Carnival season in Zagreb

Header image credit: H. Pilic / Zagreb Tourist Board
Do you know that wearing masks outside of the carnival season used to be forbidden? Luckily enough, those days are over so you can spot these lovely historical characters in the summer, too, as a part of the Zagreb Time Machine project. 

Zagreb locals often opt for a day trip from Zagreb to enjoy the entertaining Carnival in Rijeka, as it's only an hour and a half ride from Zagreb. They also love to visit the nearby town of Samobor, less than half an hour away. The satirical and fun Fašnik (Carnival) in Samobor offers many events and concerts weeks before its peak on Shrove Tuesday. If you're staying in Zagreb this time of the year, an afternoon trip to Samobor is a very local thing to do.

But hey, what about Zagreb? Despite losing some colourful traditions of the carnival season, it is still very common to see groups of children in costumes, going door to door, collecting some coins and sweets. A custom is similar to Halloween's trick-or-treat. This was so common only twenty years ago that people sometimes pretended they weren't home because the masked kids kept knocking at their door.

Some offices, schools, and even sports clubs will organize their private costume parties or costume competitions. There are many options for some costumed clubbing on the last carnival weekend. It's perfectly acceptable to dress up in a costume and go on with your regular errands on Shrove Tuesday (this year, the 4th of March). The only places you shouldn't try wearing a mask are banks. 

Living Pictures at the Museum of the City of Zagreb. Photo by Matej Grgić / Museum of the City of Zagreb.

A must-visit event with a tradition of 25 years is Žive slike (Living Pictures) in the Museum of the City of Zagreb. This year, the event will occur on the weekend of the 1st and 2nd of March. It's a living history event when the museum venue merges with the city's past. Historical characters welcome the visitors. Each year, both the event and the assembly of characters are getting bigger. The best part is that it's an enthusiasm-driven project. The characters are employees, collaborators, and friends of the museum. Make sure to visit it, as the event was inspired by traditional costumed parties from the bygone days.

If you find yourself in Zagreb for the carnival season, you'll notice the krafne doughnuts everywhere. That's the yummy taste and scent of February in Zagreb. A special shop called Krafneraj opened recently in the Ilica Street – a place to go if you wish to try out different kinds of krafne all-year-round. In February, you don’t need to look far. Just look around: on every corner, it’s discounted doughnuts, doughnuts with special fillings, even billboards promoting doughnuts! A billboard will probably raise a question: "How many doughnuts will these people eat if they expect to cover the billboard cost?" The answer is: "More than you can imagine." Doughnuts are the food of the season. And I'm deliberately using the word "food" instead of "dessert", as some might replace their lunch with a dozen doughnuts!

Don't worry about our health! Lent, the period between Shrove Tuesday and Easter, traditionally includes fasting. That's enough time to clean your body and soul from all these crazy, costumed parties and sweet, greasy doughnuts. You might overhear some locals talking about what they gave up for the Lent period – it's everyone's favourite conversation on Ash Wednesday, right after the carnival season. That's the only day anyone talks about giving up on anything since the determination usually gets forgotten by the next day. In stricter Catholic families, members might still follow the old traditions of actual fasting, meaning they hardly eat anything but some bread and water – for weeks! Modern people have adjusted to the tradition of giving up on one thing for a day or two. They'd like to do more, but the idea gets lost. Something like a New Year's resolution the Croatian way.

The most typical krafne with apricot jam filling. Photo: panpek.hr

If this sounded a bit satirical, well, that's the perfect tone for the season! The Carnival has always been an opportunity to mock societal problems and hypocrisy. Also, it is an ideal time to make fun of the authorities, the politics, and the untouchables. If we travelled back through time to the early 20th century, we would find ourselves in a vast carnival parade alongside the main square and down the Ilica street in Zagreb. The carnival groups would make us laugh with their criticism of all the things wrong. It was a time of fun and lightheartedness, where everyone let loose and enjoyed the festivities. The tradition of street parades never recovered after the WWI.

Carnival parade in Zagreb. Photo: Museum of the City of Zagreb MGZ-fot-18516

If we travel even further back to the 18th century, we might find ourselves at a luxurious masked ball. Started by the nobility, the balls spread among all the residents. The government building in the Upper Town, the Natural History Museum... Centuries ago, those buildings were hosts to a number of high-class masquerades.

Let's travel back some more, and we might meet the members of Croatia's most significant noble families, Zrinski and Frankopan, who are gathering in the old town for a traditional knights' tournament. Knights on their running horses were supposed to catch a small ring with spears. Such a competition took place in Zagreb during the carnival season and still exists in some parts of Croatia. For instance, the Sinjska Alka is the best-preserved historical equestrian tournament in Europe. It takes place in summer and is a part of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

DescImagine a knights’ tournament taking place here. This town hides some unexpected history bits. Photo by M. Gašparović / Zagreb Tourist Board

At a certain point, the carnival ballrooms became quite something. They even hired theatre scenographers or architects to create elaborate themed decorations for the most visited ballrooms. Who wouldn't want to see such a ball? Cinderella, step aside: an unexpected side-effect to the carnival season was that many households lost their maids as they secretly fled to participate in the balls. Some had a permit to go dancing but forgot to come back for the next three days or so!

Fašnik used to be a special time when everyone would participate in at least one masquerade. Since the period of Lent followed, a time when any celebrations were traditionally avoided, including weddings, February was a common choice for newlyweds, too. Imagine the city at the time with weddings and masquerades every now and then. People in beautiful gowns and funny masks were overflowing the town. Joining an event celebrating the carnival season means keeping the rich history alive. The least you can do is finish off all the doughnuts in your way.

There used to be a store that sold masks very close to the Stone Gate. If you couldn’t afford one, there were plenty of rentals across the town. Photo by M. Vrdoljak / Zagreb Tourist Board.

Author: Iva Silla