Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of Croatia. It is situated between the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain and both northern and southern bank of the Sava river at an elevation of approximately 122 m (400 ft) above sea level.Its favorable geographic position in the southwestern part of the Pannonian Basin, which extends to the Alpine, Dinaric, Adriatic and Pannonic regions, provides an excellent connection for traffic between Central Europe and the Adriatic Sea. The transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific and research institutions and industrial tradition underlie its leading economic position in Croatia. Zagreb is the seat of the central government, administrative bodies and almost all government ministries.

Population

786,200

Official Website

www.zagreb.hr

History

Zagreb is a city with a rich history, with Roman settlements such as Andautonia existing as early as 1st century AD. The first recorded appearance of the name Zagreb is dated in 1094, at which time the city existed as two different city cores: smaller, eastern Kaptol, inhabited mainly by clergy and housing the Zagreb Cathedral, and larger, western Gradec, inhabited by other people, mainly farmers and merchants. Gradec and Zagreb were united in 1851 by ban Josip Jelačić, who was credited by naming the main city square, Ban Jelačić Square in his honour. During the former Yugoslavia, Zagreb was the main economical center of the country, and also its second-largest city. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Zagreb became the capital of Croatia.

Basics

Public Transport

Zagreb Municipal Transit System or ZET (Zagrebački Električni Tramvaj) is a branch of the Zagreb Holding specialized for passenger transportation in the city of Zagreb and one part of the Zagreb County. The prices for one way day travel ticket (4h-24h) for one travel zone (the whole area of City of Zagreb) is 8kn is bought outside of the tram/bus and 10kn if bought on board and for night travel ticket (24h-4h) 16kn if bought outside of the tram/bus and 20kn is bought on board. This kind of ticket is valid for unlimited number of travels in tram, bus or funicular for 90min from the moment of stamping. One way funicular ticket is 4kn or in case of emergency ride 37kn. The price of a daily first zone ticket is 25kn and it’s valid for unlimited number of travels by tram/bus/ funicular by day or night until midnight of the day of stamping.

Taxi

Tel. +985 1 66 00 671; + 385 1 66 01 235; Starting rates as of June 2005 are fixed at 19 kn, the price per kilometre is 7 kn/kn, waiting by the hour is 50 kn/h and an additional fee for luggage is charged (3 kn per piece of luggage). All the rates go up 20% from 10 PM to 5 AM (Mon-Sat) and during Sundays and national holidays the whole day. Taxis are obliged to have their taxi-meter on and you won't fare well if you try to bargain.

Trains

www.hznet.hr

Airport

www.zagreb-airport.hr/

Hospitals

There are several pharmacies (in Croatian Ljekarna) which are open 24 hours:

Trg bana J. Jelačića 2, tel. +385 1 48-16-159
Ilica 301, tel. +385 1 37-50-321
For serious injuries there is an emergency station called Ustanova za hitnu medicinsku pomoć Zagreb, Đorđićeva 26, Tel: 01 4600 911-Centrala. The emergency number for medical assistance is 94.

Internet

There are a number of Cyber Café's located around the city center:

SUBLINK CAFFE, Teslina 12

ART NET CLUB, Preradovićeva 25

AQU@RIUSNET, Kralja Držislava 4

ISKON INTERNET CENTAR, KIC Preradovićeva 5

CH@RLIE'S, Gajeva 4a

@VIP, Trg Petra Preradovića 5 (Cvjetni Trg) and Iblerov trg (Importanne galleria)

Other Cyber Cafe's:LUPILLUS, Horvaćanska cesta 31f

SMILE.NET, Pavla Hatza 24

GLOBAL NET KLUB, Importanne centar

NET KLUB MAMA, Preradovićeva 18

Insiders

Monuments

The most important zone is the very center of the city: Trg bana Jelačića (central square) with adjacent streets, squares and parks.

This area - the Downtown (Donji grad) was developed towards the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. It is shaped in the so-called Green Horseshoe. The eastern branch includes the palace of Croatian Academy of Science and Arts, the Pavilion of Arts and the monument of the first Croatian King Tomislav. The Botanical Garden forms the southern branch. The western branch consists of the buildings of the Croatian National Theatre, the University and the old National Library. In the Upper Town you should take a walk to Kaptol, St. Stephen's (or The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) Cathedral, then Grič where you can see St. Marco's Church with its famous mosaic roof, Sabor (the Parliament), Kamenita vrata (The Stone Gate), Lotršćak tower with the noon-cannon and there you can admire the view of the whole downtown area.

Outside the city center, you should see the beautiful park Maksimir with the ZOO, in the eastern part, and Mirogoj (Zagreb's cemetery) with its famous arcades. In the new part of Zagreb there are: the Lisinski concert hall, the new National University Library and, across the Sava river, the well-known Zagreb Fair.

Lots of historical pieces collected throughout the centuries are kept in more than 30 museums and galleries. You should visit the Mimara museum, a very famous museum of fine arts donated by the great collector A.T. Mimara. Other museums also worth seeing are: the Museum of Arts and Crafts, the Art Gallery in the Upper Town, Strossmayer's Gallery of Old Masters and (you must not miss this) the Technical Museum. For more information, you can contact the Tourist Information Center (TIC) at Trg bana Jelačića 11.

Shopping

The most important shopping zones are the streets adjacent to the central square Ilica,Vlaška, Jurišićeva, Teslina) with many small shops and boutiques. There are few shopping centers: station Importanne Center (near the main railway), Importanne Gallery (in Vlaška) and Kaptol Center, Mercatone. If you run out of money, and posses an AMEX, Diners or EuroCard/MasterCard credit card, there are a lot of places in Zagreb where you can draw your money. Unfortunately, there are only two locations in Zagreb where owners of a Visa credit card can make transactions (Vlaška 26 and Zrinjevac 16).

Nightlife

Zagreb has a very interesting nightlife. There are various streets with many pleasant cafés and pubs (Tkalčićeva, Opatovina, Teslina) becoming very alive in the evening until the morning hours.In addition to this, Zagreb has a large number of discotheques and night clubs, the most popular are: 'Hemingway Bar', Trg maršala Tita; 'Saloon', Tuškanac 1a; 'The Best', Jarunska cesta 5; 'Aquarius', Jarun (the lake); 'The Gallery', Jarun (the lake); 'Papaya', Schlosserove stube 2; 'Mango Mambo Bar', Schlosserove stube 2;  'Gjuro II', Medvešćak 2;   and 'Sokol Klub', Trg Maršala Tita 6. 'Močvara' (The Swamp) and  'Jabuka' (The Apple) are reserved for alternative music fans.