The Lenuci Horseshoe or the Green Horseshoe (Croatian : Lenucijeva potkova, Zelena potkova; "Lenuci" is also sometimes spelled "Lenuzzi") is a U-shaped system of city squares with parks in downtown (Donji grad) Zagreb, Croatia. [1] The horseshoe was conceived in 1882 by Croatian urbanist Milan Lenuci. The parks were designed between 1883 and 1887, at a time when today's Donji grad formed the southern outskirts of Zagreb. The construction was helped by the efforts to rebuild the city after the 1880 Zagreb earthquake, and in 1889 the entire horseshoe was finished—its two ends were connected by the newly built Zagreb Botanical Garden. The park system consists of seven squares aligned on three straight lines.
The squares comprising the horseshoe are arranged in three straight lines on Donji grad's grid plan, forming the west, south and east side of the horseshoe. [1] Starting from northeast and going clockwise, the horseshoe is formed by Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square (locally known as Zrinjevac), Josip Juraj Strossmayer Square, King Tomislav Square, Ante Starčević Square, Lenuci fitness park, Zagreb Botanical Garden, Marko Marulić Square, Ivan Mažuranić Square and Republic of Croatia Square. [2] [3] The horseshoe is home to the headquarters of many organizations and institutions in Zagreb, as well as several museums: Archeological Museum, [4] Modern Gallery, [5] Art Pavilion, [5] Croatian State Archives, [6] Ethnographic Museum [7] and Museum of Arts and Crafts. [8] The greenery is interrupted between Ante Starčević Square and the Lenuci fitness park. The Esplanade Zagreb Hotel is located there. [9] The south side of the horseshoe lies next to the Zagreb Glavni kolodvor, the city's main railway station. [10] Republic of Croatia Square is home to the Croatian National Theatre, [11] while Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square houses the buildings of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. [12]
The oldest part of the horseshoe is Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square. It was formed in 1826 under the name Novi terg ("New Square") as a new home for the livestock marketplace formerly held on today's Ban Jelačić Square. In the 1860s, it was decided that the square would be re-purposed as park, and throughout the following decades the marketplace and the fairs were gradually moved to the area of today's Republic of Croatia Square, on the western end of the horseshoe-to-be, which was entitled Sajmište ("Old Trade Fair"). Toward the end of the century, many new palaces in the neo-renaissance style were built on Zrinski Square. The square was also decorated by busts of numerous famous Croats, as well as the Meteorological Pole in 1884 and a music pavilion in 1891. [13] The palace of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (then Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts) was built on the southern edge of Zrinski Square, inside then-new Academic Square (Croatian : Akademički trg, today Josip Juraj Strossmayer Square). [13]
In 1880, a devastating earthquake hit Zagreb. The idea of a horseshoe-shaped system of connected parks in central Zagreb was first presented in 1882, as part of a plan to modernise Sajmište. It included two north–south axes of greenery corresponding to the west and east side of the Lenuci Horseshoe, which were called "Western Parkway" and "Eastern Parkway" (Croatian : Zapadni perivoj, Istočni perivoj) [14] In 1887, a new urban plan was adopted, including a rectangular grid plan for today's Donji grad and incorporating the parkways. [15] [14] The two axes were connected in 1889 by the newly opened Zagreb Botanical Garden and the "Southern Parkway" (Croatian : Južni perivoj), today Ante Starčević Square. [15] [16] The marketplace on the western end of the new horseshoe was moved further out of the city in 1890. Sajmište was modernised, receiving a new name: University Square (Croatian : Sveučilišni trg). The Croatian National Theatre, located in the center of the square, was opened in 1895, [17] in time for Emperor Franz Joseph's visit. [18]
In June 2013, a fitness park was opened in Grgur Ninski Street, between the Zagreb Botanical Garden and Esplanade Hotel. [3] On 27 September of the same year, Lenuci Horseshoe received a special award on Entente Florale, while the city of Zagreb received a silver award. [19] [20]
Zagreb is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slovenia at an elevation of approximately 158 m (518 ft) above sea level. At the 2021 census, the city itself had a population of 767,131, while the population of Zagreb urban agglomeration is slightly above one million people.
Osijek is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja County. Osijek is on the right bank of the Drava River, 25 km (16 mi) upstream of its confluence with the Danube, at an elevation of 94 m (308 ft).
