Street-by-Street: the Upper Town
In the Upper Town (Gornji grad) there
are various institutions that have played
a significant part in the history of the city
and of Croatia. They now house the
political and cultural centres of the country:
the presidency of the republic, the parlia-
ment, the State Audit Court and several
government ministries. All of these build-
ings were restored, repaired or rebuilt after
the devastating earthquake of 1880. Some
of the ancient noble palaces have been
converted into museums. There are also three interest-
ing churches: the ancient Church of St Mark, the
Baroque Church of St Catherine, built by the Jesuits,
and the Church of Sts Cyril and Methodius. The daily
signal to close the city gates was rung from the
medieval Lotrščak Tower.
488 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp502–505 and pp506–507
Pietà by Ivan
MeštrovićThe Natural History Museum,
created from three collections,
houses most of the finds from
Krapina, which date human
presence in Croatia back to
the Palaeolithic era.Ban’s Palace
The building dates from the 17th century and
was built after the city became the seat of the
Ban, Governor of Croatia, in 1621. It now
houses the presidency of the republic.
Croatian Historical Museum
This museum, housed in the splendid
Vojković-Oršić Palace, hosts seasonal
exhibitions devoted to various aspects
of the nation’s history.
. The Croatian Museum
of Naïve Art
Over 1,500 works of Naïve art by
the founders and followers of the
Hlebine school are held here 8
The Church of Sts Cyril and
Methodius was designed
in the early 19th-century
by Bartol Felbinger. This
Byzantine-style church
serves Croatia’s Ukrainian
community and has a
splendid iconostasis.Lotrščak Tower
At noon every day
a cannon is fired
from this tower,
which dates from the
12th century 9KEY
Suggested routeMATOŠEVA ULICAMESNIČA ULICACIRILOMETODSKAD
EMETROVAKATARINNTRG