History of Zagreb Trivia Quiz

Answer: Urnfield

The Urnfield people are believed to have originally settled on what is now Demeter Street in Zagreb around the 12th century BC. Even before then, the Zagreb area was a long-time home to nomadic people. The nearby site of Krapina is the largest known burial site of Neanderthal people, indicating Zagreb had already been established as a popular living place, at least temporarily.

Answer: King Ladislaus I of Hungary

King Ladislaus I established the Zagreb Diocese in what is know called the Kaptol neighborhood. Today, Ladislaus is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and is the patron saint of Hungary. Kaptol, which was home to a number of religious buildings, was an easy target for invaders over the next few centuries because it was left mostly unfortified.

Answer: St. Mark's Square

St. Mark's Square was the historic location for the gathering of guilds in the region with St. Mark's Church being the primary meeting house. St. Mark's quickly became the center of life in what is now Zagreb. Even today, the many important buildings in the Croatian government are located there, and it is traditionally (though not always) the place where presidential inaugurations take place.

Answer: Matija Gubec

Matija Gubec led the Croatian-Slovene Peasant Revolt of 1573. He was a serf who the others elected to lead them in the revolution. However, the peasants were ill-prepared to fight against the nobility, and the rebellion was quickly put down. Gubec was executed by the orders of the bishop.

He was paraded around Zagreb and forced to wear a crown made of red-hot irons. He was also poked with irons and quartered. Today, Matija Gubec is considered a hero and has become the subject of many legends.

Answer: Flood

In 1651, the Medvescak stream flooded. The Medvescak was the center of industry in Zagreb for centuries and was heavily populated. Fifty-two people died in 1651 when the river flooded their homes. Although the stream flooded frequently, this incident was, by far, the most dangerous.

The stream continued to flood frequently until infrastructure changes were made in 1898. The Medvescak is nicknamed the Bloody Creek.

Answer: A fraudulent election

There had been an election for a local office in Zagreb which was won, under fraudulent pretenses, by the preferred candidate of the ruling Hungarian majority. Members of the People's Party went to St. Mark's Square to protest when a protest swung at an officer with a sword.

The incident led to the mistaken belief that the army was ordered to fire on the protestors. In total, nineteen people were killed and dozens of other injured. Today, the victims of this event are called the July Victims and are memorialized with a lion statue in St. Mark's.

Answer: Forming a republic

In the aftermath of World War I, Austria-Hungary broke up and the question what would happen to these new areas was widely discussed. Croatia and several nearby countries were put under the control of Peter I, King of Serbia who was now the King of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.

This did not sit well with Croatians, particularly those in the military who supported Stjepan Radic of the Peasant's People Party. Soldiers marched for Rudolph Barracks to Ban Jelacic Square in Zagreb in protest. The rebellion was quickly suppressed with eighteen soldiers dying.

They are referred to as the December Victims.

Answer: General Post Office

The event was called the Sabotage at the General Post Office and was perpetrated by members of the local Communist Party. Croatia had become a puppet state of Nazi Germany during the War and the bombing was a coordinated effort to disrupt the lines of communication between Zagreb and its Nazi allies.

Inside the post office was the mainline for the telephone facilities which, because of the destruction, were out for over seven months. The bombing was partially an inside job as members of the Communist Party involved in the plot also worked inside the post office.

Answer: A butcher who was murdered in 1991

Mihajlo Zec, his wife, and daughter were all murdered by members of a paramilitary troop in Zagreb on December 7, 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence. Zec was accused of being part of a group of rebel Serbs. Zec was shot as he ran from his home into the street.

His wife and three children were bound and transported to a secluded area in the mountains. Two of the children escaped , but his wife, Marija, and 12-year old daughter, Aleksandra, were murdered and dumped in a garbage pit. Controversy followed as perpetrators were never tried for the crime and the government refused to acknowledge the incident even happened until 2004 when compensation was paid out.

Answer: Reporter

Ivo Pukanic was a reporter, photographer, and editor who owned the Nacional newspaper. He was murdered by organized crime groups in Zagreb in October 2008 after years of reporting on their activities. In the past Pukanic had previously been the target of unknown assassins whose bullets missed him.

The blast that killed Pukanic also killed Niko Franjic, the newspaper's marketing manager. Pukanic's assassination led to further discussions of the freedom of the press and speech within Croatia.