Ban Jelačić Square is Zagreb’s main square, dominated by the statue of Ban Josip Jelačić, whose figure on the horse is today facing the south instead of north, as it used to be the case in the past due to political reasons. When it was first erected in 1866 it was in fact facing Hungary. In 1947 the communist regime removed the statue but it was retrieved in 1990. The east side of the square features a fountain, which is the modern version of Manduševac, that is, the legendary Manda’s Well. Legend has it that Zagreb was named after a beautiful girl called Manda, who scooped some water from the well (the verb scoop in Croatian, zagrabiti, is directly linked to the origin of the name of the Croatian capital) and gave it to the thirsty soldiers who were passing that way.

…and dušo means darling

Photo © Turistička zajednica grada Zagreba. Photo by M. Vrdoljak.