Travel in Zagreb - Croatia - Europe - Culture

Zagreb - Culture

In the area of collective sports, basketball is very popular. The best players have been: Kresimir Cosic (1948-1995; he spent last years of his life in the USA as the Croatian diplomat); became only the third international player ever elected to the world's Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball; Drazen Petrovic (you can see his beautiful monument in the Olympic park in Lausanne, Switzerland); Toni Kukoc; and Dino Radja. Two best basketball teams are: Cibona (Zagreb) and the former Jugoplastika (Split), which were several times European champions.

After the morning rush, the city softens its business profile with the laughter of youth, the songs of street buskers, and bright faces behind the glass windows of its many cafés. The diversity, sprit and vision are those of modern capital but, at the same time, some of the idyll of the past has been preserved. The colour of the Cvjetni (Flower) Square overflowing with flowers, the serenity of its Upper Town, the Cannon on Lotrscak Tower that has been fired every day at noon for more than a century... really, the city has something for everyone. It is big enough to have everything a capital needs, yet small enough for its streets and squares to be remembered. Indeed, do you remember ever sipping your first morning coffee on a square full of flowers and then felt the urge, without rhyme or reason, to buy a freshly picked bouquet?

And when at last your morning at a business meeting or convention has concluded, you can become acquainted with a new side of Zagreb - it’s laid back mood and beauty, its restaurants and stores. Art and decorative items, including crystal, paintings by world famous Croatian masters of the naive art form, designs straight from international catwalks or by local designers are waiting for you. And then there are authentic souvenirs, a truly unique way of showing you have not forgotten - you were probably not aware that Croatia is the birthplace of the necktie, nor that the first ball-point pen was invented in Zagreb by Slavoljub Penkala.

At the close of the day, when you want to sit down in one of Zagreb's restaurants, here is a real gastronomic Mecca. You will have a truly remarkable choice from seafood, vegetarian and classical restaurants to snack bars or real gastronomic shrines. But words are insufficient you must taste the food. Try local specialties perhaps - we can recommend the Zagrebacki odrezak (veal cutlet filled with ham and cheese and then fried), Turkey with Mlinci (thinly-rolled pastry baked at high temperature and then boiled), and the original Zagorski Strukli, a continental specialty made from local pastry and cheese.

And when the city lights are dimmed, a different Zagreb will emerge before your eyes, a city which moves to the rhythm of modern and classical dance mingled with the romantic sounds of a piano from a bar. You could even try your luck in one of the casinos. Different and with more dazzle, it still remains the same old Zagreb that you know - serene and safe, charming and friendly.

Green hills dotted with churches, romantic castles and thermal springs, tales and legends, a return to the old life as recalled in stories and books – Hrvatsko Zagorje, in north-western Croatia, is this and much more. After the Loire Valley, this region has the highest concentration of castles in Europe offering you the opportunity to escape into a very unique world of romance. The area also boasts of renowned shrines, such as Marija Bistrica, as important to Croats as Lourdes is to the French, Fatima to the Portugese, and Loretto to the Italians. An important feature in the lives of the locals, but not just to them, the votive Church of Saint Marija Snjezna is a most valuable work of Croatian baroque.

The famous wine trails are equally enjoyable for lovers of good wine, good food and the beauty of nature. Here at a small inn you can enjoy extremely tasty specialties of the region or try the wine that your hosts, proud of their vineyards and wine cellars, will gladly offer you. Past has been frozen here ... tomorrow is heralded by a rooster, not an alarm clock!

The area boasts millennia of history. Remains of Paleolithic man were discovered on Husnjakovo Mountain near Krapina and many other discoveries from the Stone and Bronze Age confirm that this region was inhabited in prehistoric times. Time has stood still in the unspoiled village of Kumrovec, the only original Ethno Village in the world, where you have the opportunity to enjoy the demonstration of old handicrafts.

You could wander off through history; become a researcher putting together a mosaic from secrets of shrouded castles or museums. Hrvatsko Zagorje has more monuments than any other area of Croatia with the exception of the Adriatic region. It has around 275 protected cultural monuments, of which some twenty are castles and manors. You could spend an enchanted evening in a castle, allowing yourself to live briefly in the past and learn about customs. You will return to the present richer with the feeling that this, however, is your time.

Building castles in this area began at the end of 16th century, relatively early even by European standards. Most, however, were built in the second half of the 17th century and in the 18th century under the direct influence of central European and Austrian styles of construction. The mould is obvious - what other than the baroque model of a feudal castle, Versailles. It is difficult to set apart any one of these castles for they are all beautiful and historically significant. The one in Gornja Bistra, an impeccable architectural achievement, is an example of grand baroque, built to suit the tastes of the 18th century high society. Among the most beautiful certainly is that of Gornja Bedekovcina, which marks the starting point and culmination of the development of single-winged castle. Visitors will also be attracted to the beautiful Miljana, Bezanec and Veliki Tabor castles, as well as Trakoscan, one of the stateliest.

Festivities, which your hosts organise in celebration of holidays, will be adorned by gingerbread deftly decorated with vivid colours, mead and carousels, customary Zagorje caps and delightful songs of people happy to welcome and entertain their guests. No doubt, you will receive the same welcome.

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