Buried Bridges and Forgotten History
Can you imagine a place so small and yet so full of seething emotions bottled up for so long that even now, almost four centuries after all the violence, hatred, and hostility, this street still carries the name 'The Bloody Bridge' so that these quarrels would never fall into the oblivion?
Yeah, who would have guessed that this little street, just about 200 feet long was a place of such violence. And it was all about a creek! Can you imagine, a creek? Well, the story goes something like this. The Bloody Bridge wasn't always a concrete passage between Tkalčićeva and Radićeva Street.
Image credit: Lana Suša
In fact, it was a real bridge and a really old one. Someone remembered to put its name on the paper for the first time in the 13th century. The creek Medveščak, whose cold stream witnessed many battles, saw its first battle between the Hungarian emperor Andrew III and the local prince Gardun, who ruled the Medveščak castle. Some historians claim that this battle was a cause for the dreadful adjective 'bloody', but some again, that this nickname came three centuries later.
The purpose of the Written bridge or Bloody bridge was to connect two parts of the city: the noble and rich Kaptol, where all the elite lived, and the free royal city Gradec, a home to other citizens with emptier pockets. But, instead of connecting, the bridge was a place of separation between two opposite classes. They needed to cooperate because the administrative and religious center were situated in Kaptol, and Gradec was a home to all of the working class that Kaptol needed to survive. But, this codependence didn't bring them together. The free citizens of Gradec were very angry about the constant exploitation of their resources and they wanted a fair share of the city goods. But the nobles, of course, were not so keen on doing so.
Image credit: Krešimir Višnar/ ZG Portal
So the Written Bridge became a pretty violent scene. The inequality was and still is a pretty powerful catalyst for violence, especially when it comes to resources and mechanisms of power. Conflicts occurred on a daily basis - robberies, heists, massive fights, and other misdeeds initiated by Kaptol and Gradec natives who were fiercely fighting for their beliefs. According to all the records, it wouldn't take much to start a bridge riot and shed blood.
But, one thing never ceases to amaze me - in more than four centuries of battles on the bridge, not one person died there! Yeah, that's right. Even though some epic battles for land, wheat, wine or money were fought here, no one died for that cause. And for that, I feel some sort of relief while walking this narrow street two minutes away from the city center.
In 1667, during the reconstruction of the bridge, tensions increased because there were different ideas about how the bridge should be decorated and constructed which resulted in a couple of broken bones. Since then, the bridge is officially known as The Bloody Bridge.
All things come to an end, and so did these futile confrontations. It wasn't just the time that brought the two diametrically opposite sides together. It was more of nature's fault. Yup, epidemics and floods caused by earthquakes, that shook up our capital (at the time made up of Kaptol and Gradec) pretty regularly, forced belligerents to join forces and collaborate on rebuilding our precious city. And so today, to honor the tough path that led to peace, there is a plaque which says: 'The Bloody Bridge, a place of frequent confrontations between Kaptol and Gradec citizens'.
Image credit: Lana Suša
Finally, the peace treaty was signed in the 18th century. Kaptol and Gradec weren't the best friends, but their inhabitants weren't enemies either. They built a new, much stronger stone bridge that later on became the essential part of the main traffic road. This joint venture was one of the first steps towards merging the two cities into what we know today as Zagreb.
As a sign of good faith, in 1887, Bloody Bridge Street became a home to the first public telephone central. So, a place of separation became a place of industrial progress and some sort of a public good made for everyone to use.
The bridge was torn down in 1899 on the excuse that Medveščak creek was polluted. That happened due to industrialization. Creek was redirected, and all that's left is that fearful name as a reminder of the rich and contradictory history of our city. So, when walking through Tkalčićeva or Radićeva Street, be sure to take a turn into the Bloody Bridge Street as an homage to all the conflicts resolved there. :)
Header image credit: Igor Špehar, izaberi.hr
Author: Lana Suša