Maksimir Park is the oldest

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. It forms part of the city's cultural heritage and is a habitat for many different plant and animal species.

History

Founded in 1787, Maksimir Park was the first large public park in

South-Eastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...

, 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 Maksimilijan Vrhovac (23 November 1752 in Karlovac – 16 December 1827 in Zagreb) was the bishop of Zagreb. He was one of the ideological architects of the Croatian national revival, and is notable for founding the Maksimir Park in 1787, one of ...

of Zagreb (1752–1827). 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. It was formerly a dense forest of hornbeams ('' Carpinus betulus'') and oaks (''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

'' and ''Q. petraea''). The remainder of the original forest survives as a girdle to the park, the area in total measuring above .

Landscaping

Although the landscaping was first conceived by Bishop Vrhovac in the baroque style, in 1839, Bishop

Juraj Haulik Juraj Haulik de Váralya ( sk, Juraj Haulík Váralyai, hu, Haulík Váralyai György; 20 April 1788 – 11 May 1869) was a Croatian cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church of Slovak ethnicity and the first archbishop of Zagreb. He was also acti ...

(1788–1869), and others redesigned the park. Haulik's vision was very much in line with Biedermeierist notions, and romantic neoclassicism, with elements from

historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely ...

; and in emulation of the park at the

Laxenburg __NOTOC__ Laxenburg (Central Bavarian: ''Laxnbuag'') is a market town in the district of Mödling, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Located about south of the Austrian capital Vienna, it is chiefly known for the Laxenburg castles, which, b ...

estate of the Habsburgs. Maksimir aerial (3)

The process of transforming Maksimir Park involved the felling of the forest interior, the grading of hills, the excavating of great holes for lakes, the laying of paths, and construction of bridges. Others who were instrumental in the making of the park were sculptors Anton Dominik Fernkorn (1813–1878), and Josip Kassmann (1784–1856); master gardener Franjo Serafin Korbler (1812–1866); landscape architect Michael Sebastian Riedel (1763–1850); and architect Franz Schücht. Schücht's contributions include, among others, Paviljon Jeka (The Pavilion of Echoes), a lookout known as the Kiosk, and a house called Švicarska kuća (The Swiss House).

Design

The park has several big meadows, numerous creeks, and five lakes, and is a habitat for various plant and animal species, such as the Middle Spotted Woodpecker ('' Dendrocopos medius''), an endangered species in Europe. Zagreb’s Zoo also forms part of the park’s territory, located in the southern part of Maksimir Park. In addition to the park, the name ''Maksimir'' may also refer to one of Zagreb’s neighborhoods and NK Dinamo’s stadium, both of which are adjacent to the park.

Location and access

Maksimir is located in the eastern central part of the city.

ZET Zet or ZET may refer to: * Zagrebački električni tramvaj, Zagreb Electric Tram, public transport operator in Zagreb, Croatia * Zet (hardware), a clone x86 processor * Radio ZET, Polish radio station *Association of the Polish Youth "Zet", pre-19 ...

tram lines 4, 5, 7, 11 and 12 frequently connect the park to the rest of the city. A stop named Bukovačka is located at the main entrance into the park. A less frequent bus route 226 from a nearby Svetice terminal connects to the

Mirogoj The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, hr, Gradsko groblje Mirogoj), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery ( hr, Groblje Mirogoj), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members o ...

cemetery and goes on to the Kaptol terminal in the old city centre.

References

External links

* {{coord, 45, 49, 47, N, 16, 01, 14, E, region:HR-21_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title 1787 establishments in the Habsburg Monarchy Parks in Croatia Geography of Zagreb Culture in Zagreb Tourist attractions in Zagreb Maksimir