Now ban Jelacic (pronounced: ban yelachich), 19.c. Croatia's governor, rides again on his bronze steed in his square, although pointing to the South. Originally, as on the photo he was "charging" north, toward Hungary. But that is history, although not so "ancient." Closer to today and in our living memory Croatia seceded from the post-WWII Yugoslav federation by declaring Independence in 1991. When the dust and the wounds of the ensuing war with Serbia settled, all the old street names came back; poets, kings and statesmen came to life in the mouths of locals navigating their city; today poets' life-size statues mix with people in the street. The main square dating back to the 19c. went through several baptisms: from originally – Mandusevac, after the creek that flowed and is flowing again into it, Harmica, Jelacic Square to The Square of the Republic – during the socialist, federal Yugoslavia, and since 1993 back to Jelacic Square.What's in the name?
Now the square seems wider, lighter, certainly–modern. Sidewalk cafes with white awnings have replaced the demure taxi-line. Long gone are open market's umbrellas and flat-board carts carrying produce. A huge open market moved north, up the stairs behind the buildings facing the square. Two lines of electric street cars are the only traffic traversing the square; pedestrians rule. A little way from the statue in a stepped recess, the old Mandusevac creek feeds a fountain again and cools its pigeons.
During my visit in 1986 "The Square of the Republic" was a building site, with cranes and bulldozers turning the area into a cavern. The fever of renovation in anticipation of the "Universiade" energized the town. Even the squirrel mascot doffs its hat, characteristic of the folk costume from Zagorje, the region behind Zagreb.
Zagorje's hilly landscape, rich in human talent rather than a fertile soil, produced a president (the late marshal Tito, of the socialist Yugoslavia – died in 1980), as well as prominent Croatian poets and painters – notably the 20c. school of "Naive (peasant) painters." When their paintings won international acclaim and began fetching high prices, people said: ah, what naives, they are the crafty ones!From its dim beginnings in the 10thc., Zagreb entered the pages of history in the 13th
century, when it was granted a title of a "free, royal town." It is situated on the hilly runoffs, like bear claws, of the mountain Medvednica: the name comes from "medvjed"–bear. At one time bears roamed this tame mountain. Today that part of the city is the cherished Upper Town and Captol on the next hill (Cathedral and clergy's seat). The newer, Lower Town expansion below, developed in the 18th century. On my visits I did not shoot postcard highlights of the city: the "Grand Theater," on whose heavy side-door I banged with my 5-year old fists, terrified in the dark, lost after a performance–an event, whose description first earned me a notice in the 6th grade; the other notable buildings in that square; opposite the Theater–my old Philosophical University, and native sculptor Ivan Mestrovic's bronze "Well of Life" between them; further down and elsewhere the University Library, The Art pavilion etc. They can be easily accessed on the net.Slides Introduction
Slides – a personal glimpse of a place in time
On revisiting Zagreb's history, I became aware of the town's idyllic setting; the hills and forests, once rich in game, were a hunting ground for the the Austrian nobility; in R. Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier", taking place in the 18c. Vienna, the Marschallin refers to her husband hunting in the "Croatischen Wald" – (Croatian forest – Croatia had been a part of Austro-Hungarian empire for centuries until its demise in 1918); the many streams descending from the slopes, running through the town, like children into mother's arms–the river Sava on the flat perimeters of the expanded city.
Zagreb is a hub of Croatia's cultural, economic and political life. It is known for its flair for fashion, a drive for keeping up with the West. At each visit I heard complaints about the "bad economy"; from watching people in the street, one couldn't tell: the clothes, cars, stores full of imported goods, cafes mushrooming everywhere–in the spirit of the new found capitalist entrepreneurship; a few tables and chairs on a bit of walkway and hospitality industry is booming; people drinking, smoking, talking. An air of summer resort leisure. Taking time, enjoying the moment, the food, a joke, a song–that is the legacy of everyday life in Croatia.NOTE: The list of all blogs in my Profile
