Gradec, Zagreb - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Gradec or Grič is a part of the Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

, Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, and together with Kaptol

Kaptol, Zagreb

Kaptol is a part of Zagreb, Croatia in the upper town and it is the seat of the Roman Catholic archbishop of Zagreb.-History:The existence of Kaptol, the settlement on the east slope, was confirmed in 1094 when King Ladislaus founded the Zagreb diocese. The bishop, his residence and the Cathedral...

it is the mediaeval nucleus of the city. It's situated on the hill of Gornji Grad

Gornji Grad - Medvešcak

Gornji Grad – Medveščak is one of the districts of Zagreb, Croatia; Gornji Grad translates as Upper Town. It is bordered by four other districts: Donji Grad in the south, Črnomerec in the west, Gornja Dubrava in the east and Podsljeme in the north...

History

Gradec was given a royal charter by King Bela IV in 1242. The royal charter, also called the Golden Bull

Golden Bull

A Golden Bull or chrysobull was a golden ornament representing a seal , attached to a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors and later by monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The term was originally coined for the golden seal itself but came to be applied to the entire decree...

, was a very important document by which Gradec was declared and proclaimed "a free royal city on Gradec, the hill of Zagreb". This act made Gradec a feudal holding responsible directly to the king. The citizens were given rights of different kinds; among other things they were entitled to elect their own "city judge" fulfilling the role of a mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

. They were also entitled to manage their own affairs.

The citizens engaged in building defensive walls and towers around their settlement, fearing a new Mongol invasion

Mongol invasion of Europe

The resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked medieval Rus' principalities and the powers of Poland and Hungary, was marked by the Mongol invasion of Rus starting in 21 December 1237...

. They completed the defensive system at a time between 1242 and 1261. It could be rightly assumed that by building its fortification walls in the middle of the 13th century, Gradec acquired its outward appearance that can be clearly seen in today's Gornji Grad. The defensive walls enclosed the settlement in the shape of a triangle, its top located near the tower called Popov toranj and its base at the south wall (today's Strossmayer Promenade) and Lotrščak tower, which could be explained by the shape of the hill. In some places, rectangular and semicircular towers fortified the defensive walls.

There were four main gates leading to the town: the west gate in the Mesnička Street, the new north gate, later known as the Opatička Street gate, Dverce in the south and the Kamenita vrata (Stone gate) in the east. Kamenita vrata is the only gate still preserved to date.

Gornji Grad today

Gornji Grad is a local government unit, encompassing a population of 3,432.

Undoubtedly, the focal point of Gornji Grad is the square around St. Mark's Church

St. Mark's Church, Zagreb

Church of St. Mark is the parish church of old Zagreb.-Overview:The Romanesque window found in its south facade is the best evidence that the church must have been built as early as the 13th century as is also the semicircular groundplan of St...

that had been called St. Mark's Square

St. Mark's Square, Zagreb

St. Mark's Square is a square located in the old part of Zagreb, Croatia, called Gradec or Gornji grad .In the center of square is located St. Mark's Church. The square also sports important governmental buildings: Banski dvori , Croatian Parliament and Constitutional Court of Croatia. On the...

for years. St. Mark's Church is the parish church

Parish church

A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

of Old Zagreb. When guilds developed in Gradec in the 15th, and later in the 17th century, being the societies of craftsmen, their members including masters, journeymen and apprentices would gather regularly in St. Mark's Church.

On the opposite side of the Square at the corner of Basaričekova Street lies the St. Mark's parish office. The house has been standing there since the 16th century, although it underwent reconstruction in the 18th century and had an extension added in the 19th century. At the west end of St. Mark's Square, the mansion called Banski dvori
Banski dvori
Banski dvori |Courts]] of the Ban) is the name of the historical building on the west side of St. Mark's Square in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the historical official residence of the Croatian Bans, who where the Croatian Viceroys after 1102...

, the former residence of the Civil Governor of Croatia , was built at the beginning of the 19th century and yet, it can be classed among the Zagreb antiquities. Banski dvori, along with the Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

mansion beside it, is the seat of the Government of the Republic of Croatia

Government of Croatia

The Government of the Republic of Croatia , commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government , is the main element of the executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the President of the Government , commonly abbreviated to premier...

. Since 1734, the Croatian Parliament has taken up the east side of St. Mark's Square.

Gornji Grad was recently closed to car traffic except for residents, making it prima facie a pedestrian zone.

External links

http://www.guide.ndo.co.uk/html/oldzagreb.html
http://zagreb-city.info/zagreb-photos/43-zagreb-gradec-upper-town/55-gradecgornji-grad-upper-town-zagreb-

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Gornji Grad today

See also

External links