Attractions

Zagreb:

Andautonia Archaeological Park

Near the village of Scitarjevo, located close to Zagreb, are the remains of the ancient Roman town of Andautonia. The town has been excavated and provides a fascinating insight into the lives of Romans. Andautonia was a prominent administrative, economic, cultural and religious center about 400 years ago. Archaeologists are still excavating the site, but visitors can view a 26,910 square foot (2,500 sq m) area of the Roman City including parts of the main street, city baths, colonnades and side streets. Tourists can also visit the present-day village of Scitarjevo, which offers examples of typical rural farms with their characteristic wooden houses.

Croatian History Museum

The building that houses Croatia’s history is itself a part of that history. Sited in the historical town centre, it is the beautiful Baroque palace, Vojkovic-Orsic-Rauch, built at the end of the 18th century and formerly the private residence of three successive baronial families. In the late 1930s the palace became the residence of Zagreb’s mayors, before being designated as a repository for the historical relics of the city. It currently houses more than 140,000 artifacts in various collections, from stone monuments to fine art, religious artifacts to heraldry. The exhibitions are not permanent but constantly changing so that all the collections get an airing.

Croatian National Theatre

The building housing the Croatian National Theatre is as much a national treasure as the world-class dramatic, opera, music and ballet productions that take place on its stage. Construction began on the theatre building in 1894. Croatian painter Vlaho Bukovac painted the ceremonial curtain while Viennese artist Alexander Goltz decorated the ceiling of the auditorium. The building was officially opened by Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz-Joseph I at the end of 1895. The theater is constantly busy with performing arts programs.

Split:

The Museum of Zagreb The Museum of the City of Zagreb was established in 1907 by the Association of the Braca Hrvatskog Zmaja, and covers the cultural, artistic, economic and political history of the city spanning from Roman finds to the modern period. It is located in a restored monumental complex of the former Convent of the Poor Clares, which was originally built in 1650.

The Croatian Naive Art Museum The Croatian Naive Art Museum is considered to be the first museum of naive art in the world. The museum houses works of Croatian naive expression of the 20th century. It is located in the 18th-century Raffay Palace in the Upper City. Its holdings consist of 1500 works of art, including paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints, mainly by Croatians but also by other well-known world artists. From time to time, the museum organizes topics and retrospective exhibitions by naive artists, symposiums and educational workshops.

The Archaeological Museum The Archaeological Museum collections, today consisting of nearly 400,000 varied artifacts and monuments, have been gathered over the years from many different sources. These holdings include evidence of Croatian presence in the area. The most famous are the Egyptian collection, the Zagreb mummy and bandages with the oldest Etruscan inscription in the world (Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis), as well as the numismatic collection.

Dubrovnik:

City Walls
These rugged stone walls loop up around the city skirting the harsh limestone crags to the north and then pass the old port before scooping back around the coast where the Adriatic laps against its voluminous bastions. It is possible to walk the walls in an hour, but it is better to linger and take one of the audio tours by picking up a headset at the ticket counters on the way up to the walls.

The Stradun
Dubrovnik’s main thoroughfare (also known as the Placa) spreads right through the pedestrian heart of the Old City. Formed when the channel that separated Ragusa from the mainland was filled in during the 12th century, today the thoroughfare bustles with tourists during the summer and boasts a wealth of cafes, bars, shops and restaurants.

Franciscan Monastery
This monastery complex lies just off the Stradun. The single nave Church of St Francis is a large and cool space (a welcome escape from the crowds and heat in summer), and the Monastery Museum is worth venturing into with a range of exhibits taken from the monastery and its old 14th century pharmacist.

Sponza Palace
Look out for the ‘We are forbidden to cheat and use false measures, and when I weigh goods, God weighs me,’ motto, which reveals much about one of the former roles of this graceful palace on the Stradun. The 14th-century palace used to function as Ragusa’s customs house and mint, but today is home to the State Archives and a small museum dedicated to the locals who died fighting for the city in the 1991-1992 sieges.

Rector’s Palace
Just a short stroll off the Stradun is the former home of the city’s old rector. Unlike many despots of the time, the rector did not outgrow his boots in democratic Dubrovnik and he had a limited term in office, during which he was largely banned from leaving the palace except on official business. Today the courtyard is a venue for traditional dancing and music in summer, and the complex also houses a decent museum.