Croatia, abundant in natural beauties may rightly be listed among the most attractive regions of the Mediterranean. The capital city is Zagreb with a population of 1 million. The city was founded in 1094 by King Saint Ladislaus. The town was established directly next to the capitol. It can still be considered the center of the city. Tomislav, the first Croatian king ruled in the early middle ages. His equestrian statue stands on the square named after him.
Walking around the downtown area, we can encounter statues of some more historic personalities, August Signor, Flavio Clovic, Miklosh Jurisics and the stone figure of Ban Jelacic. Conflicts resulting in the war between the independent capitol and -- were halted by the attack of the Turks when the residents pulled together to fortify the city walls. Zagreb reattained its title as the capital only after the passing of the Turkish. But the legal union of the city parts had to wait until 1850. The city’s development started picking up in the age of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. This is when the main railway station was built together with the national theater and the academy. The style of the buildings of that time shows a striking resemblance to buildings in Vienna and Budapest.
The downtown area closed to motor vehicle traffic is abundant in green areas and flowering parks. This is where the nicest shopping street of the city, the – begins. The statue of Jelacic is the artwork of Anton Fernkorn, the famous sculptor of Vienna. On Jelacic Square, the most important tram lines meet and local people feel that this is the real heart to the city. There’s also a small fountain collecting the water of the Manduevac Spring. Beyond the square rises St. Stephen’s cathedral built together with the palace of the archbishop and the seminary. In the tomb of the church, well known historic figures are buried such as Zirinis and Frangipani. The history museum was established in the Opatijska Street in the building of an old monastery.
St. Mark’s Square is the center of public life in Zagreb. In front of Ban’s palace, on weekends and on holiday, the changing of the guard entertains the tourists. The simple building of the Croatian parliament stands opposite. Nearby is a memorial exhibition of the sculptor Ivan Mestrovic. We can also see the cannon of the Tower of – which used to signal noon and its bell which signal night when the guard closed the gates of the city. A beautiful view open up to the southern part of the city from the top of the tower. The quaint little houses were rescued by reconstruction from under modern houses that had been built on top of them earlier.