What's Behind the Name? - Streets and Neighbourhoods in Zagreb Reveal Their History
A few days ago, I decided to remove the dust from an old grandma's book about Zagreb. The book was full of valuable details about Zagreb and I decided to dive into Zagreb history and find out more about the first borns! We are going to talk about the names of streets and neighbourhoods! Brace yourself, because, I promise you, it will be funny and fascinating at the same time.
What do Ilica Street and Harry Potter have in common? We know!
You know that saying about the light at the end of the tunnel which is actually a train coming? Well, I would say that Ilica is so long that only a few Zagrebians know what is at the end of the street! The story of an average tourist begins with a belief that Ilica is the longest street in Zagreb, but it is not. Ilica is the 4th longest street, after Radnička Street, Zagrebacka and Slavonska Avenue. However, Ilica has numerous house numbers. It even reaches up to 500!
Image Credit: Zagreb Tourist Board, Marko Vrdoljak
A long time ago, just before the 15th century to be precise, Ilica was called Loncarska cesta (Potter street). Yes, even before this name was cool! Where did the name come from? Obviously, from many potters that used to work or live on this street.
In 1431, the name Ilica was mentioned for the first time. There are numerous speculations as to why Ilica was named Ilica, but it probably has to do something with Ilica, a little stream that used to run through some parts of this street. Also, the potters that used to live here, were taking out ilovaca (loam) that was used in ceramic production.
Maybe Bundek should consider changing its name
Since I started this little research, I knew I would find out a lot about Zagreb. From 2006 up until now, Bundek is a favourite promenade and swimming park for the entire Zagreb population. And I adore this place, as well. It is well connected with all parts of Zagreb, it is a place to celebrate birthdays, have a family gathering, play in the park, have a swim and oh, of course, have a coffee in the sun.
Image Credit: Zagreb Tourist Board, Marko Vrdoljak
However, it is tragic, but also a little bit funny how Bundek got its name. This first and most popular Zagreb swimming place was made during the excavation of boulders for the purpose of building Zagreb Fair. As you may already know, Zagreb lies above underground water. We could say that Zagreb is floating on the water. So, thanks to excavation, this big 500 m long and 200 m wide hole got filled with underground water. The same scenario happened again in the 60s, but this time the purpose for the excavation was the construction of the Bridge of Freedom. So, this lake became popular in the 70s, but the name was given after Josip Bundek, the first drowned man in this lake. Did not see that coming, did you?
Influence of foreign languages
Throughout history, Zagreb (and entire Croatia) was mostly under the influence of Hungary, Germany, and Turkey. Those influences did not affect only Croatian vocabulary but also the names of streets and neighbourhoods. For example, the popular passage Harmica that is located on Ban Jelačić Square was named after Hungarian number 30 (harminc) because this passage used to be a city market where taxes were collected (in Croatian called tridesetnica).
Another example of foreign influence is located between Tuskanac and Jurjevska Street - the hill named Cmrok. Allegedly, there was an inn somewhere near Cmrok which was owned by the gentleman called Rok. At that time, people who knew and understood the German language were considered to be fancy, educated, and cool, so citizens used to mix Croatian and German language. So the name Cmrok came from a mixed sentence "let's go zum Rock", or as Croats would say "idemo zum Rok".
Image Credit: Lana Suša
Animals, trees and vegetables
Vrbik is another popular neighbourhood in Zagreb. In the 17th and 18th century, it used to be a holt and pasture, rarely populated. Vrbik was named after vrbe, willow trees which covered entire Vrbik back then. Constructions and settlement started at the end of the 20th century. The same scenario was with the neighbouring Tresnjevka. Just as its neighbour Vrbik, Tresnjevka was a holt with numerous cherry trees and it was populated with maybe 10 households.
Image Credit: Zagreb Tourist Board, Marko Vrdoljak
North from Tresnjevka is Vrapce, a broad and hilly neighbourhood that was named after numerous sparrows (Croatian: vrapci). Another famous neighbourhood is Salata. It is located in the north of Zagreb, on Medvednica slopes. In the past, every household had a garden and they were growing lettuce (Croatian: salata). And by the way, Medvednica got its name after forest dwellers - bears that have become extinct.
Header Image Credit: Zagreb Tourist Board, Marko Vrdoljak
Author: Kristina Rep