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Vintage photos of Zagreb,Croatia from the late 19th Century

Ian Smith
Ban Jelacic Square, Zagreb, 1891
Ban Jelacic Square, Zagreb, 1891

Zagreb is a city with a rich history dating from the Roman times to the present day. The oldest settlement in the urban area of the city is Andautonia, a Roman settlement in the place of today’s Ščitarjevo. The name “Zagreb” is mentioned for the first time in 1094 at the founding of the Zagreb diocese of Kaptol, and Zagreb became a free royal town in 1242, whereas the origin of the name still remains a mystery in spite of several theories.

One of them is that when Slavs arrived in the area they named their settlement as Za-agram, meaning a place behind, or near Agram. The name was given to the place in the same manner as the names for Zagora, or for Zagorje, or for Zadar. Through a linguistic change the final consonant in Za-agram morphed into a “b” , and “Zagrab” became a Zagreb.

 

In 1851 Zagreb had its first mayor, Janko Kamauf, and in 1945 it was made the capital of Croatia when the demographic boom and the urban sprawl made the city as it is known today.

 

 

Street near the intersection with the Frankopan, 1893
Street near the intersection with the Frankopan, 1893

 

Ban Jelacic Square, Zagreb, 1891
Ban Jelacic Square, Zagreb, 1891

 

Ban Jelacic Square, Zagreb, ca. 1890
Ban Jelacic Square, Zagreb, ca. 1890

 

Economic fair in the place where today the National Theatre, Zagreb, 1891
Economic fair in the place where today the National Theatre, Zagreb, 1891

 

Harmica, Zagreb, 1861
Harmica, Zagreb, 1861

Zagreb has a special status in the Republic of Croatia’s administrative division and is a consolidated city-county (but separated from Zagreb County), and is administratively subdivided into 17 city districts, most of them being at low elevation along the river Sava valley, whereas northern and northeastern city districts, such as Podsljeme and Sesvete districts are situated in the foothills of the Sljeme mountain, making the city’s geographical image rather diverse. The city extends over 30 kilometres (19 miles) east-west and around 20 kilometres (12 miles) north-south.

Hotel K Caru Austrijanskomu, Zagreb, 1880
Hotel K Caru Austrijanskomu, Zagreb, 1880

 

Hotel Pruckner, Zagreb, 1844
Hotel Pruckner, Zagreb, 1844

It is difficult to decide which period in the city’s history to consider “Old Zagreb,” as popularized by Gjuro Szabo, an admirer of the Zagreb antiquities and a promoter of their conservation. Zagreb’s origins are ancient and influenced by legend due to the absence of manuscripts or sufficient archaeological finds from those times. However, Zagreb does have much history. “Old Zagreb” was two settlements situated on two neighboring hills, Gradec (also known as Gornji Grad) andKaptol, and the houses lying in the valley between them along the former Medveščak creek (today’s Tkalčićeva Street) and those at the beginning of Vlaška Street III beneath the bishopric (later archbishopric).

Old Zagreb displays the continuity of urban settlement from the thirteenth century to early 1900’s. The existence of the settlement Kaptol on the east slope was confirmed in 1094, when King Ladislaus founded the Zagreb bishopric. The bishop, his residence and the Cathedral had their seat in the southeast part of the Kaptol hill. Vlaška Ves, situated in the close vicinity of the Cathedral and under the bishop’s jurisdiction, was first mentioned in 1198. Kaptol Street ran from the south to the north across the Kaptol terrace with canons’ residences arranged in rows alongside. Kaptol derives its name from “capitulum,” the Latin word for a group or body of canons. The canons also ruled this settlement. In 1334, the canons of Zagreb established a colony of Kaptol serfs in the vicinity of their residences, north of Kaptol. This was the beginning of a new settlement called Nova Ves (the present day Nova Ves Street).

Jurjevac, Zagreb, 1871
Jurjevac, Zagreb, 1871

 

Kaptol, Zagreb, ca. 1899
Kaptol, Zagreb, ca. 1899

 

Petar Preradovic Square and the Orthodox Church, 1897
Petar Preradovic Square and the Orthodox Church, 1897

 

Peter Preradovic Monument, 1895
Peter Preradovic Monument, 1895

 

Petrinjska, Zagreb, 1890
Petrinjska, Zagreb, 1890

 

Rudolf Barracks main building, Zagreb, 1889
Rudolf Barracks main building, Zagreb, 1889

 

The Zagreb Botanical Garden, 1892
The Zagreb Botanical Garden, 1892

 

 

 

Ian Smith

Ian Smith is one of the authors writing for The Vintage News