Zagreb

The city of Zagreb, capital of Croatia, on the historic and political threshold between East and West, illustrates both the continental and Mediterranean spirit of the nation it spearheads

Zagreb is the cultural, scientific, economic, political and administrative centre of the Republic of Croatia.

Zagreb is a safe city whose doors are always open; a city with a tumultuous history teeming with interesting personalities; a city that warmly invites all those who wish to get to know it, and a city that will surely fulfill your expectations. Zagreb enjoys a rich cultural life. Around 30 theatres are active in the city, some with regular programmes, some occasional. Along with some 30 museums, a large number of galleries and many theatre, music and dance festivals all combine to make Zagreb a city of art.

From classical to alternative, from amateur to professional, from private to public, these different artistic outlets reflect the high level of cultural awareness. Zagreb can be described as a city with the biggest lounge. The moment the sun appears in the sky in spring, restaurant, café and coffeehouse terraces open for custom. Streets become promenades, places to get a cup of coffee, relax or have a business meeting.

Sights near the hotel

Ethnographic Museum – 3 min of drive

In 1919, the Ethnographic Museum was founded in Zagreb. During the hundred years of the Museum’s existence, more than 85,000 items from all over Croatia, as well as from the neighbouring European countries and the non-European cultures have been collected. The textile collections (costumes and soft furnishings) make up the largest part of the Museum’s holdings; however, the collections of items related to traditional economy, handicrafts, furniture, crafts, customs, etc. are rich with exhibits as well. Especially valuable is the collection of objects related to the traditional cultures of non-European countries, dating from the late twentieth century, and composed mostly of the presents from sailors, researchers, travellers and artists. Among them, we should certainly mention Dragutin Lerman from Požega and Mirko and Stevo Seljan, brothers from Karlovac. The Museum has an extensive ethnographic photography archives, a library containing more than 20,000 volumes, a well organized conservation and restauration department, as well as educational activity.

The Croatian National Theater – 4 min drive

The Croatian National Theater in the center of Zagreb is also the oldest theater institution in Croatia, with three ensembles: opera, drama and ballet. At least twelve premieres have turned out annually, resulting in more than twenty dozen stage performances per season in addition to twenty reprise titles. As a central national house, the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb nurtures a diverse program with exciting works by local authors of different styles and periods, excerpts and works of classical and contemporary world repertoire.

The Mimara Museum – 5 min drive

The museum called the “Art Collection of Ante and Wiltrud Topić Mimara” or, for short, the Mimara Museum, was founded with a donation from Ante “Mimara” Topić and opened to the public in 1987. It is located in a neo-Renaissance palace from the end of the 19th century. The holdings comprise 3,750 works of art of various techniques and materials, and different cultures and civilizations. There are about 450 pictures and drawings of famed masters of various school (Raphael, Velasquez, Rubens, Rembrant, Goya). Then there are about 200 sculptures from antiquity to 20th century, and archeological rarities from ancient Greece and Egypt. The collection of glass shows the developmental road from ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire to familiar Venetian and other European workshops in more than 300 exhibits. The collection of Far Eastern artworks contains items of rare materials such as jade, lacquer and rhinoceros horn. The Museum contains an excellent art library with 5,400 titles. The permanent exhibition is given shaped through a chronological sequencing of historical and stylistic periods. Thematic and study exhibitions are regularly organized, as are expert groups and occasional educational playrooms and workshops.

The Technical Museum – 5 min drive

The Technical Museum was founded in 1954. The museum’s holdings comprise more than 6,000 items from Croatia and abroad. The energy conversion selection shows how various kind of energy are obtained and converted. The transportation section shows the development of all kinds of transport, and the drive machines unit has the oldest machine in this part of Europe. The geology, mining and petrol section deals with the phases in which the materials are created and how they are extracted. Models of the first artificial satellites, orbital stations and spacecraft make up the Astronautics Collection. Also present at the Firefighting, Basic Agriculture and Apisarium, and Major Figures of Croatian Science and Technology sections. The permanent exhibition is structured in terms of sections, in which, in a didactic manner, the development and application of technical advances are shown. There are some distinct units: the Planetarium, the Apisarium, the Mine (model of mines for coal, iron and non-ferrous metals, about 300 meters long), and the Nikola Tesla study. The Museum organizes educational, study, informative and occasional exhibitions, lectures and panel discussions on popular science, as well as playrooms and workshops.

The Archeological Museum – 6 min drive

The Archeological Museum in Zagreb was founded in 1846. It is located in the historicist Vranyczany-Hafner Palace. The valuable museum holdings of circa 460,000 items are systematically arranged in appropriate collections. The prehistoric collection is a depiction of the development of many cultures, from the Paleolithic to the Early Iron Age. In the Antique collection there are monuments of Greek origin, and Roman monuments of domestic and foreign origin. The medieval collection follows a chronological system from the period of the Great Migrations to the later Middle Ages. The Egyptian collection is the only one of its kind in the south east part of Europe. An exceptional find is the Zagreb Mummy in linen bands with the world’s longest extant Etruscan text. The numismatic collection is one of the biggest and most important in Europe and indeed in the world. The Museum has a fine library with more than 50,000 titles. In the courtyard of the museum lies the “Lapidarium” with an interesting collection of Roman stone monuments. The Museum also takes care of the Archeological Park of Andautonia in Šćitarjevo, where the remains of an ancient city from the 1st to the 4th century are preserved.

Ban Jelačić Square – 12 min drive

Situated just below the hillside settlements of Kaptol and Gradec, it has served as the city’s commercial heart ever since 1641, when it was designated as a place where fairs could be held. Most of the buildings around the square date from the 19th century, and display a variety of architectural styles, from Biedermaier to Art Nouveau and Post-modernism. The square was Zagreb’s main marketplace and carried the name “Harmica” (Hungarian for “one thirtieth”), after the tax levied on the goods that were sold here. In 1848 the square was officially renamed in honour of Ban (“Governor”) Josip Jelačić. After World War II the name of the square was changed to “Republic Square”, only to return to its previous title in 1990. Ban Jelačić Square stands at the centre of Zagreb’s social life and the most popular meeting points are “under the clock” on the west side of the square, and “under the horse’s tail” – a reference to the equestrian statue of Ban Jelačić in the square’s centre. The statue of Ban Josip Jelačić is the work of the Austrian sculptor Anton Fernkorn. It was placed on the square in 1866, only to be removed by the communist authorities in 1947. In 1990 a public petition secured the return of the statue, and it was unveiled on October 16th – Ban Jelačić’s birthday. Originally placed facing northwards in order to symbolize the Ban’s defence of Croatia’s rights against Austria and Hungary, the statue now faces south to provide a better balance to the layout of the square. The Manduševac Fountain was built above a natural spring that provided Zagreb with drinking water right up until the end of the 19th century. Court records about the persecution of witches mention the spring as their main meeting point. There is also a legend connecting the spring with the name of the city. Namely, one sunny day an old Croatian war leader was returning from battle tired and thirsty, and asked a beautiful girl Manda to scoop up some water from the spring for him. The Croatian word for “to scoop up water” is “zagrabiti”. So the spring got the name Manduševac, after the girl, and the town got the name Zagreb after the scoop of water.