Kaptol is a part of

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in the Upper Town and it is the seat of the Roman Catholic archbishop of Zagreb. Due to its historical associations, in Croatian "Kaptol" is also used as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...

for the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in Croatia.

History

The existence of Kaptol, the settlement on the east slope, was confirmed in 1094 when King Ladislaus founded the Zagreb diocese. The bishop, his residence and the

Zagreb Cathedral The Zagreb Cathedral (officially the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saints Stephen and Ladislav), is a Catholic cathedral in Kaptol, Zagreb. It is the second tallest building in Croatia and the most monumental sacra ...

had their seat in the southeast part of the Kaptol hill. Vlaška Ves was situated in the close vicinity of the cathedral. Being under the bishop's jurisdiction, it was first mentioned in 1198. Kaptol Street ran from the south to the north across the Kaptol terrace with canons' residences arranged in rows alongside, and these residences are largely preserved as the Kaptol manors in Zagreb. As the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word for a group or body of canons is " capitulum" (kaptol), it is clear how Kaptol got its name. The canons also ruled this settlement. The cathedral was consecrated in 1217, but later in 1242 it was badly damaged during the

Mongol invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

. After 1263 it was restored and rebuilt. As a settlement, Kaptol's shape was an unsymmetrical rectangle, which had a southern entrance in Bakačeva Street, and ended at its north end near the present day Kaptol School ( Miroslav Krleža Elementary School). In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Kaptol had no fortifications. It was merely enclosed with wooden fences or palisades, which were repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. The defensive walls and towers around Kaptol were built between 1469 and 1473. The Prislin Tower near the Kaptol School is one of the best-preserved from those times. In 1593 the Turks reached Sisak trying to capture it but were defeated there. Therefore, fearing the Turkish invasion, the bishop of Zagreb had the fortifications built around the cathedral and his residence. The defensive towers and walls built between 1512 and 1520 have been preserved until the present day except those that directly faced the front of the cathedral situated at Kaptol Square. This section of the wall was pulled down in 1907. In the 13th century two Gothic churches were built in Kaptol, St. Francis with the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery, and St. Mary, which underwent considerable reconstruction works in the 17th and the 18th centuries. St Francis' church has

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows with flowery motifs designed by the Croatian painter . In Opatovina, small dwelling houses of former Kaptol inhabitants can still be seen, but at Dolac a number of little and narrow streets were torn down in 1926 when the today's market was built. In 1334 the canons of Zagreb established a colony of Kaptol

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

s in the vicinity of their residences, north of Kaptol. That was the beginning of a new settlement called Nova Ves (the present day Nova Ves Street).

Neighbourhood

Kaptol is today part of the Gornji Grad - Medveščak city district. It mainly faces the Kaptol Street, lying atop of the Ribnjak Park in the east. The Kaptol Centar

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

is located in Nova Ves. The central part of Kaptol is part of the local government "August Cesarec" that has a total population of 1,523 (2011).

Views of Kaptol

Flores en la calle Kaptol, Zagreb, Croacia, 2014-04-13, DD 01.JPG, Kaptol File:Zagreb 11.jpg, Kaptol Fortress File:Zagreb Cathedral against blue sky and puffy clouds.jpg,

Dolac 01.JPG, Dolac Virgin Mary column, Zagreb.jpg, Virgin Mary column in Kaptol File:Zagreb Kaptol (34352755071).jpg, Angels of Virgin Mary column File:Kaptol ulica, Mária szobor. Fortepan 74976.jpg, Kaptol Square in 1957

References

External links

guide.ndo.co.uk
{{Coord, 45, 48, 53, N, 15, 58, 44, E, region:HR_type:city, display=title Gornji Grad–Medveščak History of Zagreb

History

Neighbourhood

See also

Views of Kaptol

References

External links