Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

492 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp502–505 and pp506–507

Woodcutters (1959) by Ivan Generalić, Croatian Museum of Naïve Art

Croatian Museum

of Naïve Art 8

Hrvatski muzej naivne
umjetnosti

Čirilometodska ulica 3. Map D2.
Tel (01) 485 1911. # 10am–6pm
Tue–Fri, 10am–1pm Sat & Sun. &
8 = http://www.hmnu.org

Since 1994, this 19th-century
building, with its Neo-Baroque
façade, has housed works from
an exhibition of Naïve painters
that opened in Zagreb in

1952. Inspired by peasant craft
      traditions, the paintings are
      characterized by the use of
      vivid colour and a strong
      feeling for narrative. There
      are paint ings by the founders
      of the Naïve trend, including
      Ivan Generalić and Mirko
      Virius; some new works by
      the Hlebine School of
      Paint ing, which originated in
      the village of Hlebine near
      the Hungarian border; and
      works by artists such as Ivan
      Rabuzin from other regions.

Church of

St Catherine 0

Crkva sv Katarina

Katarinin trg. Map D2. Tel (01) 485

1950. # 8am–8pm daily.

Considered to be one of the

most beautiful religious build-

ings in Zagreb, the Church

of St Catherine was built by

Jesuits around 1630 on the site

of a Dominican building. The

white façade has a door way

with four niches for statues

and six prominent pilasters.

Above is a niche with a statue

of the Virgin Mary. The single-

nave church has one of the

most striking Baroque interiors

Lotrščak Tower 9
Kula Lotrščak

Strossmayerove šetalište. Map D2.
Tel (01) 485 1768. # Apr–Oct:
11am–7pm Tue–Fri, 2–7pm Sat &
Sun. &

Dating from the 13th century,
the captivating Lotrščak Tower,
or Burglars’ Tower, is one of
the oldest buildings in Zagreb
and a remnant of its forti fica-
tions. Since the middle of the
19th cen tury, the city’s inhabi-
tants have set their clocks at
noon by the sound of a can-
non fired from this tower, a Stately exterior of the Neo-Baroque Croatian National Theatre

Croatian National

Theatre q

Hrvatsko narodno kazalište

trg maršala Tita 15. Map C4. Tel (01)

482 8532. # for performances only.

¢ Mon, 1 Jan, Easter, 1 May, 1 Nov,

25–26 Dec. http://www.hnk.hr

The Croatian National Theatre

stands in the square that marks

the beginning of a U-shaped

series of parks and squares

called the “green horseshoe”,

the design of engineer Milan

Lenuci. Completed in 1895,

the theatre was designed by

the architects Hermann

Helmer and Ferdinand Fellner

and is a blend of Neo-Baroque

and Rococo styles.

The richly decorated interior

is famous for the stage curtain,

which features a patriotic

scene entitled The Croatian

Renewal by painter Vlaho

Bukovac. In front of the

theatre stands a master piece

by sculptor Ivan Meštrović

(see p491) called The Well

of Life, depict ing a group

of bronze figures huddled

around a well.

practice begun in 1877 to

coor dinate the city’s bell-

ring ers. Today, the tower

houses an art gallery and a

gift shop. It is worth climbing

the spiral stair case up to the

terrace for fine views over

the red-tiled roofs of the city.

in Croatia. Of particular

interest are the stucco reliefs

covering the walls and ceiling

made by Antonio Quadrio.

On the ceil ing is a medallion

depict ing Scenes of the Life of

St Catherine by Franc Jelovšek,

while the main altar, dating

from 1762, has St Catherine

among the Alexandrian

Philosophers and Writers,

by Kristof Andrej Jelovšek.