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Behind Trg bana Jelacica, the filigree spires of Zagreb's Cathedral mark the edge of the district (and street) known as Kaptol , ringed by the ivy-cloaked turrets of the eighteenth-century Archbishop's Palace - a "sumptuous Kremlin" fancied the archeologist Arthur Evans before its decimation by an earthquake in 1880. After the disaster, the cathedral was rebuilt in an enthusiastic neo-Gothic style, a high, bare structure inside, with very little left from the years before the earthquake - only four Renaissance benches from the early sixteenth century remain. But the church is the symbolic centre of Croatian Catholicism - and, as such, of Croatian patriotism. Behind the altar lies a shrine to Archbishop Stepinac, head of the Croat church in the Forties, imprisoned by the Communists after World War II, and beatified by the Pope in 1998. Immediately west from Kaptol, Gradec is the most ancient and atmospheric part of Zagreb, a leafy, tranquil backwater of tiny streets, small squares and Baroque palaces, whose mottled brown roofs peek out from the hill to the west. Make your way to the Dolac market, which occupies several tiers immediately behind Trg bana Jelacica; this is the city's main food-market, a feast of fruit, vegetables, meat and fish held every morning. From the far side of Dolac market, Tkalciceva spears north, following the course of the river which once formed the boundary between Kaptol and Gradec. Entry to Gradec proper from here is by way of the so-called Krvavi Most or "Bloody Bridge", which connects the street with Radiceva. On the far side of Radiceva, the Kamenita Vrata - literally the "stone gate" - is a gloomy tunnel with a small shrine that formed part of Gradec's original fortifications. Beyond the gate, Habdeliceva leads south to Katarinin Trg , home to the Gallery of Contemporary Art (Muzej suvremene umjetnosti; Tues-Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 10am-1pm; 10kn) which mounts imaginative temporary shows from home and abroad. Close by, the fourteenth-century Kula Lotrscak or "Burglars' Tower" (Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 10am-1pm; 10kn), marks the top station of the funicular railway down to Ilica in the lower town. The views from the top, over the rest of the city and the plains beyond, are terrific. North of the tower, the Gallery of Naive Art , Cirilometodska 3 (Galerija naivne umjetnosti; Tues-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat & Sun 10am-1pm; 10kn), is an impressive collection of work by the naive, peasant artists of rural Croatia. At the northern end of Cirilometodska, Markov Trg is the core of Gradec - fringed by government offices, the square's focus is the squat church of St Mark (crkva svetog Marka), a much renovated structure whose coloured tiled roof displays the coats-of-arms of the constituent parts of Croatia. It was in this square that Croatian hero Matija Gubec, leader of the sixteenth-century peasants' revolt, was mockingly seated in a throne by the Hungarian authorities and crowned with a band of white-hot steel. Just north of Markov Trg, at Mletacka 8, is the Mestrovic Atelier (Tues-Fri 9am-2pm, Sat 10am-6pm; 10kn), an exhibition dedicated to the local sculptor - Croatia's most famous twentieth-century artist - in his former home and studio. On display are sketches, photographs, memorabilia from exhibitions worldwide, and small-scale studies of his more familiar public creations. Left off Markov Trg, the Historical Museum of Croatia , at Matoseva 9 (Hrvatski povijesni muzej; Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat & Sun 10am-1pm; 10kn), is the venue for prestigious temporary exhibitions. To the north of here, the Natural History Museum (Hrvatski prirodoslovni muzej; Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat & Sun 10am-1pm; 15kn) offers displays on the animal life of Croatia and collections of fossils and minerals. The Municipal Museum , at Opaticka 20 (Muzej grada Zagreba; Tues-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat & Sun 10am-1pm; 20kn), close to the thirteenth-century Popov Toranj or "Priest's Tower", is perhaps more appealing, telling the tale of Zagreb's development from medieval times to the early twentieth century with the help of paintings and lumber from the city's wealthier households, and the original seventeenth-century statues which once adorned the portals of the city's cathedral.
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