St Roch's Park - a Dreamy Green Jewel
St Roch's Park is a hidden precious stone carrying the history of the 20th-century stories of vintage Zagreb and its prominent artists. It is not as colourful and refurbished as some of the city's popular parks. It holds a deep melancholic power to bring peace to your soul and calm your thoughts. Some say that this is a perfect place for creating future literary masterpieces, or perhaps, some deep and meaningful impressionist painting. But, except this melancholy and beauty, this place offers a calm oasis to place your childhood memories in.
There are different ways you can reach St Roch's Park - from British Square, Dubravkin put or Tuškanac, and each path is special in its own way. And no matter which path you take, in my experience, it will take you exactly six songs from the main square. Somehow I always manage to get into that contemplating mood of the park even before I lay my eyes on it and that is why, when in doubt or in front of some big decision, my feet always find one of the paths toward St Roch's Park.
Villa Deutch
Image credit: Karla Knežević
Punk legacy
I adore these vintage steps that embellish Zagreb and Gornji grad. Each stairway has a different vibe. Aleksandar stairway leading from Dežman Street sparks my thought every time, and I imagine being a rebellious teenager from the 1980's and 90's. The moss on walls create the melancholic vibe and the graffiti set the punk mood of my daydream. Filled with kids and families by day and adolescent gangs by night, St Roch's Park has a lot more stories that we don't know of.
But considering that I was always wondering why this place is utterly calm, Google was my help in finding it out. It turns out that this place, officially called St Roch's Park since 1918, goes way back. Firstly, it was a part of once medieval city of Gradec, which later became Zagreb after merging with Kaptol. This beautiful meadow served as a weekend resort and quality leisure time for Zagrebians from medieval times until the 17th century. Many Zagrebians don't know this, but St Roch's Park was the last resort for many Gradec inhabitants centuries ago. Even though many people would find this fact disturbing, I somehow find it a very magical place, a place where new memory can be created in the holy place of our ancestors.
Aleksandar stairway
Image credit: Karla Knezevic
Precious part of my childhood
One of my dearest memories from childhood are long walks from St Roch's Park down Ivan Goran Kovačić Street. My mum and I would walk on a sunny Sunday morning and watch the beautiful old houses and villas. She would tell me stories about the houses that she knew about. The ones she wasn't familiar with would become a platform for our imagination - we would make up stories of their history and the people who lived in them. The houses are so whimsical that your imagination sparks on its own.
Image credit: Karla Knezevic
St Roch's Park is such a divine place to be when you need a break from the city noise. I remember coming here with my family. My brother and I would climb the big trees and collect stuff we found on the floor. We would take our ''treasure'' to our secret hiding spot - one of the bushes that is shaped perfectly for a child's James Bond experience. Inside, there was a small log where we would neatly organise our treasure - from pebbles to pencil sharpener, you could find almost anything in there. I'd love to tell you where that secret spot is, but then it wouldn't be a secret. Just kidding, the bushes are rearranged and my brother and I are grown-ups now so we don't care if you ever find it (not - we'll never grow up!).
Header image credit: Karla Knezevic
Author: Karla Knezevic