TO VENERA AND BACK

When I first came to Zagreb in order to work and live here, like any other person who is in a new city or a new country for the first time, I wanted to explore the city in as much detail as possible and learn as much as I could about it. history. My first destination was, of course, the city center, which charms with its beautiful baroque architecture. The old part of the city is a story in itself, which I will write about in a future blog. Today I will talk to you about the new Zagreb. Zagreb is full of art and cultural happenings. The center itself is full of museums as well as a number of sculptures and works of art that catch your eye. Personally, I was especially intrigued by the big yellow ball placed in the very center of the city. The fact that there is no explanation as to what exactly this sculpture represents, makes your nobility work and you google and try to find out what the author of this work wanted to represent.  

When I first came to Zagreb in order to work and live here, like any other person who is in a new city or a new country for the first time, I wanted to explore the city in as much detail as possible and learn as much as I could about it. history. My first destination was, of course, the city center, which charms with its beautiful baroque architecture. The old part of the city is a story in itself, which I will write about in a future blog. Today I will talk to you about the new Zagreb. Zagreb is full of art and cultural happenings. The center itself is full of museums as well as a number of sculptures and works of art that catch your eye. Personally, I was especially intrigued by the big yellow ball placed in the very center of the city. The fact that there is no explanation as to what exactly this sculpture represents, makes your nobility work and you google and try to find out what the author of this work wanted to represent. I have to admit that I had a strong desire to find out what it was all about. But before I reveal to you what I found out, I will present you some information about this 

 The sculpture was made in 1971 and was originally placed on Kazalishni Street (today's Marshal Tito Square), but due to excessive destruction in 1994, it was moved to its current location in Bogovićeva. The author of this sculpture was Mr. Kožarić Ivan. The author's topic is the terrestrial Sun and the planets of the solar system. The statue of the grounded Sun in Bogovićeva Street is very simple. The shape is a regular sphere, a body that has no convex or concave elements, can be surrounded on all sides. It is also important to mention that it is the same from all sides, regardless of the viewing angle. It is made of bronze and with its compact mass and striking yellow color dominates Bogovićeva Street just like the real Sun. We do not recognize any relief on it except the gold leaves with which it is covered. Sculpture is the art of shaping a volume, but also the space that surrounds that volume and plays an active role in the sculpture. The table is compact, which means there are no gaps, the role of space is insignificant. The relationship between volume and space on the example of this sculpture: otherwise, the sculpture occupies a part of the surrounding space, but also the space, the air can enter the sculpture and thus become part of it, while here we note that the space is not entered by the sculpture because the sculpture is compact, so it does not allow the environment to disturb its perfection. Now you must be wondering where the rest of the planets are when I just mentioned a big yellow ball that obviously represents the sun. Davor Preis, inspired by Kožarić's work, made the rest of the installation (the Sun was made by Kožarić), following Kožarić's standard and making his planets accordingly.

The work called Nine Views was created by Davor in 2004 as an addition to Kozarić's work. He placed the nine planets according to the true proportion, which was scaled down to match the dimensions of the sun. The planets are distributed around Zagreb at a distance that is scaled down and corresponds to the distance in space, as well as the size of the planets is scaled down and corresponds to the actual size of the mass of the planets in space. We are talking about nine planets because in 2004 when Davor created this work, Pluto was still considered a planet, so it got its own representation in this work of art.

According to how the planets are placed in space, Mercury is also closest to the Sun. That is, this planet is located only 75 meters from the sun, and we can find it placed on Margaretska Street No. 3, which is located in the center of Zagreb. That is, if you go from Ban Jelacic Square along Ilica Street to Frankopanska Street and turn left on the first street, you will find Mercury on the left side, next to the cafe on the wall of a building, which is not so difficult to find. Mercury is represented as a small 7 mm ball of stainless steel.

The next planet in the solar system is the planet Venus. It is 104.1 meters away from the Sun, and it is located on Ban Jelacic square itself. That is, at the beginning of the alley leading to Dolac market, on the first pillar on the right.

Planet Earth is 193.7 meters away from the Sun, in Varshavska Street number 9. It is located in the immediate vicinity of the Europa cinema, next to the ATM, on the last pillar of the residential building in which Volzbank is located.

The planet Mars is located at the beginning of Tkalchicheva Street number 21, i.e. behind the Bloody Bridge, 295.2 meters from the grounded Sun. The tile is located on the wall of a coffee bar, so it is necessary to enter the terrace of the cafe to see the tile.

