5 Zagreb oddities – Secret Zagreb’s choice
Is Zagreb really that special? These facts might persuade you
Zagreb is full of curious corners, and extraodinary stories. This time, we’ll make it extra-short with a quick choice of fun Zagreb facts.
Some parts of Croatia are on the coast, but only the continental city of Zagreb has its very own whale. A prehistoric whale was found in Zagreb – a finding so rare, that the actual scientific name of the specie is Mesocetus Agrami – the whale of Zagreb.
Woolly mammoth was found in Zagreb, too. But the most famous mammoth is the building nicknamed mamutica – she-mammoth. The largest building in this region was built in the 70s and is a cosy home to around 5000 people.
Zagreb is the birthplace of modern seizmology, as this is where one of the greatest Croatian scientists, Andrija Mohorovičić, worked when he discovered the Moho layer between the Earth’s crust and mantle that causes earthquakes. Before the 1910 discovery, everybody knew the real truth – that Zagreb earthquakes are caused by a green sleeping dragon.
Could Zagreb be the luckiest city? It sure has the biggest horseshoe. Its 19th century urban planning wrapped the city into a U-shaped line of parks, commonly known as Zagreb green horseshoe.
It was in April of 1962 when Croatian director Dušan Vukotić did not travel to Santa Barbara as he didn’t believe he stood a chance against Walt Disney’s Aquamania, or Chuck Jones’ Be Prepared. However, his cartoon The Substitute (Surogat), created in Zagreb, won an Oscar after all, as the first non-American short animated movie ever to win the Academy Award!
A few days ago, I sent these ideas, and a few more, to Paul Bradbury for his 1 Minute Croatia. He included some in his fun video about Zagreb. This is the link to the full playlist of Paul’s 1 Minute Croatia – you can follow the curious stories every day:
