experience a torrential downpour our first evening as we were walking back to the hotel after dinner.
Zagreb’s history goes back at least one thousand years. Originally, there were two separate Hungarian settlements, divided by a small stream, on the sloping hillside. (Nowadays, this area is called the Upper Town.) The two settlements remained separate cities until they merged in 1850. The resulting city of Zagreb quickly grew as industrialization attracted people from the countryside. The city soon expanded with the construction of a Lower Town. During the 20th century, Zagreb continued to grow, and following World War 2, a new residential section of the city was developed across the Sava River.
Today, the population of Zagreb is about 800,000 people, but if the suburbs are included, the population would actually be at least one million. This number constitutes a quarter of Croatia’s population. As the capital city, Zagreb is the political, financial, cultural, and economic center of the country. It boasts a large university, a new airport, the headquarters of several corporations, and lots of parks and green spaces. Although the city has no subway system, there is a wide-ranging network of trams and buses.
It was late in the afternoon when I got my first look at Zagreb, as we worked our way through very heavy rush hour traffic. We drove first through an industrial area and then along a main avenue in a residential part of city filled with complexes of apartment buildings, schools, playgrounds, and parks. The boxy buildings appeared to be from socialist times when the country was part of Yugoslavia.
Once we entered the older part of Zagreb, the architecture became much more interesting.
The Lower Town was built in the late 19th century when Zagreb was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The goal was to make Zagreb resemble Vienna and Budapest. I noticed that many of the buildings were a distinctive yellow color and learned that this was the official color of the Hapsburgs.
Kruno pointed out several buildings that housed museums although he mentioned that some were still closed due to reconstruction following the 2020 earthquake. I hadn’t realized that Zagreb is located on a major fault line.
Our hotel was the Westin, a nondescript modern high-rise building. Once we checked into our rooms, we grabbed raincoats and umbrellas before heading out for an orientation walk with Kruno. The closest landmark was the National Theater of Croatia. You can find similar buildings throughout the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.
I noticed many bars, cafés, restaurants, and high-end retail stores along the pedestrian street that led to the main square. There was also a large statue of Nikola Tesla, the inventor who was born in Croatia.
The main square is named for Josip Jelačić, a Croatian national hero whose official title was Ban (Provincial Governor) of Croatia. He was a soldier and politician who helped the Austrians suppress a Hungarian revolt in 1848.
We saw a number of long blue trams passing through the square. Kruno explained that all of the city’s tram lines make a stop in the square and that tickets cost only the equivalent of fifty-three cents.
The hour was getting later, I was getting hungrier, and the skies were getting darker by the minute. It was a 15 to 20-minute walk from the main square to the Westin. Several of us rushed to pick up carryout meals to bring back to the hotel. But we weren’t quick enough. As soon as I stepped out of Good Food with my dinner in a paper bag, the heavens opened up. Within seconds, I realized it was useless trying to stay dry. All I could do was laugh as I ran along, splashing through deep puddles of water.
It wasn’t surprising that more rain was in the forecast for the following day. The morning temperature was quite chilly, as well. Being fairly far inland, surrounded by mountains, and in the northern part of the country, Zagreb has a continental climate that is nothing like what we experienced along the Croatian coast.
We met up with our local guide at the equestrian statue of Josip Jelačić in the main square. He led us to a model of the city so we could see how the square is located below Zagreb’s two medieval settlements, Gradec and Kaptol. One of the settlements was for the Roman Catholic Church and the clergy, while the other settlement was for the “regular” people.
From the square, we took the stairs into the Upper Town to take a look at Zagreb’s Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. It was built in the 19th century in neo-Gothic style. The cathedral is currently closed and the two towers are covered with scaffolding because extensive repair work is going on. In fact, it’s been going on since the 2020 earthquake damaged the building.
In addition, repair work was needed because the cathedral’s limestone façade had been deteriorating. Several decorative elements are being re-carved in travertine, a harder rock. Progress has been slow because it’s difficult to find artisans who can do this Gothic style of carving.
The cathedral faces an open area dominated by the Holy Mary Monument. Golden figures of the four apostles stand at the base of the pillar.
Standing in front of the cathedral, we could see the remains of Zagreb’s city walls. The first fortifications date back to the 13th century, the time of the Mongol invasion under Genghis Khan. Additional walls were built in the late 15th century, a time when the Ottoman Turks were invading Croatia. While other parts of the Kingdom of Croatia were conquered by the Ottomans, Zagreb never fell under Ottoman rule. It remained under the control of the Hapsburg monarchs. Most of the walls were demolished in the 19th century as the city grew.
