Zagreb — Capital of Croatia

Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, is a city whose identity was literally built on a medieval rivalry. Two settlements on adjacent limestone hills — Gradec, the secular upper town, and Kaptol, the ecclesiastical hill dominated by its cathedral — coexisted for centuries, separated by a stream called Medveščak that often ran red with the blood of their disputes. Gradually they merged into a single city, and today the Upper Town (Gornji Grad) preserves the best of both: the Parliament, the colourful St. Mark's Church, and the narrow lanes of old Gradec.

Croatia's path to independence ran through Zagreb. When Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in June 1991, Zagreb became the capital of the new state. The Croatian War of Independence that followed lasted until 1995 and left deep marks on the country's collective memory. Zagreb itself was shelled in May 1995, but the city rebuilt quickly and has since established itself as a lively Central European capital with a confident cultural scene and strong café culture.

Zagreb offers a surprising density of quirky institutions. The Museum of Broken Relationships, founded in 2006 by artists Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić, displays personal objects donated by people from around the world alongside the stories of the relationships they commemorate. It has since spawned branches on multiple continents and won the Kenneth Hudson Award for the most innovative museum in Europe. The Uspinjača funicular, connecting the Lower Town to the Upper Town in just 66 metres, has been running since 1890 and is one of the shortest public funiculars in the world.

Croatia's international profile soared when the national football team reached the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, ultimately losing 4–2 to France. For a country of fewer than four million people, it was an extraordinary achievement that turned Zagreb's main square into a sea of red-and-white chequered shirts. The city also suffered a significant earthquake in March 2020 — a magnitude 5.5 tremor that struck during the COVID-19 lockdown, damaging the iconic twin spires of Zagreb Cathedral, the tallest building in Croatia.