Now, if you are one of those people who say that you buy Playboy Magazines for the articles and don’t look at the pictures, then this blog is for you – I went to Zagreb and didn’t realize that the battery was flat on my camera… so there is an article but no pictures!! Ja sam glupost! I am stupid. I couldn’t believe it at first.
And then I thought about it some more and decided that maybe sometimes we are so busy taking photos of things that we forget to look at them. (Don’t you hate it when I put a positive spin on everything?)
Well. Zagreb. My first impressions (arriving at 8.30 at night) were that it seemed very clean and tidy and organized. These first impressions still hold true.
Do you want history? Briefly? Most of what I can tell you I found out from the Musej Grad Zagreb – the city museum set up on the Gornji Grad (or upstairs as it is called) in the old town. Please be impressed – I am a bit of a speed museum visitor – my concentration for museum visits is short. This museum was so (quiet and uncrowded) that I spent two hours in it! A new world record for me. It was beautifully set out in small rooms, each room chronicling the next step in the history of the city. It was as though you only had to take bite-sized amounts of history in each time you went into a room so it wasn’t so overwhelming. Next time you visit Zagreb, promise that you will go there.
Here we go… (and I'm trying to work out how to insert images from ‘another source’ ( I know you are visual people and I don’t want you to get bored – forget about the Playboy conversation, you can look at the pictures).
Zagreb is a city with a rich history, dating from Roman times.
Old Zagreb was two settlements situated on two neighbouring hills: Gradec (also known as Gornji Grad) and Kaptol, with the houses lying in the valley between them along what used to be a creek (it is now a beautiful cobbled street lined with cafes and sunshine).
Over the creek and between the two towns was a bridge over which the people of the two towns would meet to trade insults and throw a few stones. Only once was there ever any real squirmish on the bridge where a couple of people died. The bridge was then called ‘krvav most’ – “bloody bridge’. The most spectacular thing about the bridge is that there isn’t one. Not a bridge in sight. It stands at the top of the disappointment list for tourists who really really came to see this bridge.
The Cathedral in gornji grad has had a tumultuous past – it was originally consecrated in 1217, but later in 1242 it was damaged by the raids by the Tartars. After 1263 it was restored and rebuilt. Fearing a Turkish invasion, the Bishop of Zagreb had the fortifications built around the Cathedral and his residence. The Turks didn’t ever reach Zagreb. Then the Cathedral was badly damaged in an earthquake years later and an Austrian architect (Bolle) was sent for to reconstruct and modernise the building in the Neogothic style.
In the museum there are pieces of the cathedral which were removed including statues of the disciples from around the main doorway. What fascinated me was the removal of one part of the façade which clearly shows the triangle with the eye in the middle – the unmistakable symbol of goddess worship. There was a lot of reluctance from parishoners to let go the female part of the deity lineup, and the church leaders were forced to include Mary as part of the church.
The other fascinating thing (for me) was that the church was re-built in sandstone in keeping with the style of the remodelled cathedral. Sandstone goes a beautiful dark colour as it ages. But the people of Zagreb want the clean white colour. One of the local women told me that she has never in her life seen the cathedral in all of its glory, because there is always a part of the building shrouded in scaffolding while the façade is cleaned.
It’s a lifetime career. Start at one side and by the time you get back to the start it is dirty and you need to start again. Do it slowly and make it last even longer!
The only remaining part of the fortification around the upper town is the Stone Gate – this has become a shrine to Mary and is more popular as a place of worship than the cathedral. The story goes (and I’m sure it is accurate) that during one large fire which threatened the city, all that was left in one pile of rubble was a picture of the Virgin Mary, untouched by fire. Candles are lit at the shrine under the Stone Gate, and plaques are attached to the wall giving thanks for specific things that people don’t want to let pass without acknowledging.
Walking across the quiet deserted trg Sv Marko (where is everyone, and why are those men in dark suits standing around the corners of the square with those ear pieces attached…)
St Marks Church – spectacular from the outside but locked so I have no idea what it was like inside – the roof is unusual.
But the thing that this wee trg (square) is famed for is the witch burnings! Over 400 years , 140 women were convicted of witch craft but the death penalty of burning was stayed in most cases. In 1756 Maria Theresa banned the death penalty for witchcraft.
In the museum there is a list of women who were convicted of being witches, and the sentence meted out. A couple died in the dungeons, but those who were burnt at the stake met their fate in this beautiful square. Imagine!
The witch hunts on the square are now limited to the normal vagaries of political life – because this square is also where parliament sits. And seeing as you mentioned the Prime Minister Jadranka Kozor, she who is leading the Anti Corruption campaign, beating the anti-corruption drum, she who was the former PMs deputy, who handed him over to the powers that be when he was charged with corruption… and twas also she who signed the same documents that have him in the proverbial, but she says that she had no knowledge of what Sanader was up to because she didn’t read the documents that she was signing. Everyone needs a deputy like that, particularly if they then step up to lead the country! Attention to detail being a necessary part of being a Prime Minister – it’s in the job description. Oh, and taking responsibility for one’s actions is also in the job description I think – I’m sure I saw it in the fine print..
And it was the body guards of all the politicians waiting by their big black diplomatic cars that I had observed in the square. It was the first day back for parliament the day that I was wandering around. We wondered if they were discussing whether it was worth trying to push through and have an election this year, or whether they should just close their eyes tightly and hope that no-one notices if it doesn’t happen.
That’s enough for now – I am a bit sleep deprived. More tomorrow.
Maybe with pictures.
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