BAN JOSIP JELACIC SQUARE

ZAGREB, CROATIA

 

The Ban Josip Jelacic square is located in the heart of Zagreb. The first name of the square was Harmica, because it was used as a market place and the name of the tax paid there was “Harmica”.

In the 19th century the square was renamed to its present name. Ban Jelacic helped the Austrian authorities in the Hungarian revolt and after that the Austrian sculptor Dominik Fernkorn created a big horse rider statue.

A legend says about the meeting of noble man and a girl. He asked her for water from the spring with the words “Manduso, Zagrabi” and from this dates the city is named Zagreb.

In 1946 the square was renamed Republic square and the statue of Ban Jelacic was removed. In 1990 after the fall of Yugoslavia, the name was restored and the statue was moved back on the original place.