Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cost and Hours:
30 kn, 20-kn audioguide nicely supplements the posted descriptions,
Tue-Fri10:00-18:00,Sat11:00-19:00,Sun10:00-14:00,closedMon,atnorthendofGradec
Visiting the Museum:
Afterbuyingyourticket,headthroughthedoorandturnleft,then
work your way up through the ages. Each display has a fine English description. On the
largely skippable ground floor, you'll loop through the prehistoric and Roman periods, and
the medieval growth of the twin towns of Gradec and Kaptol. You'll see city symbols and
flags, a town model from 1795, statues from the main portal of the cathedral (17th-century
Baroque) and other religious art, and a small collection of cleverly decorated 18th-century
weathervanes.
Upstairs, the exhibit lingers on Zagreb's boom time in the 19th century, when it was an
increasingly spruced-up and genteel outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The exhibits
considervariousfacetsofsocietyduringthatera.You'llseemorereligiousart,furniture,ar-
istocraticportraits,anothertownmodel(fromthe1860s),alife-sizeportraitofnationalhero
Josip Jela
č
i
ć
(and his actual uniform), and colorfully painted shooting targets. One room
has a giant city map on the floor, punctuated with models of key buildings. You'll also find
models of old storefronts, theater costumes, and exhibits on public utilities and social life.
The coverage of the tumultuous 20th century is perhaps most engaging, evincing an
understandably bad attitude about the Serb-dominated first Yugoslav period. Propaganda
posterscheeronthecommunistperiod,whileallofthishistoricalheavinessisbalancedbya
lighthearted exhibit about Zagreb's popular cartoon industry. The finale is a room dedicated
to the creation of independent Croatia, including an exhibit on damage sustained during the
warandafilmwithclipsfromvariouslandmarksinCroatianindependence: aviolentriotat
a heated 1990 soccer match between Dinamo Zagreb and Belgrade's Crvena Zvezda (“Red
Star”) team; the election and arrival in parliament of the pro-independence Franjo Tu
đ
man;
and the return of the statue of Jela
č
i
ć
to his namesake square.
In1930,ZagrebtoredownmuchofKaptol'sricketyoldmedievalOldTowntobuildthisas-
central-as-possible market. Today, it's jammed with producers from the surrounding coun-
tryside—and all over Croatia—selling all manner of fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, fish,
and other foodstuffs. A stroll through the market offers insight into the colorful local cul-
ture, and the chance to pick up a few picnic items.
Cost and Hours:
Free, open Mon-Fri 7:00-15:00, Sat 7:00-14:00, Sun 7:00-13:00. To
reach the market easily from Jela
č
i
ć
Square, walk one block up the street to the left of the
Jela
č
i
ć
statue, and climb up the stairs.
Visiting the Market:
The market has two sections—indoor (with meat and cheese) and
outdoor (produce, just above). Begin by exploring the outdoor section, then head inside. At
