Zagreb, Croatia :: essays research papers

SUBJECT ZAGREB, CROATIAWelcome to one of the most beautiful cities in Central Europe, Zagreb Although located in a democracy plagued by war, it offers safety, a strong history, and many tourism destinations. It is considered to be the focal point of culture and science, and now of commerce and industry as well in Croatia. HISTORYOriginally a suburb of the ancient Roman town of Andautonia, the Mongols invaded it in 1242. It became an important city of Croatia and Slovenia, which at the present time were provinces of Hungary, in the subsequent part of the 13th century. In the 19th century, when Croatia was fighting for independence, Zagreb became an integral part of the nationalist movement. It became the capital of the Croatian Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945. When, in 1992, Croatia became and independent state, Zagreb remained as the capital.PLACES OF INTERESTZagreb has three major regions. The Upper Town, Gornji grad, is over one thousand years old. It contains most of the citys m useums, galleries and churches. It is also the home of the Presidential Palace, Banski Dvori, and Sabor, the Parliament. The gl atomic number 18 Town, Dolnji grad, mostly developed in the 1900s, is home to most restaurants, cafes, theatres, parks, shopping, and more importantly the nightlife. Of least liaison to tourist would be Novi Zagreb, which hosts many skyscrapers and nothing of major interest .Zagreb is called a city of museums as there are more of them per square foot than any other city in the world. Some of these are the Strossmayer Gallery, the Gallery of Modern Art, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Mimara museum which, with almost 4,000 priceless objects, is one of the finest art galleries in Europe. Other interesting artifacts located in Zagreb are the longest beak of writing in ancient Etruscan, and the remains of the Krapina prehistoric man.The main square in the city is Trg Bana Jelacica. Once there all sights are within base on balls distance. It hosts a number o f churches and cathedrals, which are very important to the Roman Catholic religion. Such as the Archbishops Palace, which is attached to the beautiful St. Stephens Cathedral. Ivan Mestovic, a Croatian storied sculptor, has many works in St. Marks Church, another important sight. Located in Upper Town is the Stone Gate of the 13th century, on it is a painting of the Virgin Mary, which survived the great fire of 1731 and also serves as a place of pilgrimage.