Seasonal Zagreb

Easter in Zagreb

If you have decided to visit Zagreb for Easter holidays, you have made a good choice. The Easter tradition is a part of Croatian culture and you will love it.

With the first days of early spring, tourists arrive from all around the world and the streets of Zagreb are full of people enjoying in the sun. During the Easter holidays, Zagreb and its surroundings have a lot to offer. These are just some of the suggestions.

Easter eggs

In the very heart of the city, you will find huge hand-painted Easter eggs in front of the Zagreb Cathedral on Kaptol, as a part of the Easter decorations of Zagreb. They are painted in Croatian Naive style by artists from the Koprivnica-Krizevci County, the area known as the cradle of Croatian naive painting. These big Easter eggs are the symbol of the Easter love and joy.

Image credit: Zagreb Tourist Board, Marko Vrdoljak

The eggs are always surrounded by beautiful spring flowers, and the final result is this beautiful sight in front of the cathedral. The scenes from the traditional culture of Zagreb are drawn on these huge Easter eggs and they mostly show stories about Zagreb throughout the four seasons.

The Passion Heritage

Before Easter, between the 21st of March and 1st of April, numerous locations across the city, predominantly churches, will host the multicultural festival, the Passion Heritage. This event has been organized since 1992, and it unifies an array of cultural and artistic programs thematically tied to the Passion of Christ and His resurrection. You can enjoy numerous concerts, art installations, theatre, literature, folklore events, and performances.

Image credit: LADO, Filip Čargonja

This festival is based on Croatian cultural heritage so it is a great opportunity for you to meet traditional Croatia through art. The event is locally known as 'Pasionska baština' and it represents a dignified way of celebrating the Passion of Christ and its influence on Croatia and Croatian people. The guiding principle of the Passion Heritage is that Christ's Passion is an inexhaustible cultural inspiration. The admission to all programs of the Passion Heritage is free.

Easter story of family Salaj in Čazma

If you wish to go on a field trip during your Easter vacation in Zagreb, this is our suggestion. Only 60 kilometers away from Zagreb, in the part of continental Croatia known as Moslavina, lies Čazma and a special farm of family Salaj where the true Easter magic is hidden. The farm of four hectares has held a variety of events, such as the Christmas story of family Salaj, the knight games of Čazma, the Easter story and special tours during the winter and summer season. During the Easter time, the farm is decorated with over 10,000 Easter eggs, chickens and rabbits illuminated with tiny lights.

Image credit: Family Salaj

So if you go there by night, you'll experience a special atmosphere. Apart from sightseeing the farm, which has 900 different plants, a lake, a few streams and decorated paths, you can participate in different programs. For the youngest, there are workshops where they can learn to paint the Easter eggs, all kinds of giveaways and other cultural events. The most popular is the traditional search for the Easter eggs – it might be interesting even for the adults. It will certainly evoke the child in you!

Header image credit: Zagreb Tourist Board, Marko Vrdoljak

Author: Dora Kršul