Jupiter is the largest and most massive planet in the solar system, and it would take you 11862 years to reach this planet. But you won't need that much to see Zagreb's Jupiter, it is 1176 meters away from the grounded Sun and is located at Vocarska Street 71. To find this planet, unlike the previous planets, you will have to put in a little effort. If you want to find all the planets, I recommend that you do it by car, because the planets are spread literally all over the city and if you use public transport it would take you a whole day, if not two. At Ban Jelacic Square, get on tram number 12 going towards Dubrava or tram 11 going towards Dubec, and ride 4 stops to Kvaternikov Square. From Kvaternik Square, go north along Dragutina Domjanića Street until you reach the roundabout, there go north-west along Vocarska Street. The largest planet in the solar system is located on a high concrete fence in front of the building with house number 71, i.e. right next to the bus stop for bus number 204.

The planet Saturn is located relatively close to Jupiter, more specifically Rachicheva Street 1, 1851.2 meters from the grounded Sun. If you travel by public transport, the easiest way to get to it from Ban Jelacic square is with trams number 11 and 12 to Dubec or Dubrava. You drive 5 stations and get off at Mashiceva station, head north along Mashiceva street and you will come to a small roundabout, where you will see a small triangular park. This planet is located on a concrete fence. Near it you have benches on which you can rest before you take off in search of the next planet.

Uranus is the first planet that is significantly distant from the terrestrial Sun. With a distance of 4150 meters, Uranus is located in the neighborhood of Siget in Novi Zagreb, specifically Siget Street 9. To reach this planet from Ban Jelacic square, you will need to change several modes of transport. You have several ways to reach this planet, but I will tell you the two fastest and easiest ways that you can use.

1. Take tram number 6 or 13 (Sopot or Kvaternikov Square) and ride two stops to the Main Station. Take the escalator down into the underpass and go to the bus stop at the other end of the underpass. Here, take bus number 234 to Laniste and ride six stops to Zarka Dolinara. Cross Dubrovnik Avenue and head south along Sziget Street.

2. Another way to get to Uran is to take tram number 14 towards Savski Most and ride 10 stops to the station of the same name. Here get on bus number 607 to Sopot and ride 3 stops to Trnsko. Go straight until you reach Sighet Street, which is on your right after Mladenci Park.

On your left side you will see six skyscrapers placed in a row, while on the right side you will see 4 garages. The planet Uranus is placed at the entrance of the last or fourth garage.

This 8th planet is 6570 meters from the sun and as you already know it is the planet Neptune. The best way to get to this planet is to use GPS navigation. I will write you one way you can reach this planet from Ban Jelacic Square. Get on tram 11 (Dubec) or 12 (Dubrava) and ride four stops to Kvaternik Square. Here take bus 276 to Dumovec and ride 9 stops to Zhelezna Tržnica. From here, head south along Gordana Lederera Street and go straight until you reach the end of the street. Here, turn left along Kozari Street and keep left until you reach number 17. Neptune is located on the street lamp in front of the house number 17.

Although today Pluto is not recognized as a planet, at the time this installation was installed Pluto was still considered a planet and certainly deserved its place in this art installation. Pluto is the most distant planet in the solar system and is 8880 meters away from the sun. To get to it from Ban Jelacic Square you need to take tram 6 or 11 to the last stop Chernomerec, here you can get on bus 120, 121, 123, 131, 176 and drive to Dubravica station. When you get here go west 550 meters to the underpass on Aleja Bologna. On the first support pole you will see Pluto, which a vandal tore from the installation.

I personally found out about this installation soon after I moved to Zagreb, but I didn't start looking until mid-2020, that is, after the start of the pandemic and when the borders were closed and we couldn't leave the city without a pass. It was an additional motivation for me to explore in detail the city I decided to move to and make my home. At that moment I didn't have a car yet so I was forced to use public transport to get to those on distant planets. I divided the search into 4 parts, that is, on the first day I found the first 4 planets that are closest to the sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The other day I found Jupiter and Saturn relatively close to the sun, but still quite separated from the other planets. On the third day I was in search of Uranus and Neptune and I can say that this was an adventure in itself. Last I left the planet that today is not recognized as the planet Pluto, which is also the farthest from the sun and which took me more than two hours to get to it and back. Anyone who wants the kind of fun and excitement that searching and discovering something new presents should embark on a quest for these planets.