Memories of 19th century Zagreb

If you are not among those who will explore Zagreb map-in-hand or as part of a guided tour, we suggest a visit to the Zagreb City Museum. There, you can explore the city through a prism of its onetime vistas captured in a series of photographs displayed in an exhibition entitled “Memories of Zagreb – photographs from the 19th century album”.

Are you interested in what Zagreb looked like during the 19th century? What everyday life in the city was like, what the economy was like, or how urban development progressed? You can find these answers and more at the Zagreb City Museum, where an exhibition, “Memories of Zagreb – photographs from the 19th century album”, will be open to the public until August 28th. This exhibition is a showcase for one of the most valuable albums of the existing photographic collection, as well as postcards and other visual material. Presented to the public in such a way, it represents a real challenge for the visitors. The appeal of the album does not depend only on the excellent photographs themselves, but also on the much wider spectrum of their values. At the same time, the exhibition also presents an early perception of photography as a medium in Zagreb, through the earliest high quality photos and, of course, a documentary image of the city’s history itself.

The selection of exhibited works, from a total of nine albums, covers the period between 1846 and 1895. The oldest album consists of photographs by Ludwig Schwoiser, while the newest consists of photos by Ivan Standl: one of the most prolific photographers in Zagreb from the second half of the 19th century. The albums, and the photographs within, depict Zagreb’s historic structures, urban development influenced by the two different sets of regulations of 1865 and 1887, the consequences of the great earthquake in 1880, newly built structures at the time, the economic activity and everyday life on the city streets. Thereby, they offer an insight into the way the city developed and changed over time.

The exhibition also features the first photo-monograph of Croatia, and all of the photos contained within feature text captions in Croatian as well as English. Should this exhibition awaken nostalgic feelings within you, make sure to visit another exhibition, also taking place at the Zagreb City Museum until August 28th: the first independent exhibition of photographs by Tihomir Stančec, entitled “Silent Maksimir”, which consists of an opus of relatively similar, yet quite distinct images. The photographer visited Maksimir Park on an almost daily basis, during all seasons, to capture all of the quiet, peaceful and relaxing moments in the lives of other visitors in a unique way. He has revealed Maksimir Park as an even more appealing venue for taking a break from a hurried city lifestyle, regardless of the season.