“Zagreb Welcomes You” Scale Model

A bronze scale model, “Zagreb Welcomes You”, is a new tourist attraction and meeting point for tourists and Zagreb’s citizens alike. The model of Zagreb features a welcome message in as many as 38 world languages, and tells the story of the city, its streets and squares, its past and present… For the future.

The 3.65 metre long and 3.55 metre wide scale model of the city, “Zagreb Welcomes You”, represents the 2.64 kilometre large urban area. It features 2,515 addresses, 153 city blocks, 19 squares, 128 streets and 421 structures, all cast in bronze. It displays all of the most important historic landmarks and tourist attractions in the city centre. The scale model of Zagreb, located in the open area between the main city square of Ban Josip Jelačić and Kaptol, is actually a block stone cracked into 14 segments that feature bronze castings of city blocks, with 46 specially marked structures and 5 monuments. The south and west sides of the model feature short texts about the history of Zagreb in both Croatian and English, as well as bronze applications depicting the motifs of the Bula, the Stamp of Kaptol, and the old coat of arms of Zagreb. The left part of the model features Venus with a rotating ball in its centre, and a welcome message written in 38 languages. The base of the model features seven multicoloured scenes depicting various events and holidays tied to Zagreb and the Republic of Croatia, which makes it attractive not only as a sculpture but also as a light feature.

The idea for the project, whose construction lasted 19 months, was conceived in 2011 by the Zagreb Tourist Board and the City of Zagreb. The author of the model is sculptor, Professor Damir Mataušić, while the casting was done at the Foundry of the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb.

Since its ceremonious unveiling on June 20th, not only has the scale model “Zagreb Welcomes You” become a unique attraction which highlights the structures of historic and cultural significance, as well as landmarks tied to the city’s history, but it has also become a new meeting point in the city.