Although the capital of Croatia is landlocked, it boasts a flow of foreign visitors that is steadily increasing as the tourist infrastructure develops. When asked what to see in Zagreb, local guides will gladly answer you, offering interesting excursions in one of the oldest cities in southeast Europe. The modern capital of Croatia was founded in the 11th century and its cultural potential has remained consistently high throughout all historical eras. In Zagreb, there are more than fifty museums and art galleries and a dozen stage venues where annual festivals and exhibitions are held. Among the architectural landmarks of the Croatian capital are temples and towers of the early Middle Ages, built by brilliant architects of the past. Walking through the historic center, you will find magnificent examples of various architectural styles and enjoy the atmosphere of the old city, carefully preserved by the residents who are in love with it.
TOP 10 attractions of Zagreb
Gorny Grad
The central area of old Zagreb is the heart of the city. The largest number of attractions, historical quarters and architectural monuments are located here:
- The medieval quarter of Hradec with the remains of fortifications.
- Cathedral of the Croatian capital, consecrated in honor of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saints Stephen and Vladislav. The temple was built in the XI century.
- Church of St. Mark with colored coats of arms on the tiled roof.
- The Croatian Parliament building, decorated with the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia.
- Tkalchicheva pedestrian street with many restaurants of national cuisine and souvenir shops.
- Mirogoy Cemetery Park, where the arcades, dome and church at the main entrance were designed by the famous Austrian architect Hermann Bole.
With a visit to the historic district of Gorny Grad, you should start your acquaintance with the sights of the capital of Croatia.
St. Mark's Church
Among the oldest buildings in the Croatian capital, the parish church of St. Mark stands out. Her photo can be seen on advertising brochures of travel agencies, and the temple is called the hallmark of Zagreb. You can look at the bright landmark in the Upper Town.
The church was first mentioned in the historical annals of 1261, and it is believed that it was built in the middle of the 13th century. This is evidenced by the appearance of the southern facade, where the Romanesque window is located. Then the temple was rebuilt several times, and its present appearance is the result of a mixture of several architectural styles: from Gothic to Baroque.
The roof, which appeared at the end of the 19th century, stands out especially. as a result of restoration work under the supervision of the Viennese architect Friedrich von Schmidt. The tiled roof slopes bear colored images of the coats of arms of Zagreb and the Triune Kingdom, which included Dalmatia, Slavonia and Croatia.
The southern portal is of great value, in the niches of which there are 15 sculptures made by the Prague master Ivan Parler in the 14th century. and depicting the Mother of God, the baby Jesus, Joseph and the apostles.
Zagreb Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Croatian capital was founded in 1093 and was built in the neo-gothic style. He decorated the city until 1242, when Zagreb was captured by Mongol raids. The cathedral was partially destroyed, but later rebuilt. In the XV century. a new misfortune in the form of hordes of Ottomans, sweeping away everything in their path in the Balkans, became the reason for the construction of fortress walls. The cathedral was inside the citadel and thanks to this it survived.
An earthquake in 1880 damaged the central nave, and the temple had to be overhauled. The restoration was entrusted to the Austrian architect Hermann Boll, who specialized in religious buildings. Boll managed to recreate it in its original form.
The modern look of the cathedral is distinguished by its severity, lightness and monumentality at the same time. Gothic features are evident in lancet windows, 105-meter-high gabled towers, stone carvings above the portals, and colored stained glass rosettes. Prominent military leaders and priests are buried in the tomb of the Zagreb Cathedral.
Lotrscak Tower
The fortress tower Lotrszak in Horní Grad was built in the 13th century. and was intended to protect the southern gate at the entrance to Hradec. The architectural style of the building is Romanesque with features typical for fortifications of that era. The name Lotrschak comes from the Latin campana latrunculorum, which means “the bell of the villains”. In the middle of the 17th century, a bell was installed on it, signaling that the city gates would soon close for the night.
