3 Best Sights in Zagreb and Environs, Croatia

Buildings lining the city's main square date from 1827 onward and include several fine examples of Secessionist architecture. The centerpiece is an equestrian statue of Ban Josip Jelačić, the first Croatian viceroy, erected in 1866. Originally facing north toward Hungary, against which Jelačić waged war as a commander in the Austrian Imperial Army, the statue was dismantled after World War II by the communist government, only to be reinstalled in 1990, this time facing south. The square also features the Manduševac fountain, located to the east.

The look of the city's rectangular main square is largely Baroque and positively lovely, all the more so because some building facades show art nouveau influences. In particular, the pharmacy building at No. 11 has two angels presiding, appropriately, on top. Also overlooking the square is a 17th-century parish church. Enjoy a coffee and a slice of kremšnita at one of the cafés dotting the square.

At the center of this old part of town, accessible by any of several bridges over the moat, is the main square, Trg Bana Josipa Jelačića, one side of which, alas, has a great big empty building with some missing windows. At the center of this otherwise largely barren square is an old well dating to 1869; long filled in, it is ornamented with allegorical imagery.