Also in the Upper Town, not far from the cathedral, is the colorful open-air Dolac Market. The spire of St. Mark’s Church rises above the marketplace. I would have enjoyed lingering in the market, but we rushed through on our way to other sights.
Beyond the cathedral and marketplace is Tkalčićeva Street, a winding pedestrian-friendly street filled with a variety of interesting looking restaurants with outdoor tables.
Other streets were filled with the ubiquitous souvenir shops.
We headed towards another landmark, the Stone Gate, in the preserved section of the medieval walls. A statue of Saint George stands near the entrance.
The original Stone Gate was built in the mid-13th century but the present gate dates back to the 18th century. Inside is a shrine to Mary, the patron saint of Zagreb. Catholics often come here to give thanks, to pray, and to light candles. You can see prayers and words of gratitude carved into two of the shrine’s marble walls.
Another popular tourist sight is Saint Mark’s Church. Built in the 13th century, it’s the oldest church in Zagreb. The main reason for its popularity is its colorful tile roof, which was installed in 1880. It features two coats of arms. The red one on the right is associated with the city of Zagreb. The one on the left is the coat of arms of the Triune (three-part) Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia. The three heads represent the three biggest regions of Croatia, each of which was actually a separate kingdom. The animal portrayed is a marten, a forest animal that’s somewhere between a weasel and a fox. Its name in Croatian is kuna. It was such an important animal during earlier times that people used its pelts as currency. And kuna was the name of the Croatian currency before the country adopted the Euro.
Many of the buildings that surround the church are occupied by governmental offices.
After looking down at the city from the Upper Town, we continued our whirlwind tour back in the Lower Town.
At a shop in the 19th century Octagon Passage, we learned that Croatia played an important role in the history of men’s fashion. Trivia fact: neckties originated in Croatia. The story begins in the 17th century, the time of the Thirty Years War in Europe, when the French hired Croatian mercenaries to fight against the Hapsburgs (Holy Roman Empire). Before the Croatians left home, their wives or girlfriends tied a length of red cloth around their necks to remind them of their home and families. The French king, Louis XIV, liked the look and decided to copy it. Then all of the nobles copied the king. The fashion accessory was called a “cravat,” a word that comes from the French name for the Croatian people.
When our guided tour ended, I decided to check out the nearby Archaeological Museum. I spent an hour or so wandering through galleries that showcased artifacts found in Croatia going all the way back to prehistoric times. I especially liked this bird-shaped vessel from the 3rd millennium BCE and this anthropomorphic ceramic figure from the 2nd millennium BCE.
The bronze helmet found in Zagreb’s Upper Town is from the 7th century BCE.
In addition, there was a large collection of artifacts from the time of the Roman presence.
The medieval coin features a running marten on one side. I wondered if the cross, the six-pointed star, and the crescent moon on the reverse side were religious references.
Before continuing my explorations of Zagreb, I took a mid-day lunch and cake break. First, a healthy salad at Good Food, and then the traditional Croatian cream cake at Vincek bakery, which Kruno had recommended. The cream cake had a thick layer of fluffy vanilla custard and was every bit as delicious as I had anticipated.
Once my hunger was satisfied, I found my way to the small Jewish Museum, located on a less-touristy street a few blocks from the main square. The museum had a lovely collection of ritual objects and information about the Jewish community of Zagreb, which was only established in the early 1900s. Before that time, Jews were not allowed to live in this part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The community came into existence with the arrival of Ashkenazi Jews and later incorporated Sephardic Jews who had left the Ottoman Empire. It remains a small but active community today.
That evening, our group dinner gave me an opportunity to try a specialty of Zagreb cuisine, štrukli. These are made from thin dough stuffed with a creamy cottage cheese mixture. This warm and delicious comfort food was especially welcome on a cool, drizzly evening.
After a very full day of activities in Zagreb, I was so exhausted that I took the tram back to the hotel instead of walking. I fell asleep thinking about the next day’s visit to Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that I’d heard so much about.
When I awoke the next morning, the first thing I noticed was a strange pain in my right arm. I was concerned but I eventually diagnosed it as a case of umbrella elbow (perhaps similar to tennis elbow?) from holding my open umbrella upright for several hours yesterday.
