European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 19, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 26 stars and stripes thursday april 19 2007 culture croatian capita graduates to the level of other main european cities by Robert Cross Chicago Tribune one morning shrieking whistles yanked me out of a deep sleep they sounded like a thousand cops dealing with an apocalyptic traffic Jam the Racket drove out All rational thought from my rooms window i see the source but the whistling persisted As i showered and dressed and made my Way downstairs to the lobby of the hotel Palace where just outside hundreds of Young people marched North past Strossman Yarov Square led by bands of whistle blowers they Are finished with school a Porter explained they have no More classes they look ahead now if s Good they have something to look Forward a seniors on the Cusp of graduation party time i walked upstream from the revellers and found still More students pouring from the main Railroad station via an immense underground shopping mall from there they came racing to the surface and eventually would join the crowds gathered at Banai Elacia Plaza the heart of downtown a huge equestrian statue of Viceroy Josip Jelacich dominates the Plaza he was the 19th Century hero who tried unsuccessfully to wrest croatian Independence from ruling Hungary Josip Broz Tito the yugoslavian Strong Man disliked that Symbol of croatian nationalism and had it removed in 1990 when East Ern european communism col lapsed croatians took the statue out of storage reassembled it and returned it to its original site i strolled near but by then the Square belonged Only to the students packed shoulder to shoulder around the Jelacich Monument in previous Days i grew fond of Bana Jelacich Plaza because it looks so wonderfully old Europe an an expanse surrounded by shops and cafes a pedestrian zone buffering the lower More modern City from the medieval enclaves on the Bluff above Bright red and Blue trolleys Clang past umbrellas emblazoned with brewery logos inviting everyone to linger awhile but even the modern City holds on tight to structures with All the european architectural frills ornate pediments statuary lattice work Renaissance and baroque touches and gothic buttresses Over the cold War years and again during the conflicts of the 1990s Zagreb had filtered through my imagination mostly As a Blacka Edwhite image of a troubled and fragmented Yugo Slavia now in person the capital of Ujj Foffi f j it act photos act photos a life size statue on Alaska Street in Zagreb Croatia commemorates August Senoa an a last Independent Croatia shows off its colors and vibrancy maybe it always was thus but it never came to mind As one of the must see cities on the continent the Day of the whistles dawned with misty rain the sort of drab beginning that can make an aged Metropolis feel mysterious even grim and threatening but the students brightened everything even the weather it was a Fine time to find a cafe and watch the party be careful warned a travel agent whose window faced the Plaza the waiter who brought my espresso glared in disgust at the antics across the Way but i raise my cup in a Toast to him and a City i was glad i haunt missed on other Days some Rainy some not Zagreb Felt Welcom ing and yet enigmatic one of those places where the next Corner Likely holds something unexpected and a stranger would Hope delightful the Metropolis blossomed in technicolor no matter the weather yellow on the Walls of some beaux arts buildings Orange tile roofs murals and frescoes a woman passing my hotel built lavishly in 1891 exclaimed to a companion look at this the buildings Are Beautiful As in most cities the exuberance of youth enlivens the surroundings but can mar the decor i came to the conclusion that a Wall in Zagreb without Graffiti was a Wall built or scrubbed that morning Graffiti has reached the level of a local Art form in some As Well As an eyesore in a lot of the government does nothing about it i heard a guide Tell her tour group there is a Fine i think but nobody pays other examples of artistic expression tend to be hidden on the same Block As my hotel the gallery of modern Art appeared Gray and deserted its tiny Portal sheltering some pedestrians from a sudden downpour a Relief by croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic graces a building on the main Square in Zagreb i took a Chance and found the door unlocked and up some stairs discovered dazzling vivid and wickedly humorous statuary and paintings including a Street scape by Ivan Benkovic labelled Chicago 1914 and Edo Kovacevich Tkalcic Eva Street painted in 1933 Tkalcic Eva Street itself i later found out looks very much the same As it does on that Canvas shops bars restaurants and All the other attractions that make the Street a nighttime Magnet and a Boon to strollers have been carved into old renovated build Ings during the Day the area Steps Lively too Dolac Market oper ates in a Large outdoor space nearby every Day from Early morning until Well into the after noon Tkalcic Eva and its winding Cobblestone pedestrian Walkway flanks one Side of the medieval upper town and the Capitol District is on the other Side marked by the two Spires of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary locals differentiate the Capitol Section and the District called Grade but the flow seamlessly together in Zagreb upper town an opening in the remains of an ancient City Wall loosely Sepa rates the two and Marks the beginning of a Steep ascent to Ward the government Complex and a dense mix of intriguing places a few people almost always can be found gathered at an opening in the Wall and facing the Small Chapel there they genuflect toward a 17th Century painting of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus said to be the Only flammable object to survive a major fire in 1731 Many Zagreb citizens believe the painting has magical Powers a Short Uphill walk leads to St Marks Church its brightly tiled roof is decorated with a medieval coat of arms and the City Emblem providing a touch of color in a Square otherwise dominated by the neoclassical presidential Palace the parliament building City Hall and strings of Black bows awaiting the lunch hour i spent most of a Day exploring that Little sector and i could have spent a few Days More at the City museum a 17th Century Convent has been fitted out with an organized Maze of displays children laughed and shouted through a comprehensive and fascinating series of galleries that took us with Curato rial artistry from medieval Zagreb to the present seemingly nothing had been left out we saw weapons religious objects costumes historic paintings photographs manufactured goods and scale models of the City at various stages of its growth All through my visit to Croatia from Dubrovnik on up the coast i kept an Eye out for the creations of sculptor Ivan Mestrovic his impressive native Ameri can equestrian statues that flank Chicago Congress Plaza have always been among my favorite landmarks toward the end of his life he taught at notre Dame which also exhibits samples of his work so seeking out Mestrovich atelier almost Felt like a Pilgrim age because Zagreb would be my last Stop on the Croatia tour after so much anticipation i nearly passed right by the studio because a restoration Crew had obscured the Entrance area with scaffolding an Tarp inside however the Mestrovic Home and workrooms appeared to be Little changed from the time he occupied them in the 1920s and 30s he left Zagreb in 1942 for travels that led in 1947 to his settling in the us of course the studio hold Mestrovich More monumental projects so the displays lean heavily on photographs sketches and preliminary studies Ren dered in Clay still the Power of his Genius shines through Art and history lovers stay in the neighbourhood and proceed to the croatian museum of naive see Zagreb Page 27
