Walking tour – 2,5 hours

INCLUDES:

• Zrinjevac square (Green Horseshoe)
• Ban Jelacic Square (Central Square)
• Kaptol and Cathedral (the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
• Central Market (Dolac)
• Tkalciceva street (known for café culture)
• Bloody Bridge
• Upper Town of Gradec:
- Stone gate
- St Mark Square (Parliament, Church of St Mark)
- Catherine square (Church of St Catherine)
- Lotrscak tower
- Funicular ride (free of charge for smaller groups, up to 6 people), for bigger groups, the ticket is 4 kn/person)

Pricelist:

1-4 persons = 628,30 kn (cca 86 EUR) - VAT included (144,50 kn)
5-30 persons = 750,30 kn (cca 102,5 EUR) - VAT included (172,56 kn)


WHAT YOU SEE ON A TOUR:
The Upper town, the former Gradec, together with Kaptol is the oldest part of the city. These two boroughs had been engaged in tough skirmishes once. Later they united into one city that spread further down to the South.

KAPTOL

CATHEDRAL OF SAINT MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION – it is the symbol of Zagreb with its two neo-Gothic towers dominating the skyline at 104 and 105 metres. In the Treasury of the Cathedral, above the sacristy, priceless treasures have been stored, including the artefacts from 11th to 19th century. Many great Croats had been buried inside the Cathedral.

DOLAC – the oldest and the largest market place in the heart of the city, a platter, dish and bowl placed in front of the hungry mouth of the City. Around 60 to 70 thousand people shop daily at this wonderful food mecca, right next to the Zagreb cathedral.

BETWEEN UPPER TOWN AND KAPTOL

TKALČIĆEVA STREET – located east of the Upper Town, used to be the boundary between the Upper town and Kaptol – two boroughs that were in engaged in quite tough skirmishes once. This former boundary is today a picturesque street with cafes in almost every house. The people of Zagreb crowd this street day in day out, making it one of the centres of modern urban life.

UPPER TOWN

THE STONE GATE (KAMENITA VRATA) – is the only preserved town gate of the original four. Although it is first mentioned as early as in Middle Ages, its current shape dates back to 1760, when the baroque Chapel of Holy Mother of God was built in its gateway around an old painting of a local artist. The painting miraculously survived the great fire that destroyed all wooden parts of the gate in 1731. Ever since, many people have been gathering in front of the miraculous painting daily, lighting candles in the honour of Our Lady and praying.

THE OLDEST PHARMACY – right above to the gate there is a pharmacy that continues the tradition of the one established long ago, in 1355. A memorial plaque tells us that a great-grandson of Dante, the author of Divine Comedy, worked in Zagreb as a pharmacist in late 14th century.

ST. MARK’S SQUARE – St. Mark’s Church that was built in the mid 13th century dominates this most beautiful square of the Upper Town. Many events crucial for Zagreb and entire Croatia took place here and many important edifices and institutions are located in this relatively tight space. The most attractive of all is St. Mark’s Church with its Romanesque naves, Gothic vaults and sanctuary and picturesque tiles on its multi-coloured roof that are arranged in such way that they form historical coats of arms of Zagreb and Croatia. The square also houses a Neo-Classicist building of the Croatian Parliament built in the first decade of the 20th century and Banski dvori, the seat of Croatian Government. (Ban was the civil governor during Austro-Hungarian rule).

CATHERINE’S SQUARE – named after St. Catherine’s Church, probably the most beautiful baroque church in Zagreb, built by Jesuits between 1620 and 1632. Croatian and international artists decorated the church, having painted its walls and ceiling and made its stucco decorations, ornaments and statues.

LOTRŠČAK TOWER – only in Zagreb the noon is announced by the cannon firing from the Lotrščak Tower erected in the mid-13th century. It is the best-preserved part of the former defence system of the town.

STROSSMAYER PROMENADE – named after the famous Bishop of Đakovo it offers a beautiful view of the Lower Town – the artery of modern Zagreb – and, to the east, of Kaptol and the Cathedral.

FUNICULAR – the upper station of the funicular is here too – right beside the Lotrščak Tower. The funicular ride it short and picturesque and takes one to the Upper Town, or, in the opposite direction, down to Ilica, the city’s most dynamic street (ticket is 4 kn, less than 1 USD).


LOWER TOWN

BAN JOSIP JELAČIĆ SQUARE – the Austro-Hungarian styled square is the true centre of the city.

ZAGREB HORSESHOE – the loveliest city squares and the most beautiful parks lined up in a shape of a horseshoe, with fountains and monuments, representative buildings, palaces, museums and cultural institutions – they all make up the amazing “Green Horseshoe of Zagreb”. It is also called “Lenuci Horseshoe”, after the city surveyor Milan Lenuci, who deserves the most credit for this pearl of historicism of which Zagreb is proud. Zagreb horseshoe is part of the Lower Town, the liveliest part of the city today and its pulsating cultural and business centre. The idea that the “Green Horseshoe” – an uninterrupted line of squares and public gardens – should be made in the Lower Town occurred for the first time in 1882, after a devastating earthquake had hit the town in 1880. This “Green Horseshoe” includes the most beautiful parks and squares in Zagreb:

On this tour we will visit two of the most beautiful lower city squares:

Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square (with Archeological Museum, music pavilion, beautiful park known as Zrinjevac with fountains and busts of prominent people who made significant contribution to art, science and public life),

Marshal Tito Square – with the Neo-Baroque building of the Croatian National Theatre from the end of the 19th century may as well be declared the most beautiful square in Zagreb (with Zagreb University President’s Office and the Faculty of Law, Ivan Meštrović’s sculptures “The History of Croats” and “the Well of Life”, The Museum of Arts and Crafts). Coffee at one of the most popular cafes here (Kavkaz cafe).

With a transport (bus 106 or car) it is also possible to visit one of the most beutiful cemeteries in Europe:

MIROGOJ CEMETERY

Mirogoj, the central Zagreb cemetery, situated on the slopes of Medvednica is not only the burial place but also a beautiful park and an open art gallery. The well-known architect Herman Bolle designed the shape of the cemetery, applying a monumental composition of arcades, pavilions and domes, intermingled with rich vegetation, and adding a gallery of sculptures by Croatian sculptures.