A Tram Stop From 1935

After three months of reconstruction the tram stop at Gupčeva Zvijezda, in the northern part of the city, a protected monument of Zagreb’s architecture of the 20th century, once again has its original look from 1935...

The reconstruction of the tram stop at Gupčeva Zvijezda is now complete after an extensive three-month project to restore it to its class 1935 appearance. This famous tram stop is a significant monument of Zagreb’s 20th century architecture and it was reconstructed, according to archive documentation, under the strict supervision of the City Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments.

The tram stop, designed by architects Ivan Zemljak and Zvonimir Kavurić, regained its original glass paneling and ceramic tiles in order to look the way it did when it was first constructed 73 years ago. The original phone booth was also reinstalled to replace the modern phone-booth made from Plexiglas, one of the architectural interventions that had corrupted the classic concept of the entire structure.

Tram traffic was introduced to Zagreb in 1891, offering passengers the comfort of ten enclosed and six open, horse-drawn carriages that travelled along tracks covering a total distance of 8 kilometers. Although the first electric tram was introduced to Zagreb as early as 1910, the Zagreb Electric Tram company, which is celebrating its 117th birthday this year, got its first big boost some ten years later with the arrival of engineer Dragutin Mandl; he made designs for the first domestic tram carriages that entered service in 1922.

Apart from the passenger cars, two street-washing engine-cars were also constructed between 1923 and 1926, while in the same period several older engine-cars were restored at the Ganz factory. It was also the year when the yellow colored trams were repainted blue – the color of Zagreb.