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Mirogoj Cemetery in Zagreb

by hidden europe

Summary

Nicely multi-ethnic, assertively multi-confessional, the cemetery at Maragoj is a fine spot to fire the imagination of the living. The cemetery in Zagreb's northern suburbs is one of Europe's most evocative burial grounds.

If you have had your fill of Zagreb murals (see feature above), head north from the city centre to the cemetery at Mirogoj. This is one of Europe’s truly great cemeteries. It was created in 1876 on the former estate of Ljudevit Gaj, one of the leaders of the Croatian National Revival of the 1840s. There are stately Illyrian arcades with monuments to many of the poets and thinkers who helped shape the Croatian National Revival.

At Mirogoj, there are Orthodox and Catholic graves, Jewish and Muslim ones too, and memorials to dedicated socialists who created postwar Yugoslavia.

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