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ZAGREB

My hometown!

OK! Let's bore you little bit more!
I'll try to make this little more fun that realy is! You know how things are going with turistical guides or pamflets. They are full of boring stuff, full of lies and whan I read tham, I always get wrong impresion about place thay advertising. To avoid such reaction, I'll add my comments after every part that comes in turistical guide: "Zagreb. The new European Metropolis".
One more thing I must add. If you see that I'm not responding to your E-mail, after uploading this pages, it means that someone from goverment read this and didn't like it! So, to prevent that "negative" publicity for Zagreb, Croatia and expecialy folks at power, thay may decide to put me away. Please, than contact Amnesty International and try to work an azil for Lynx. HAHAHAHAHA!


First let's hit title itself.
ZAGREB - that's OK
The New European Metropolis - Well, Zagreb is NOT new european metropolis. In fact Zagreb was metropolis before many metropolis of present time. And than it was european metropolis all right. But today, thanks to our beloved goverment it's not new, it's not european and it's not metropolis. But all goverments meet their end, so this one will too. Maybe than Zagreb will be again european metropolis.
Today Zagreb is provincial city with more rural inhabitans (better incomers) than real urban people. Special agressive are folks from Hercegovina (One may insult tham most if you call it part of Bosnia - what that land infact is!). Mentality of this people from mountain (how real urban people often refers to tham) afects mentality of whole city.
Front page of our Turistical guide
On this beautyful picture you can see one of "brilliant" achivement of croatian arhitecture: Tollest building in Zagreb, called Zagrepcanka.
This "masterpiece" is completly copy of one building in New York. So that it's marbel plates (designed for New York, not for Zagreb) falls down every day. What you can't see on this picture is fence that surrounds building, preventing people to come too close. You never know what can land on your head!
You may not know where it is, but you've almost certenly heard of it. (Have you??). Alphabetically, Zagreb might be at the end of a league table of European capitals, but strategically it is at beginning of any exploration of south-east Europe. (Thanks to Iron curtain of USSR eastern Europe capitals was realy behind Croatia's capital, but in few years they will be infront, if something drastic will not occur. And what about Athens?). On the sixteenth meridian of eastern longitude, it lies between the Alps and the Panonian plain (You "sure" know where Panonian plain is, are you?). The capital of Croatia sits significantly on the river Sava, halfway along its winding journey from Alpes tothe Danube.
Over the centuries Zagreb has evolved as the natural intersection of several international traffic routes,
Arts Pavilion
the economic, cultural and administative heart of the region and mighty (Oo, yes you read it right MIGHTY!) city of one million inhabitants.
The Lower Town of Zagreb forms a well designed (it's realy well designed cause it was designed in late 19. century, but present city autorities are desperate to "improve" that well design!) green horseshoe around the classicist palaces The necklace of parks is studded with important public buildings. American ambasy is one of tham. You will easy spot it by long line of young people waiting infront to get "green card". Tha scene is dominated by the statue of the first Croatian King Tomislav, from the 10th century. Although he was Croatian first, his statue is in bad shape. Corosion and pigeons. He wasn't so lucky to be removed by communists. If he had, he would look like one other monument you will see.
Zrinjevac square with Arts Pavilion
One remark to this picture. This beautiful tree-line was cut down two years ago, because lot of people was alergic at it's flowers!?
Officals said trees was ill. All of them? Street on the left is object of frequent "excavations". First telephone lines, than gas pipes, than tram, than new telephone lines again. Surly I wouldn't live in that neigbourhood! But American ambassy always menage to secure its power and water unlike other inhabitants of that Praska street.
On the main city square (former Jelacic square, than Republical square, and again...) Jelacic square, you can see statue of Ban Josip Jelacic. He was commander of Austrian army of Croats (understand? well it's complicated Croatia history, amazing even myself from time to time!) who kicked some Hungarian buts back in 19th century. He also take part in Croatian Assembly but, that is really history. His monument was taken away by communistic pro-serbian authorities after the WW II. With new democracy (than in 1990 it seemed that way) Ban had returned to his position. You can imagine how many newspaper articles was written abou where his sabre should point. Amazing!
Return of the Ban... Man that was spectacle! Even laser beams was involved! Kitch? No way! Why you wonder?
That is statue of Ban Jelacic
Now to avoid anger of any of you who would like to stop this, I'll leave you choice to proceede or to go back. Pictures are cut down as much as posibile. But if you feel like going back...