In the XIX century. the tower was rebuilt, adding a third floor and windows. Its height reached 30 m, including the roof and superstructure. At the same time, a cannon appeared in the tower, announcing the approach of noon in one gulp.
Tourists will be interested in the view from the observation deck on the roof of the Lotrščak tower.
Mimara Museum
In this museum in Zagreb, you can look at the works of art collected by the Croatian collector Ante Topić Mimara. He devoted his whole life to collecting paintings, sculptures, historical rarities and artifacts, which he bequeathed to the museum in his homeland. To demonstrate the collection in 1987, the Mimara Museum was opened.
The exposition contains more than 3700 items of undoubted historical value. In the halls you will see original paintings by Bosch and Rubens, paintings by Delacroix and Manet, rarities from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, Persian carpets and Greek ceramics, Chinese silk and South American ceremonial masks.
Archaeological Museum
This museum exposition appeared in the Croatian capital in 1939. The modern collection numbers more than 400 thousand exhibits, including the largest numismatic collection in the region, a collection of antique art objects, prehistoric objects found during excavations, and medieval rarities.
The monuments of Etruscan art are of particular value in the exposition of the Archaeological Museum of Zagreb. You will see the world famous "Zagreb Linen Book", written, according to the approximate estimates of scientists, in 250 BC. It is a linen cloth with ritual inscriptions, about 14 m long and up to 30 cm wide. A mummy found in Alexandria was wrapped in the cloth. The most valuable rarity - the only surviving linen book of the ancient world.
Museum of Naive Art
In the middle of the last century, the Peasant Art Gallery, known today as the Museum of Naive Art, opened in Zagreb. Built in the 18th century, the Raffai Mansion exhibits around 1,800 works of art, posters, sculptures and paintings by primitivist artists.
Since its opening, the institution has been managed in full accordance with the principles of museology and is considered the world's first real museum collection of primitive art.
The stands display about 80 works written in the period from the 30s to the 80s. XX century The basis of the collection is the work of Croatian artists, but some of the paintings are owned by foreigners.
The museum actively promotes the fine arts, holds educational exhibitions and seminars.
Divorce Museum
Testimonies of lost love and broken relationships form the core of the Divorce Museum's collection. It is one of the most visited in Zagreb, and several thousand spectators come to look at the exhibits telling about the personal loss of two local artists.
Olinka Vishtitsa and Drazen Grubishich could not maintain a relationship, but decided to preserve the evidence of a past happy life. They put them together and opened a small museum. Its exposition continues to be replenished with exhibits provided by other couples who parted in a civilized manner and want to share with the world the minutes of their past happiness.
The museum exhibits symbolize former love and serve as irrefutable evidence of the once-existing devotion and passion. Each copy of the collection has its own history, described in two languages - Croatian and English.
Despite the strange and unusual theme for the exhibition, the Divorce Museum in Zagreb received the European Museum of the Year award in 2011.
Technical museum
Samples of the achievements of the human genius in the field of technology are exhibited in the museum of the same name in the Croatian capital. In the Technical Museum of Zagreb, you can look at old cars and historical documents dedicated to the development of aeronautics, see the equipment that the ingenious Tesla used in his experiments, and get acquainted with the structure of a mining mine. In the planetarium at the museum, interesting visual demonstrations of the structure of the Universe are held, and in the apiary they talk about the organization of a community of the most perfect creatures of our planet - bees.
The museum complex in Zagreb covers the possibilities of science and technology in the most diverse areas of human life.
Ethnographical museum
The exposition of the Ethnographic Museum will help you learn everything about the life of the Croatian people. The halls display national costumes and household items of townspeople and villagers, tools and collections of fabrics, religious paraphernalia and pottery.
The museum was opened on the initiative of Solomon Berger, a textile merchant and philanthropist. In 1919, he donated to the city a collection of national costumes and fabrics, which formed the basis of the future exposition.
