I enjoyed my adventure in Zagreb, Croatia, so much. It’s a beautiful city with a lot of great things to see and do. This recently free country is full of history and tragedy but also has somewhat of an unusual past. So, I put together some of the fun facts about Zagreb that I learned on my journey.
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1: Home Of The Worlds Shortest Funicular
One of Zagreb’s biggest tourist attractions is the world’s shortest funicular. This little trolley travels uphill a whopping 216 feet. It’s a quick ride, only one minute, so get your camera out before you get on. Once at the top though you will find a great view of the city.
2: The Cannon At Noon
When you take the trip up the top of the funicular, you will be right in front of a building. You can’t see it in the photo, but in that window is a cannon. Every day at noon, the cannon is fired (with nothing in it) to inform people of the time. It’s a long-standing tradition.
*Due to having a couple of earthquakes this past year, they stopped for a bit. The rumbles were making citizens uneasy.
3: Beware Of Witches
One of the many fun facts about Zagreb is they used to believe in witches. Okay, this was a common thing all over the world back in the day. But, you can still find spikey roof ornaments that were meant to bring down the low flying witches at night.
4: The Lighting Fixtures In Their Cathedral Have A Sorted Past
So, there was a bit of a controversy over the chandeliers that currently hang in Zagreb Cathedral. They were donated. And the church accepted them. But they were donated by (GASP) a casino. This caused some uproar because they came from a gambling establishment. But, it didn’t keep the cathedral from accepting the donation. So these “sinful” light fixtures still hang today.
5: The Holy Painting That Survided
In 1731 Zagreb was part of a horrible fire. It burned down most of the city, leaving it in ashes. But there was a painting of Mary and Jesus that was found among the rubble completely unscorched. To this day, you can find the image behind a protected gate on the street where people go to pray for miracles…Just like the painting that survived the fire.
6: The Streets Are Lit Up By Gas
Here’s something fun about Zagreb. Their street lights are powered by gas. After all these years, the old part of town still has men going around and hand-lighting each lantern and putting them out at night. This is interesting considering who was born here.
7: Nikola Tesla Was Born Here
The man behind modern-day electricity, Nikola Tesla, was born in Croatia. You will find markers of this famous electrical engineer throughout the city. He even came to Zagreb to meet with them to get electricity powered in the streets. But, as you read above, that still hasn’t happened to this day.
8: A Tale Of Two Cities
Zagreb wasn’t always a city. It started as two cities, Kaptol and Gradec that were separated by a narrow river. The two were constantly fighting. So much so that the bridge between the two towns was called “Blood Bridge.” The two eventually made peace with each other, and Zagreb was formed. The water that separated them is now a street, and the bridge they once fought at is a short road.
9: Mink Money
The Kuna is the Croatian currency. I found out on my adventure that a kuna is actually a mink. So if you look at their money, you will see a little mink. The tour I went on told me to hold onto a couple because she doesn’t think they will be around much longer, as they are slowly moving towards the Euro.
10: The Fountain Of Love
One of my favorite fun facts about Zagreb is about the fountain in the center of town. Okay, this isn’t so much a fact, but more of a legend. Mandusevac fountain has a few stories behind it. But the most simple one is that if you drink the water in the fountain, you will fall in love. Of course, the fountain is extremely dirty now that it is filled with pigeons bathing in it and other things that come with city life. So if you are desperate to find love, you might want to skip this option. There is a chance you will end up in the hospital knocking on Death’s door instead of being hit with Cupid’s arrow.
I Hope You Enjoyed These Fun Facts About Zagreb, Croatia
Do you have any fun facts about this little city? If so, leave them in the comments below. And don’t forget to head to my HOMEPAGE and vote for where I should head next. Because it’s not just my adventure, it’s OUR adventure.
Mgmodern
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Sorted to sordid in Zagreb fun facts article
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