The Holiday Season in Zagreb

The Holiday Season in Zagreb

Things to See, Hear and Taste during the Advent

A visit to the capital of Croatia and its thousand year history during the holiday season begins with a stroll around its neighborhoods: King Tomislav Square and Zrinjevac Park, with its fountains. From the park, a short walk on Praska street leads to the main square called Trg Bana Jelacica.

At the Cathedral, there is a Live Nativity Scene: stables, farm animals, realistic costumes and amateur actors impersonating the Holy Family, the Three Kings and the shepherds. The walk ends with a glass of warm cinnamon wine at one of the advent stands.

Zrinjevac Park

A music pavilion with a Christmas Fairy-Tale Look Christmas Classics and Waltzes

The Old Upper Town Gradec hill and the well-preserved 13^th Century Stone Gate, part of defense walls, St. Mark’s church with its famed multicolor roof, the Parliament buildings, St. Catherine’s church and the Lotrščak tower. Nearby, a Promenade with a great view of downtown Zagreb.

Samobor is a small town 20 km from Zagreb. The main square includes an 18th century manor housing the Samobor museum, St. Anastasia’s baroque church with beautiful altars and famous wall paintings. The Marton Gallery, Croatia’s first private museum, holds a collection of arts & crafts.

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Trakošćan Varaždin and Marija Bistrica Trakoščan Castle and Varaždin, once the capital of Croatia, has a well-preserved baroque urban complex. Marija Bistrica is the country’s’s most famous shrine; where people come to forgive or find the strength to forgive! The Eco Village Gradunje near Zagreb is a great place to dine and taste domestic wines and liqueurs.

Veliki Tabor is a fortress and a museum dating from  the 12th century. The collection  includes old vehicles, ethnographic items, the first manufacture of medicines, swords and armor, paintings and pottery, as well as a presentation of the noble Ratkaj family that used to own the castle.

The Ethno Village of Kumrovec Staro Selo Museum is the only open-air museum in Croatia. The restored and reconstructed buildings include 25 residential houses, 9 farm buildings and 8 smaller structures (2 corn sheds, 2 pigsties, and 4 wells), covering a total area of 12,640 square meters.

Krapina City and the Neanderthal museum The main museum attraction is the authentic reconstruction of a Neanderthal family of 17 people. The archaeological site on a hill called Husnjak had over eight hundred fossil remains of 75 Neanderthals along with tools and weapons, making it one of the most significant in Europe.

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Belriguardo Castle near Ferrara Italy

Renaissance Art  Archeology History and Regional Cuisine

Belriguardo Castle gets its name from a fifteenth century poet, so impressed with its beauty, that he exclaimed that he planned on bel riguardare, keep looking at it and admiring it!

It was built in 1435. At that time it had some of the characteristics of a castle - tower, battlements, drawbridge and a moat. However, all these elements had more of a decorative and less of a defensive function: in front of the tower there is a porch, behind the battlements there were no walk ways for the soldiers, along with many fixed bridges.

In practice, Belriguardo was a medieval castle turned into a Renaissance villa designed along the lines of a Greek one: the first courtyard had porticoes on three sides, with the second on all four sides. It was built as the summer residence of the Este family, rulers of nearby Ferrara from the 13^th century until 1598. In fact, Belriguardo can be considered the first summer residence of a European ruling family; a precursor of Versailles for the French monarchy, Venaria for the Savoy dynasty, the Quirinale and Castel Gandolfo for the popes, the Tsars’ palaces and the Caserta royal palace for the Bourbon kings of Naples.

With as many as 360 frescoed halls, on one occasion Belriguardo hosted simultaneously the courts of Ferrara, Bologna, Milan and Mantua; at least two thousand people could eat and sleep at court and its stables could hold 800 horses. The Este family entertained its guests with naval battles in the fishpond.

Inside this UNESCO protected property, one can admire the Sala della Vigna (1536), built by Duke Ercole II, son of Lucrezia Borgia, as well as many 16^th century frescoes by the Dossi brothers, Benvenuto Tisi and Girolamo da Carpi. The floor is one of the few orginals from this period.

Arts and Cooking Classes

The Civic Museum of Belriguardo is based in the castle and its archeological section includes the original wooden beams, known as composite beams, each in turn formed by seven smaller ones interlocked without the use of nails. Their design originates from a Leonardo Da Vinci drawing.

The Archaeological section contains finds from the Etruscan (IV-III century BC), Roman (I-III century AD) and Byzantine (VI-VII century AD) periods.  Some of the Roman period items are considered by researchers of great interest and a few are even unique in the world.

Belriguardo Castle is an excellent starting point for a visit to Ferrara and surrounding areas, one of the cradles of the Italian Renaissance. Nearby, you can taste the regional cuisine, considered the best in Italy.

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