The redesign of one much-loved Zagreb square makes it look like the Instagram logo from above, and Zagreb’s residents aren’t happy.
Milan Bandić is a controversial character, from his colourful past, like getting arrested in public places, to his rather ”out there” statements in which he proclaims he’d be the best woman, if he was one, because he ”gives it out to everyone”, he’s never short of media attention.
Having earned various nicknames over the years, ”Bandit” being one of them, the Zagreb mayor’s responses to the questions of those irritating journalists who just want to get a rise out of him come next in the list of Bandićisms (you’re right, that isn’t a word, so we’ll make it one), and that list is indeed a lengthy one.
Despite trials against him, controversy after controversy linked to his name, the longtime Zagreb mayor manages to somehow cling onto his position with all the security of an experienced mountain goat on a sheer rockface. Bandić, regardless of being voted in time after time, is a bit like Marmite – you either love him or you cannot stand the sight of him, and in either case, he leaves a rather bitter taste in the mouth.
His open fetish for fountains is by far his most prominent feature when it comes to the capital’s architecture, even though the facades of many buildings are, well, not as nice as they could be, as long as there’s a fountain or two around to distract you, then it’s okay, and it seems constant gushing water isn’t the only thing the mayor can’t get enough of. His reconstruction of one particular square, Trg žrtava fašizma (Square to the Victims of Fascism) has been raising the eyebrows of almost everyone.
The square is home to the beautiful Meštrović Pavilion, a historic cultural venue also known as the Home of Croatian Artists and commonly referred to by locals as džamija (mosque), the white, circular building is the official seat of the Croatian Association of Artists. The beautiful square dedicated to the victims of a former regime in Croatia was once a sight to behold, with blooming magnolia trees and a properly looked after garden area, this square was a splash of baby pink and warm colour among the traffic and the surrounding, sprawling streets filled with much duller buildings.
Vratite Magnoliju (Facebook)
The square has worn several different names over the years, tying in with the often drastically varying political circumstances of the time, it has been named Trg žrtava fašizma twice, once from 1946 to 1990, after which it was named Trg hrvatskih velikana (Croatian Nobles Square) until the year 2000, before being renamed Trg žrtava fašizma once again. From Trg N, which was its original name back in 1927, to this very day, the square has always been, in the opinion of most, among the most picturesque in the capital.
”Mestrovic doesn’t agree!” (Vratite Magnoliju/Facebook)
As we reported, the vast majority are extremely unhappy with the square’s brand new look, which involves another Bandić classic, lights which hypnotically change colour, and while there is a lot of understandable anger, there are also a lot of rather amusing comparisons which can only make one wonder just what sort of ”modern”, and extremely costly approach Bandić was actually going for.
Then and now (Vratite Magnoliju/Facebook)
The outrage the redesign of this particular square has been met with has been truly outstanding, and its incredible likeness to the logo of one particular photo sharing app is rather uncanny, causing some to candidly ask the question as to whether or not the square will be renamed once again, to the Square of the Victims of Instagram.
