Day 14 - Disembarking, a Bandaged Cathedral & Cravats

Today we disembarked from the yacht and got a coach through Croatia to the capital Zagreb. Here our tour split – some to get flights to their further travels and others to the Esplanade Hotel in Zagreb. Mum and I were in the latter group as our flight wasn’t until the next day.

Travelling to Zagreb

The Esplanade Hotel was built in 1925 to provide accommodation for passengers of the famous Orient Express between Paris and Istanbul. It isn’t half posh! The entry foyer is all marble and gold – very art deco and fancy. The whole place puts me in mind of Poirot….or maybe it’s the connection to the Orient Express. Our room wasn’t ready so we left our luggage at the hotel and ventured out to explore Zagreb.

We set off and walked to the nearby King Tomislav Square, named after King Tomislav who is celebrated for unifying the Croatian regions of Dalmatia and Pannonia. From here we walked up past the yellow Art Pavilion and further up through the Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square. This square, commonly referred to as Zrinjevac, is a green park with trees, flowers and fountains. It is surrounded by important buildings such as Croatia’s Supreme Court, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Zagreb Archaeological Museum. At the top of this square was a dark green box, similar to a green police box, which, upon further examination we found to be a weather station.

Zagreb

Our next stop was Ban Jelačić Square, named for Josip Jelacic, ruler of Croatia and the leader of Croatian independence from Austria in the 19^th century. It’s a busy thoroughfare lined with shops and populated by pedestrians and trams. We crossed the square and walked up a short street to the Upper Town, starting at the Dolac Market. We were a bit late for the morning market so all we saw were a number of empty stalls.

Ban Jelačić Square, Statues & Zagreb Cathedral

Crossing the market place we reached the Zagreb Cathedral. This was consecrated in 1217 but was destroyed by Mongol invaders in 1242 and subsequently rebuilt with outer walls and a watchtower to protect the cathedral from the Ottoman Empire threat. The earthquake in 1880 resulted in the requirement to rebuild the cathedral again, this time in its present Neo-Gothic form. In fact they’re still rebuilding it – well, carrying out conservation works. This meant that we could not get near or into the cathedral but they had brought several of the old sculptures, which were to be replaced, close to the fence so we could inspect the replacement sculptures.

We retraced our way to Dolac Market and across the market to Tkalčičeva Street. The original name of this street was Creek Street as it was originally the site of the Medvescak Creek. This creek ran between the twin settlements of Gradec and Kaptol and supported a number of water mills along its length. Competition between these mills triggered feuds between the two towns until the treaty of 1392 limited the construction of new mills. The mills were demolished and the creek covered over in 1898 creating Creek Street. This street was later renamed in honour of historian and priest Ivan Tkalcic, who died in 1905.

Crossing through narrow passages we walked up past a statue of George and the Dragon to the Kamenita Vrata, or Stone Gate. This is the only gate still standing from the walls of the old town of Gradec which were built in the 13^th century to protect the newly declared “free royal city” from enemies.

Stone Gate & Saint Mark's Church

On the other side of the gate a hill led us to Saint Mark’s Square which holds Saint Mark’s Church. This church was rebuilt in the 14^th century although there may have been a church on this site before then The colourful tiles on the roof were laid in 1880 to show the coats of arms of Zagreb and the Triune Kingdom of Croatia. As with the cathedral, the square had been barriered off so we couldn’t visit the church.

From Saint Mark’s Square we walked down past the Museum of Broken Relationships, which is dedicated to failed love relationships, to Lotršcak Tower, a three-story 13^th century Romanesque tower which stood on the Southern Ramparts of the old town. We then walked down by the side of the Zagreb Funicular and through the streets, passing the Cravat Museum, to the Croatian National Theatre in the Lower Town.

Croatian State Archives & Lotršcak Tower

From there we walked through the Republic of Croatia Square past the Croatian State Archives to the Botanical Gardens. We planned to visit the gardens the next morning (we’re not getting picked up until 11am) so we checked the opening times before returning to the hotel.

Our room at the hotel is also very posh with a nice seating area and a lovely bathroom in green marble – I’m going to have a bath this evening. For dinner Mum and I went to the bistro adjoining the hotel for schnitzel, it was really nice.