A Two-Hundred-Year Old Oasis at a Stone's Throw from the City Center

Maksimir Park, a protected asset and monument of park architecture was created on the southern slopes of Mt. Medvednica and opened to the public 214 years ago as the first public park in south-east Europe and one of the first of its kind in the world. The park, designed in the style of an English garden, is the brain child of Bishop Maksimilijan Vrhovec for whom it was named (Maksimilijan's Mir (Peace) or Maksimir). It is a green and blue oasis at a stone's throw from the busy city center.

When it was first opened, Zagreb was a smaller place and Maksimir Park was on its eastern boundary. Today, it is completely encircled by residential developments. The park is a place equally popular with the locals as with their guests, a place for leisurely strolls and moments of relaxation, as well as a sanctuary for numerous plant and animal species.
The park has wooded areas, meadows, brooks and five lakes, both natural and man-made, which are also important habitats for different plants and animals.

Maksimir boasts many different features. Perhaps some of the most important are the so-called Swiss House and the Jeka Pavilion, both constructed in the 1840s and renovated in this century, and St. George’s Chapel. The most prominent feature in the park is the Vidikovac Kiosk (Bellevue Pavilion), also built in the mid-19th century.

Throughout its history, Maksimir Park has been instrumental in the development of many sports and sports games in Zagreb. It still continues to offer its numerous visitors a plethora of possibilities for sports and recreation, such as strolls along the well designed walkways, Nordic walking, running, cycling or rowing on the third lake. The youngest visitors can frolic around the two well equipped playgrounds, ride on a pony around the park or drive electric-powered cars.
There are several eateries in the park: the Maksimilian Restaurant, the Swiss House Bistro, the Vidikovac cafe bar and several other smaller cafes. In its southern part is the Zagreb Zoo and just across the road from its main entrance is the stadium of the Dinamo football club.
   
Maksimir Park is Zagreb’s living monument which holds a prestigious position among European historical sites.