We left the city early, crossing the Sava River and driving first through the modern part of Zagreb, with its shopping malls and newer apartment buildings, before turning southwest towards a mountainous part of Croatia. Kruno had told us that the trip would take about 2 ½ hours.
As we traveled, Kruno supplied us with a more information about Croatia. Here are few interesting facts that I learned:
· Zagreb suffered only a few attacks during the war in the 1990s.
· 16% of the country’s total GDP comes from tourism.
· Team sports, particularly handball and soccer, are very popular here. (He conceded that Serbia is better in basketball and volleyball.)
The flat landscape of forests and tree dotted green fields soon gave way to rolling hills covered with a thick blanket of trees. In the small clearings, I noticed horses, sheep, and farmhouses.
We made a brief stop for coffee and restrooms outside the town of Karlovac, near the current border with Bosnia. The walled town was named for the Hapsburg archduke Charles II of Austria. During earlier times, Karlovac was on the border between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. In fact, the fortifications were built in the mid-16th century as a defensive outpost against the Ottoman Turks.
We were now in the Lika region of Croatia. This mountainous region is the birthplace of the inventor Nikola Tesla. He was born in 1857 into a Serbian Orthodox Christian family. At the time, the area was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Kruno told us that because of its rugged terrain and severe climate (long cold winters and short hot summers), Lika is sparsely populated. Today, Karlovac is known as the home of Croatia’s most popular brand of beer, Karlovačko.
Shortly before we reached the park, we passed by the riverside village of Rastoke. There used to be several mills along the river. The waterfalls provided a little preview of what we’d soon be seeing in Plitvice Lakes Park.
Our guide at the park, Tara, told us that Plitvice Lakes is the oldest and largest national park in Croatia. It was opened in 1949 and includes sixteen lakes linked by cascades of waterfalls. There’s also a deep limestone canyon.
I recalled Kruno mentioning that we were in a limestone region. When limestone dissolves, it combines with blue-green algae and other plant and animal particles to create a sedimentary rock called tufa. Here in the park, the tufa grows about 3-5 centimeters per year, creating barriers and eventually forming more lakes. The tufa formations create a type of landscape called karsts.
Tara guided us for two and a half hours on trails and walkways around the lower lakes. She commented that after two days of heavy rain, there was a lot of water in the falls. We were lucky, I suppose, that it wasn’t actually raining on the day of our visit.
Aquatic plants grow on the tufa formations.
The water is very clean, i.e. it contains very few particles. When the light hits it, the result is a strikingly beautiful blue-green color.
There was quite a contrast between the thundering fast-moving cascades of water and the calm quiet of the lakes.
We didn’t see any of the bears, wolves, deer, wild boar, foxes, and birds that make their home in the park. However, I did catch a glimpse of a fish gliding through one of the lakes.
One of the most dramatic sections of the park is the Veliki Slap (Big Falls) area. These falls are over 250 feet high. If you stand on the viewing platform, you’ll definitely get wet from the spray.
In every direction, the views were so spectacular that I couldn’t stop taking photos.
Visiting the park was an exhilarating experience, even with the heavy cloud cover. Afterwards, we restored our energy with lunch at a nearby campground complex. A hearty meal of vegetable soup, salad, chicken, a kale-potato mixture, and ice cream was just what I needed.
That lunch didn’t stop me from picking up a candy bar when we made a rest stop on our way back to Zagreb. I was intrigued by the package and indeed, the Tortica turned out to be a dark chocolate version of a KitKat bar.
After inching our way forward through rush hour traffic, we reached Zagreb late in the afternoon. There was just enough time to take a final walk through the city before dark. I took the now-familiar route from the hotel to the main square. Looking at the signs on the buildings, I regretted that I’d never learned how to pronounce, let alone understand, the Croatian language.
From the main square, I climbed the stairs to the Upper Town once again and greeted the statue of the woman standing in front of the Dolac marketplace.
I took a stroll down the restaurant street, noting where I’d eat if I were staying longer in Zagreb.
And on my way back to the hotel, I took one last look at the National Theater.
Finally, I thought of Robert Kaplan’s description of Zagreb in Balkan Ghosts. He said, “Zagreb is an urban landscape of volume and space arrangement, where color is secondary. The city requires no sunshine to show it off. Clouds are better and a chilling drizzle is better still.”
If that’s true, we were fortunate with regard to the weather. Actually, I tried changing some of my photos to black and white and was pleased with the results.
Still, I secretly hoped that we’d see the sun again when we returned to the coast the following day.
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