Kumice of Dolac

In remembrance of thousands of kumice, women who over the centuries have been selling their fresh fruits and vegetables at Zagreb’s famous Dolac Market, the Zagreb Tourist Board and the City Office for Agriculture have launched a project “Kumice of Dolac”, which will be taking place until October 29th.

Every Friday and Saturday until October 29th, at Zagreb’s famous Dolac Market, the kumice will be selling their fruit and vegetables, wearing traditional clothes from Prigorje. This is part of a new project by the Zagreb Tourist Board and the City Office for Agriculture, organized in remembrance of thousands of women who have been feeding Zagreb’s citizens over the centuries. Arriving at the Dolac Market every day, carrying baskets of fresh produce on their heads, they have provided citizens of Zagreb with fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers from their gardens surrounding the city on a daily basis. In 2006, in memory of those hardworking women, a statue of a kumica with a woven basket on her head was placed at the top of the stairs by the entrance to the market. Through the realization of this project, new generations of Zagreb’s citizens and numerous tourists will now have an opportunity to see how food was once sold at Dolac Market.

In addition to its primary purpose, the Dolac Market nowadays also represents one of the best known tourist attractions in Zagreb. It is located above the central square, and it opened in 1930 as one of the most beautiful markets in this region of Europe. Before that the market was located at Harmica, in the place of the modern-day Ban Josip Jelačić Square, from where it moved to its current location due to the rapid development of the city. Located north of the market is the Square of Petrica Kerempuh, a place to buy flowers, and further along is Opatovina, where one can buy clothes and various crafts items. Another location where citizens of Zagreb often buy flowers is Splavnica, which connects the Square of Ban Josip Jelačić with Dolac Market.