The Theatrical Feel of the Trnjanska Savica neighbourhood
Yet, a visitor could have a hard time reading the place, completely unaware of the proximity of water. They could walk the neighbourhood without ever realising the life of the place beats in the rhythm of the river-flow. This part of the town has been adapting to the river for centuries, only to cement its position in the second part of the 20th century, in the days of fast construction of residential buildings that block the view to the true sense of place.
These buildings, connected by lively plateaus, are typical for the neighbourhood.
But there is one thing, linked to the spirit of the neighbourhood, that even the visitors always notice - the classy street names. This district is sprinkled with a dash of luxury thanks to the names of classical theatre artists that add a special layer to the Trnjanska Savica identity. Starting from the big green space in the neighbourhood - a park named after Marija Ružička Strozzi. Can't you imagine the star walking her Bernardine dog Dick around the park, and feeding the birds, just like she used to do on her balcony when she was still alive?
Buzz in the park. The park is a symbol of active citizenship, as the neighbourhood stopped the construction plans on this green space.
Strozzi, or as they sometimes referred to her, Marquise, was born in Czechia, and she was destined to move to Zagreb from the day she was born. That was the day her father, a classical musician, came to celebrate in a local tavern and happened to meet a member of the Zagreb theatre. They became friends, and within a few months, her father got invited to join the Zagreb stage. She, too, was a talented singer, but she damaged her vocal cords, and that pushed her into her famous career as a theatre actress.
The Marquise played around 600 characters, especially difficult, tragic characters, from Anna Karenina to Shakespeare's Juliette or Lady Macbeth. But to be perfectly honest, she wasn't really a go-to star when it came to performing comical characters - unlike her contemporary Ljerka Šram, known for delightful performance in comedies. Šramica, as they called her, was the most beautiful woman in town, according to some. She performed at the opening night of the Croatian National Theatre in front of the then-Croatian king and Habsburg emperor Franz Joseph II. Rumour has it, he kept talking about her for days after. Ljerka lived to bring laughter and joy to people, yet her life story was a tragedy.
The street named after Ljerka Šram is just around the corner. To get there, we will have to pass through the street named after Zinka Kunc. If you happen to be an opera aficionado, you might know her as Zinka Milanov. These names might bring a dash of luxury to the neighbourhood, but in New York, they wouldn't agree. They thought her last name wouldn't be inviting to the audience, so she opted to take her husband’s last name Milanov when she moved to the States. Did the audience love her! She performed in more than 300 shows at the Metropolitan! She was invited to the cornerstone-laying ceremony of the Lincoln Centre. In 1984, when the USA celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, she was one out of 87 people selected to receive a special reward as a citizen of foreign origin who made a significant contribution to New York and the USA. Kunc Milanov left us almost 40 years ago, but many recordings can still make us mesmerised by the sound of her voice.
On a walking tour called Female Flow of Trnjanska Savica in front of a mural dedicated to Zinka Kunc, sharing fascinating facts about Zinka's life.
Streets named after women are so visible that I recently had a wonderful chance to lead a walk called Female Flow of Trnjanska Savica as part of the Zagrebački kvartovi kulture (Zagreb districts of culture) event. While preparing for the walk, I learned about some contemporary women who bring their art to the neighbourhood. For example, the artist who painted Zinka Kunc's mural shown in the picture above is a woman, too - Marina Popović. And just recently, a new colourful mural, Sadnice Savice (Seedlings of Savica), popped up, signed by the female artist Klarxy. If you take a close look at the mural, you will see Marija, Ljerka and Zinka envisioned as colourful gardens. There are some more names on Klarxy’s mural, and some more streets named after Croatian peculiar theatre geniuses, so let's visit their streets, too.
It's fun to explore this mural from all sides, and see how Klarxy turned all of those historical celebrities into a fruitful garden.
Zvonimir Rogoz Street carries the name of an actor, a theatre director, and the first 100-year-old in the history of Croatian theatre. At a certain point, Rogoz was considered to be the oldest active actor in the world - he was 100 years old when he played in his last movie. He had a chance to be in some international movies, too, and even played alongside the actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr in the legendary movie Ecstasy.
And finally, there's Vladimir Ruždjak Street at the western end of Trnjanska Savica. You are already guessing - this opera singer and composer can't keep his last name if he plans to sing in New York. You are absolutely right. He also had to tweak his name to Ruzdak when he performed there. To be quite fair, his last name is difficult even for Croatians to remember. What we do remember is his voice and acting that made him one of the greatest Croatian male opera singers ever. It would be easier to name which great world stages he didn't perform on than to list all the places where he did.
The famous Ruždjak's interpretation of Rigoletto
The life stories of those personalities turn a simple walk through the neighbourhood into a theatre stage. All of a sudden, our minds are envisioning the best performances. But, now that your imagination is fully awakened, let's use it to envision something else - the actual history of the neighbourhood. Travel back through time by eight decades. Look around you - there are no big apartment blocks at all… Stay on the Vladimir Ruždjak Street, although in those days, it’s only a road filled with people going in the same direction. Come on, join the crowds. The jolly people of all ages are going down the trail with everything they might need for a day on a beach. There is no beach anymore at the end of the road as back then… but if you follow them, if you follow the street, you will reach one neighbourhood superstar that has always been present - the river Sava. Sit on the bank and watch Sava perform, creating the beat to the neighborhood flow.
Cover photo description: An unusual sight of ZET (Zagreb electric tram - public transport company) brass band in the neighbourhood as a part of Zagrebački kvartovi kulture
All photos by Krešimir Šarić
Author: Iva Silla