to zagreb 08 - Zagreb tourist info

MarketdaySlap bang in the middle of Zagreb,overlooking the main square and inthe shadow of the Cathedral, is thecity’s most precious resource: theDolac. Not every city has a producemarket in its very centre – Paris,London and Brussels lost theirs along time ago. For Zagreb, the Dolac(‘Market’) is more than just a placeof trade and transaction. In thisfractured capital of Upper andLower towns, the Dolac is aconstant, a hub of classless socialinteraction, a weathervane of thelocal economy and Zagreb’sconnection with the villages aroundit, even with distant Dalmatia.Traders’ voices are either distinctlyurban (‘Kaj?’), provincial or comefrom the deepest south. Surroundingthe square are little bars and eateriesoffering gableci, mid-morningsnacks, and cheap lunches. From7am, seven days a week, the Dolacis a-buzz until the early afternoon.After considering severallocations, the city fathers had thismain market built between Kaptoland Tkal±i©eva, Zagreb’s mostatmospheric thoroughfare. Openedin 1930, it comprised a raised opensquare lined with stalls of fruit,vegetables and eggs. At street levelwas an indoor market for meat anddairy traders. In 1933, a fish market,based on the one in Trieste, was setup alongside. This layout remains inplace today, with the addition ofmezzanine in the indoor section andthe recent bright reconstruction ofthe Ribarnica, the fish market.Florists now occupy the top level,where the Dolac meets Opatinova.TIME OUT Zagreb 9