Maksimir Park is the oldest public park in Zagreb, Croatia. It forms part of the city’s cultural heritage and is a habitat for many different plant and animal species. If you want to know more about this city you show read why I went there, in Next stop, Zagreb. Here I told the reason why I choose to travel and what you need to know to visit the capital of Croatia.
Maksimir History
Founded in 1787, Maksimir Park was the first large public park in South-Eastern Europe, and predates the majority of Europe’s public park foundings. The park was opened in 1794 under the initiative of the man for whom it was named, Bishop Maksimilijan Vrhovac of Zagreb. At that time, the park was located on the outskirts of the city, although today it is surrounded by many of the city’s neighborhoods.
Nature in Maksimir
If you are looking for a place to walk and feel like you are into the medieval age, Maksimir is the best park in Zagreb for it. The part of the park next to the city there is some playground areas for children, grass to play with you dog, make a picnic… but as you walk along the paths through the trees, the scenery changes.
In the middle of the park there is the main street and in the end a big bar/coffee to drink something, form this part on you will walk to big open areas and then start the closed florets with paths like from past century. You will feel like in a movie. Besides you will see 3 lakes. 1 small and 2 biges. The view is wonderful, probably you will meet some turtles, ducks and a bunch of birds who lives in Maksimir.
Buildings in Maksimir
1 – Obelisk
The pyramid-shaped monument is the work of sculptor Joseph Käschmann, who Archbishop Juraj Haulik had erected in 1843 in the Dahlia Valley as part of the completion of work in Maksimir Park. Three larger laurel wreaths made of bronze are installed on the square base at the rear and to the left and right. In the pyramidal part of the monument on each side are built four smaller laurel wreaths also made of bronze.
2 – Echo Pavilion
Also known as the Latern Temple , is a pavilion in Maksimir Park , built after 1840 according to a design by Franz Schücht .The pavilion was built in honor of the goddess Echo , so it successfully repels sounds , after which it got its name. The public institution “Maksimir” renovated the pavilion in 2001.
3 – Chapel of St. George in Maksimir
This neo-Gothic chapel, popularly called “crikvica”, was built in the period from 1862 to 1864 , on an elevated site near Haulik’s summer house. The base of the chapel is in the shape of a cross with short transept wings and a polygonal sanctuary. The walls are made of brick and the structural parts of stone . The façade with a portal to which a tall window with a pointed arch continues ends in a transept . The other two large windows on the wings are transepts . The roof was covered with slate
4 – Swiss house
The Swiss house , also known as the “Tyrolean house”, is a one-story house in the Maksimir forest park. It was built according to a design by Franz Schücht , from 1841 to the autumn of 1842 . The ground floor is made of hewn stone, and the first floor is made of roughly hewn oak beams, surrounded by a wooden balcony supported by four wooden beams. There is also a balcony under the eaves. The two-part roof is covered with slate.
5 – Lookout Kiosk
The Kiosk lookout tower in Maksimir Park was built in the period from 1841 to 1843 , according to a design by Franz Schücht. The most prominent object is in the park, the center from which the roads fork, around which the main parts of the park are gathered. It is a stereometric two-storey building 17 meters high, with a square floor plan on the ground floor surrounded by a porch above which is a terrace.
6 – Sokolska mogila in Maksimir
Sokolska mogila in the park-forest Maksimir is a memorial mound, built in 1925 . That year, the thousandth anniversary of the Croatian kingdom was celebrated throughout Croatia, and this was one of the buildings erected on that occasion. Narrow steps lead to the top of the mound. At the top is a stone monument with a statue of a falcon with outstretched wings. Around the mound is a narrow spiral path to the top.
7 – Birch gazebo
Fisherman’s hut a wooden hut built from 1853 to 1862. A place to stay beside the lake to see the nature, animals and the perfect view of the lake. Made of bamboo and wood, its architecture resembles an old chapel.e of woods the ar
This place is wonderful, if you travel to Zagreb you have to visit this place and feel the fresh air. Walk to feel the peace. Take a look in the Where to stay in Zagreb and discovered a great place to stay. Croatia is a amazing country.
Tell me if you like this kind of park, if you already know this place…see you soon.
