Zagreb in the spotlight: 'Homophobia means Pride must be political here'

“It’s an ‘alternative fact’ to say that homophobia isn’t a big problem in Croatia,” says Zagreb-based journalist Ana Brakus, borrowing a phrase from Trump. In truth, progress for LGBT rights has been slow.

Which makes this Saturday’s Zagreb pride all the more important. The Croatian capital is one of the few cities in the Balkans region to host a pride event. It started in 2002 with around 300 people but now attracts around 10,000 every year.

People from across Croatia and the Balkans attend, says organiser Jay Postic, and unlike in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, where marchers have been violently attacked, Zagreb is a place where people feel comfortable, he adds. The city also has an LGBT centre, with gay clubs and bars, adds Iva Tomečić from the Croatian LGBT News portal Crol.hr.

Over the last few years Croatia has passed a series of laws to punish hate crime, but it has had little impact on reducing homophobic attitudes among the general population, explains Brakus who works as a reporter for Weekly Novosti. The result is that Pride must be about rights as well as a celebration. “Of course there are balloons and rainbows, but the messages have always been very political,” she says.

The event comes as the the city recovers from a local election hangover, which saw the incumbent mayor Milan Bandić – whose 16-year rule has been marred by corruption accusations – win a sixth consecutive term in office last Sunday.

The city in numbers…

• 825 – millions of pounds in Zagreb’s annual budget, the same as the rest of Croatia’s cities combined

• 2,200 - the number of objects in the Museum of Broken Relationships, where relics of breakups are exhibited in a “collective emotional history” . The show is open tosubmissions from around the world

• 250 - the number of people said to have been burned at the stake in the main square of the old town, mostly women accused of witchcraft

• 2013 - the year Croatia joined the EU, becoming its 28th and most recent member to join

… and pictures

Architecture, rooftops and doorways are popular takes of the city on Instagram.

Zagreb in sound and vision

According to Justin McDonnell, editor of Time Out Croatia, film buffs may be surprised by the number of productions shot in and around the capital. These include the spy caper James Bond: From Russia with Love, and Orson Welles’s interpretation of Kafka’s existentialist novel The Trial, filmed in the pretty Habsburg-era Old Town.

Those looking for something more Croatian and historical might enjoy Tko Pjeva Zlo Ne Misli (“One song a day takes mischief away”), says Ivan Hlupic, a local radio reporter. It sums up the charm, spirit and urban culture of the city in the early 1930s. “Otherwise, we have great music; Croatians love to sing.”

History in 100 words

Modern-day Zagreb can be traced back to two settlements on two separate hills: one secular, one clerical. Previously part of the Roman empire, like the whole country, in the 19th and early 20th centuries the city was subsumed into the Austro-Hungarian empire, which influenced its imperial architecture. After the first world war, Croatia became part of Yugoslavia. It declared independence in 1991, before the four-year war; and in 2004 the country started talks with the EU, finally joining nine years later.

What’s everyone talking about?

The local elections, which happened in two rounds, has monopolised recent conversations, says Brakus, and there is a general feeling that the city has a lot of potential but it is being choked by politics.

Mayor Bandić has been indicted for charges of corruption, yet seems to make light of public spending while also claiming to be in touch with the people, she explains.

A good example of this is the popular “Hendrix Bridge”. In the run-up to his election, the graffiti on the bridge honouring Jimmy Hendrix was painted over. A few days later the mayor unveiled a new lighting system that changes colour every time a train crosses. It was said to cost over €700,000 of public money.

The city also needs upgrades to its transportation systems and waste management, adds the journalist. “But we do have a lot of fountains! That’s Bandić’s thing... he calls them ‘sexy’.”

What’s next for the city?

While most tourists flock to Croatia’s coast, the city itself is seeing an increase in interest as well, and Lonely Planet just picked it as its top must-see destination in Europe for 2017. Many tourists stop off for a couple of days in the middle of trips around central Europe. Craft beer and coffee venues are popping up, and there is a thriving street art scene, but gentrification hasn’t yet become a negative word here.

“In the last couple of years I’ve definitely noticed a lot more bars and restaurants taking risks in a good way – different approaches to cooking, designing interiors,” says Brakus. “I think it’s great that we have visitors from all over the world because it contributes to diversity,” Tomečić adds.

Close Zoom

English-speaking media barely exists in Croatia. As Brakus says: “to follow what’s going on from Croatia, we don’t really need it to be in English!” The most recommended are Total Croatia News and The Voice of Croatia. Popular local cultural sites are Kurziv and Vizkultura. For culture and nightlife in English, see Time Out

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