Croatia. Historic Zagreb and Waterfalls of Plitvice Lakes National Park
Zagreb is easily my favorite city within the former nation of Yugoslavia. The capital and largest city (population 767,000) in Croatia, Zagreb has ornate churches, medieval architecture, and dozens of quaint restaurants and cafés. The city is located along the Sara River, near Medvednica Mountain (1035m) and the country’s border with Slovenia. The present-day city is on the site of the former Roman town of Andautonia. Beginning in the 13th century, Zagreb was a Royal free city of the Kingdom of Hungary. The city suffered from the plague and devastating fires during the 17th and 18th centuries. Beginning in 1918, Zagreb became part of Yugoslavia and for a brief period during World War II, it was occupied by Italian and German forces. Finally, in 1991 the city became the nation’s capital when Croatia declared its independence.
We arrived by rental car but decided to do the majority of our reconnaissance on foot. Among the city’s most impressive historical structures is the twin-towered Cathedral of Zagreb (aka the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Stephen and Ladislav). Constructed in the 11th century, the Gothic cathedral is the second tallest building in Croatia and an important cultural symbol. Its two 108-meter towers are tall enough to be seen in most of Zagreb. Inside is the grave of Cardinal Aloysius Viktor Stepinac who served as archbishop of Zagreb for many years. Stepinac is known for having saved 6,000 Jews from death during the Holocaust.
Among the most attractive buildings in Old Zagreb is the Church of Saint Mark, located on the corner of Ćiril and Metod Street and adjacent to St. Mark’s Square. The church was constructed in the 13th century using a semi-circular plan and later rebuilt with a Gothic design featuring three naves. The church’s round columns are surrounded by ribbed vaults cut in stone. On its south portal are fifteen sculptures, eleven fashioned from stone and four made from wood. The sculptures depict St. Mark, the Virgin Mary, Christ, and the Twelve Apostles. The church’s most striking feature is its roof, constructed in 1880 using colored tiles that display the coat of arms of Zagreb (a white castle with a red background) and the shield of the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia (in red, white, and blue colors).
Although we weren’t able to go inside, we walked past Zagreb’s unique “Museum of Broken Relationships.” The museum’s mission is to honor “failed love” through personal items from past relationships. It was founded by two artists who ended a romantic relationship in 2003. The couple joked about creating a place to display objects that were important to former couples and subsequently asked friends and acquaintances to donate items and the stories associated with them. Opening in 2010, the museum showcases, among other things, an axe used by a woman in Berlin to destroy her former boyfriend’s furniture.
Located 146 kilometers south of Zagreb and near the Croatian border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the spectacular Plitvice Lakes National Park. Covering an area of 297 square kilometers, the park was created in 1949 within a karst saddle of the Dinaric Alps between Mount Plješivica and Mount Mala Kapela. The larger region is pockmarked by sinkholes called dolina that form as weak acids in running water dissolve rock. In 1979, the park was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Plitvice Lakes National Park is best known for its unique lakes and waterfalls. Located in the south portion of the park and near the confluence of Crna Rijeka (Black River) and Biljela Rijeka (White River), the park’s succession of 16 lakes is sustained by rainfall originating in nearby mountains. The park’s blue-gray and green lakes are separated by natural dams formed by travertine that interacts with mosses, aquatic bacteria, and algae. Water passing through the lakes descends 600 meters over a distance of eight kilometers, eventually flowing into the Korana River. The park has a rich assemblage of wildlife including lynx, grey wolf, and brown bear. We parked and paid the admission at the east entrance. Subsequently, we began our exploration of the park’s lakes and waterfalls by following a 3.5-kilometer trail/boardwalk loop. Above the lakes are ragged bluffs of karstic rock, principally dolomite and limestone, that are covered by beech and fir trees. The route took us around one of the lower lakes called Novakovića brod and past two waterfalls, Sastacvi slap and Veliki slap. We continued around three other lakes, Kaluderovac, Gravanovac, and Milanovac. At 78 meters, the park’s tallest waterfall is Veliki slap (meaning “large waterfall”). Rather than flowing directly into a plunge pool, the waterfall spreads outward, forming several channels that flow over a round dome.
