Zagreb and the Adriatic Coast

See map at the bottom of the page for relative location of some of the places shown here.

	Ban Josip Jelacic Square, Zagreb.  Capital of Croatia, Zagreb is set attractively between a small range of hills to the north and the Sava River to the south.  Although it appears somewhat older, most of the buildings which face this square were built in the early 19C.
	Two street scenes in Stari Grad, or Old Town, section of Zagreb.  This section of Zagreb is perched on a hill overlooking Tomislav Square and the modern center.
	Flowers, Strossmeyer Square (Strossmeyerov Trg), Zagreb.  Around this square are the Croatian Academy of Science and Art, and the Academy Archives, with a good  collection of Old Master paintings.
	Zagreb, King Tomislav Square.  Named for King Tomislav, the first king of an independent Croatia in the 11C.  This square lies directly opposite the main Zagreb railway station.
	War damage along the Una River (in Kostajnica and Dvor), which forms the border between Croatia and Bosnia.  The mound of dirt in the top photo is a bombed out Catholic church.  The road in the bottom photo leads to a bridge across the Una just a few meters beyond.  This part of Croatia and Bosnia witnessed some of the worst incidents of ethnic cleansing in the 1991-5 war.  Heavily armed Croatian police prevented me from taking photos of a damaged bridge and of explicit nationalist propaganda, eg, racial epithets scrawled on the sides of Serb-owned homes following their expulsion in 1995.
	Crikvenica.  This small city lies at the northerly head of the Rijeka Gulf of the Adriatic, with a picturesque setting among scrub covered hills.
	Two views of Rijeka, the third largest city on Croatia and a major port.  Founded by the Romans, it has had a complicated history, being at various times subject to rule by Italians, Hungarians, French and Austrians.  It was incorporated into Italy in 1924, and was rejoined to Yugoslavia (Croatia) after WWII.  Today it is a pleasant port city with a vaguely Italian character with very few tourists.
	Two views of Motovun.  This is the finest of several hill towns in the Istrian peninsula, and is surrounded at its base by vineyards.  These towns have a strong Italian influence reflecting both their geographic and historic proximity.
	Rovinj is situated along the western edge of the Istrian peninsula, and has been a popular resort for many years.  It has a large Italian minority, and the Italian city of Trieste is only about an hour's drive away.  The town is built on a rocky promontory which juts into the Adriatic, and the setting is particularly spectacular.
	Rovinj, street scenes.  Walking through street thronged with tourists from Germany, France, Italy, and the former countries of the Eastern block in the summer of 1997, I was incredulous at the number of Americans who believed such a journey would be fraught with danger upon my return home.
	Knin.  This town lies some 100kms inland, and is a key rail and communications junction connecting Zagreb to the Adriatic resorts.  The scene of the first organized resistance by Serbs who seceded from Croatia in 1990, events went full circle by August 1995, when the Croats ethnically cleansed the town.
	Knin Fortress.  Dating from the 11C, this fortress is the largest in Croatia, and was considerably enlarged by the Ottoman Turks in the 16C.  At the entrance when I visited was a large poster of Franjo Tudjman imposed on a backdrop of a picture of this fortress with huge red letters "5-8-95" superimposed - the date the Croats recaptured the town.
	Trogir, waterfront.  This town is situated on a small island, and has an almost perfectly preserved medieval core.  Founded as a Greek colony in the 3C BCE, it was captured by the Venetians in 998, and passed to the Austrians in 1797 before being incorporated into Yugoslavia in 1920.  Today it is one of the most picturesque towns along the Adriatic.
	Trogir, plaza (placa).  This is the main square in Trogir.
	Two views of public buildings in Trogir placa.  The upper building is the Loza, built in the 15C.  Its clock tower was once part of a Romanesque chapel, and was completed in 1447.  The lower building is the Vijecnica or Town Hall, which formerly served as the residence of the Venetian governor.
	Two views of Salona.  This major complex of ruins from the Roman and Byzantine periods lies a few kilometers outside Split.  The top photo is of the Manestrine, a small basilica dating from the 5C incorporating the burial site of St Domnius, the patron saint of Salona.  The lower photo shows the much larger basilica in the southern portion of the site, built mostly in the 4C.  In the background are the Dinaric Alps.

[ Home ] [ Up ]