 | McLae´s guide to Croatia |  |
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The capital Zagreb
Zagreb celebrated its 900th birthday in 1994 not only as a city with numerous cultural and historical monuments, museums and galleries, but also as a vibrant destination with a variety of modern shops, quality restaurants and sports/recreational facilities. It is a major centre of congress tourism, hosting a number of business events and trade fairs that are amongst those of the longest tradition in Europe. Being an important junction point, Zagreb has road, air, railway and bus connections with other European metropolises and all bigger cities and tourist resorts in Croatia. The historical part of the city to the north of Ban Jelacic' Square is comprised of the Upper Town and Kaptol, a medieval urban complex of churches, palaces, museums, galleries and government buildings that are exceptionally popular with tourists on sightseeing tours. The old town's streets and squares can be reached on foot, starting from Jelacic' Square, the central part and the heart of Zagreb, or by a funicular on nearby
Museums: Zagreb's numerous museums reflect the history, art and culture not only of Zagreb and Croatia, but also of Europe and the world. Around thirty collections in museums and galleries comprise more than 3.6 million various exhibits, excluding church and private collections. The Archaeological Museum (19 Nikola Šubic' Zrinski Square) possesses over 400,000 objects, not all of them exhibited. These holdings include evidence of Croatian presence in the area as well as rare samples which have made the museum world renowned. The most famous are the Egyptian collection, the Zagreb mummy and bandages with the oldest Etruscan inscription in the world (Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis), as well as the numismatic collection. A part of the museum is set aside for the collection of stone monuments dating back predominantly to the Roman period. The Croatian Museum of Natural Sciences (1 Demetrova Street) holds the world's most extensive collection of Neanderthal remains found at one site - the remains, stone weapons and tools of prehistoric Krapina man. The Technical Museum (18 Savska Street) maintains the oldest preserved machine in the area, dating from 1830, which still operates. Also there are some operational Tesla inventions, a few old aircraft, and a real underground mine. Valuable historical collections are found in the Croatian Historical Museum, the Museum of the City of Zagreb, the Museum of Arts and Crafts, the Ethnographic Museum, the Croatian School Museum, the Croatian Hunting Museum, the Croatian Sports Museum, the Croatian Post and Telecommunications Museum, the HAZU (Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts) Glyptotheque (collection of monuments), and the HAZU Graphics Cabinet. Many visitors find the Mimara Museum (5 Roosevelt Square), housing the donation by Wiltrud and Ante Topic' Mimara, very attractive. Of the total of 3,700 varied works of art, more than 1,500 exhibits constitute permanent holdings, dating from the prehistoric period up to the 20th century. Some of the most famous exhibits include works by Lorenzetti, Raffaello, Giorgione, Veronese, Caravaggio, Canaletto, 60 paintings by the Dutch masters Rembrandt, Van Goyen, Ruisdael, 50 works by the Flemish masters Van der Weyden, Bosch, Rubens, Van Dyck, more than 30 by the Spanish masters Velasquez, Murillo, Goya, some 20 paintings by the German masters Holbein, Liebermann, Leibl, some 30 paintings by the English painters Gainsborough, Turner, Bonington and more than 120 paintings by the French masters Georges de la Tour, Boucher, Chardin, Delacroix, Corot, Manet, Renoir, Degas. The HAZU Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters (11 Zrinski Square) offers permanent holdings presenting European paintings from the 14th to 19th centuries, and the Ivan Meštrovic' Studio, (8 Mletacka Street) with sculptures, drawings, lithography portfolios and other items, was a donation of this great artist to his homeland. The Museum of Contemporary Art (2 Catherine's Square) follows and presents contemporary trends in fine arts. The Museum and Gallery Centre (4 Jesuit Square) introduces on various occasions the Croatian and foreign cultural and artistic heritage. The Art Pavilion (22 King Tomislav Square) by Viennese architects Hellmer and Fellmer who were the most famous designers of theatres in Central Europe is a neo-classical exhibition complex and one of the landmarks of the city centre. The exhibitions are also held in the impressive Meštrovic' building on Hrvatskih Velikana Square — the Home of Croatian Fine Artists. The Museum of Naďve Art (3 C'irilometodska Street) houses more than one thousand works by a hundred and odd authors of Croatian naďve art. The World Centre "Wonder of Croatian Naďve Art" exhibits masterpieces of Croatian naďve art as well as the works of a new generation of artists. The Modern Gallery (1 Hebrangova Street) comprises all relevant fine artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The city offers rich cultural and artistic enjoyment. There are about 20 permanent or seasonal theatres and stages. The Croatian National Theatre, built in 1895, is the most impressive building among them. The most renowned concert hall is named "Vatroslav Lisinski", after the composer of the first Croatian opera. It was built in 1973 and is visited by 760,000 people each year. The great hall has 1847 seats over 2,360 m˛, while the smaller one can seat 304 people on 360 m˛. Zagreb hosts many domestic and international events. Animafest, the World Festival of Animated Films, takes place every even-numbered year, and the Music Bienniale, the international festival of avant-garde music, every odd-numbered year. The Festival of the Zagreb Philharmonic and the famous flowers exhibition Floraart (end of May or beginning of June), the Old-timer Rally, the Week of Contemporary Dance, as well as Eurokaz, the international festival of contemporary theatre (in June) represent annual events. In the summer, theatre performances and concerts, mostly in the Upper Town, are organized either indoors or outdoors. The stage on Opatovina hosts the Zagreb Histrionic Summer. Zagreb is also the host of Zagrebfest, the oldest Croatian pop-music festival, as well as of several traditional international sports events and tournaments. The Day of the City of Zagreb on the (16th of November) is celebrated every year with special festivities, especially on the Jarun lake near the southwestern part of the city. Entertainment can be found in many discotheques, night clubs, and casinos. On Mount Sljeme there is also the 169 m TV Tower with a restaurant planned for the 75 m high pod. |
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