Do you know the story about Maksimir Park?
Among the first parks in the monarchy, and one of the first in the world, Maksimir Park got its name from the man who conceived it in the first place, Maksimilijan Vrhovec who, after being raised to the see of Zagreb in 1787, decided to transform a broad extent of forest together with surrounding ploughed fields and meadows into a great landscape garden; this was finally brought to fruition in 1794, after seven years of work.
The Park was conceived in the French style, incorporating many costly buildings and parterres. The almost impenetrable forest was cleared, the main avenue and the many smaller paths were created, and most of them leading to the central hill, and alongside the main route a number of gazebos were erected with tables and benches. Of the original idea, Vrhovac himself was able to build only a tavern, and a few farm buildings that later served as a military bivouac. The Park and the tavern were called Maksi-mir – meaning Maximilijan’s Peace. At that time there was a large chase with nurseries for deer, pheasants and other game.
Vrhovac’s successor in the construction of the park was Aleksandar Alagoviæ, Bishop of Zagreb from 1829 to 1837, who wanted to turn into an English-style landscape garden. Under his patronage, several parts of the forest close to the road were cleared of scrub, walks were laid out, and several flowerbeds were planted. The lake in the forest was also cleared, and stables were built. Large areas of forest were felled; the lakes, paths and riding paths were laid out.
At the time of 1839, during the time of Bishop Juraj Haulik, when it took on its final form, the name of the park was changed, becoming Jurjeva ves, Jurjaves or Jurjevac (meaning George’s Village); however, the new name never really caught on. Cardinal Haulik completed Vrhovac’s idea, abandoning however the Baroque conception and giving the park a more Romantic feeling, ordering the plans for the Belevedere [Vidikovac], Summer House, Swiss House, Peaceful Cottage and Pavilion. Following the ideas of Haulik, Michael Riedl planned the horticultural part, and the gardening was run by Franjo Serafin Korbler. The buildings were designed by Franz Schucht, while the creator of the picturesque sculptures was Josip Kassman. Haulik had the courses of six brooks regulated (Maksimirac, Piskornica, Dalijevac, Bukovcak, Bliznec and Stefanovec) and two lakes created, joined by a waterfall, and decorated with a large island. In 1840 the episcopal summer residence was built as well as the Jeka or Echo Pavilion near the first lake. The name of Echo was given for its unusual acoustics. In 1841 the main entrance gates were built, behind which the so-called sandy square opened up; 1842 saw the building of the Swiss House, close to which were the dovecotes and pheasant and deer areas. The Vidikovac – Look Out Point or Belevedere – the central building in the park, seventeen metres high, was built in 1843 on the little hill that dominates the southern part, and it was only from the terrace of it that it was possible to see the old cathedral at the time when the city had still not come close to Maksimir Park.
The first lake was considerably extended in 1845, and a year later the second lake was completed. The porter’s lodge was built near the main entrance gate. By 1853 various pavilions had been built, most of them no longer in existence: the Shrine to Nature, the National Shrine, Brez’s Hut, little Glorijet, and some rest areas. The Viennese sculptor Josip Kassmann put up his sculptures Boys’ Group, Neapolitan Fisherman and Woman Reaper, and in 1864 St George’s Chapel (Sv. Juraj) was built on the site of the National Shrine.
Marking the act with an obelisk in 1843, Juraj Haulik handed the park over to the general public; soon after his death, however, the park was given back the name of Maksimir. In 1925, during celebrations of the thousand years of the Croatian kingdom, the historical monument Mogila was erected in Maksimir; the same year, the Zoological Garden was founded on Swans’ Island; the first denizens of it were two owls and three foxes.
Today’s Maksimir is one of Zagreb people’s favourite haunts; it covers 316 hectares, and in terms of features and feeling it is part of the Biedermeier ethos. Its Enlightenment-cum-Romantic spirit is expressed in the polarity of work, the general good of progress and art, poetry and painting, creating an idealised version of nature. The position of the park, which links the foothills of the Mt Medvednica in the north and spreads down to the plain towards the Sava River in the south gives it an illusion of boundless extent. The constant variations of the view, the hills, meadows, forests and lakes, the planting of clumps of trees on distant vistas outside the actual park all give Maksimir the feeling of some vast English landscape garden.
Written by: Marko Vrdoljak