Čakovec is a city in Northern Croatia, located around 90 kilometres north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmost, smallest and most densely populated Croatian county.
Milan Bandić was a Croatian politician and the longest-serving mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Bandić was mayor almost continuously from 2000 to 2021, except during the time between his resignation in 2002 and the 2005 election. He was also suspended from exercising his powers and duties for several months after his 2014 arrest over a corruption scandal. Out of Bandić's multifaceted engagement in politics, the most noted part was his mayoralty of Zagreb, which followed the Croatian Democratic Union's (HDZ) first post-socialist period of government (1990–2000), and exacerbated many existing transitional problems in the city.
Ante Starčević was a Croatian politician and writer. His policies centered around Croatian state law, the integrity of Croatian lands, and the right of his people to self-determination. As an important member of the Croatian parliament and the founder of the Party of Rights he has laid the foundations for Croatian nationalism. He has been referred to as Father of the Nation due to his campaign for the rights of Croats within Austria-Hungary and his propagation of a Croatian state in a time where many politicians sought unification with other South Slavs.
The Meštrović Pavilion, also known as the Home of Croatian Artists and colloquially as the Mosque, is a cultural venue and the official seat of the Croatian Society of Fine Artists (HDLU) located on the Square of the Victims of Fascism in central Zagreb, Croatia. Designed by Ivan Meštrović and built in 1938, it has served several functions in its lifetime. An art gallery before World War II, it was converted into a mosque under the Independent State of Croatia and was subsequently transformed into the Museum of the Revolution in post-war Yugoslavia. In 1990, it was given back to the Croatian Association of Artists. After extensive renovation, it has served as a space for exhibitions and events since 2006.
The Art pavilion in Zagreb is an art gallery in Zagreb, Croatia. The pavilion is located on the Lenuci Horseshoe, Lower town area of the city, south of Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square, on the northern side of the King Tomislav Square which flanks the Zagreb Central Station. Established in 1898, it is the oldest gallery in the Southeast Europe and the only purpose-built gallery in Zagreb designed specifically to accommodate large scale exhibitions.
Rudolf barracks is historic army barracks site in Zagreb, Croatia, today serving for various public purposes.
Eugen Kvaternik Square is a square located on the border between Maksimir, Gornji Grad - Medveščak and Donji Grad city districts of Zagreb, Croatia. Named after Eugen Kvaternik, a 19th-century politician, it marks the intersection of Vlaška Street, Dragutin Domjanić Street, Maksimirska Street, Vjekoslav Heinzel Avenue, and Šubićeva Street. Kvaternik Square is one of the most frequented squares in Zagreb.
The Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters is a fine art museum in Zagreb, Croatia exhibiting the collection donated to the city by Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer in 1884. Located at 11 Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square, it forms part of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
The Zagreb Synagogue was the main place of worship for the Jewish community of Zagreb in modern-day Croatia. It was constructed in 1867 in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia within the Austrian Empire, and was used until it was demolished by the Ustaše fascist authorities in 1941 in the Axis-aligned Independent State of Croatia.
Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square is a square and park in Donji Grad, the central part of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. It is located near the central Ban Jelačić Square, halfway towards the Main Railway Station. It is a part of the Green horseshoe or Lenuci's horseshoe, which consists of seven squares in Donji grad. It is spread over an area of 12,540 square meters (135,000 sq ft).
The Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord is a Serbian Orthodox cathedral located on the Petar Preradović Square in Zagreb, Croatia. It was built in 1865–66 according to designs of architect Franjo Klein. It is ecclesiastically part of the Metropolitanate of Zagreb and Ljubljana and is known as the Zagreb Orthodox Cathedral.
The Croatian Parliament electoral districts are the special territorial subdivision of Croatia used for the country's parliamentary elections.
Republic of Croatia Square is one of the biggest squares in Zagreb, Croatia. The square is located in Lower Town, with the Croatian National Theatre building at its centre. It is sometimes billed as the "most beautiful square in Zagreb".
Slavko Löwy was a Croatian architect.
Vladimir Šterk was well-known Croatian architect.
Ivana Hirschmann was a Croatian gymnastics professor and the first female physical education teacher in Croatia.
Mirjana Gross was a notable Yugoslav-Croatian Jewish historian and writer.
Electoral district I is one of twelve electoral districts of the Croatian Parliament.