Have you ever been in Zagreb and heard a loud bang out of the blue and wondered if the city was under attack or that a bomb had gone off? Probably. Never fear! Firing from the Gric cannon is an old Zagreb tradition and has been going on for more than 143 years, with a short break taking place during the First World War.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 2nd of April, 2020, current gunner Alem Tutundzic is the fifth generation of what are known as the ”Gric gunners”. He has been doing this job or eleven long years now, after succeeding Stjepan Mozar.
The famous Gric cannon, a long standing and very well known symbol of the City of Zagreb, has been announcing when it is noon to Zagreb’s residents every single day since way back in 1877. Every day at 12 o’clock, the Lotrscak tower and other buildings in Zagreb’s Old Town are shaken by a huge ”boom”, giving quite the shock to those who aren’t familiar with the sound.
The Gric cannon has not been performing its function since the 28th of March, 2020, for the very first time since it took a temporary break during the First World War. The actual cannon that is still in use today in the tower has been around since 1987.
The city confirmed the circulating information about the Gric cannon ceasing fiting. They said the shots from the Gric cannon and the resulting vibrations further upset the citizens of Zagreb’s Upper Town (Gornji Grad) following the recent devastating earthquake and all of the smaller but no less disturbing ones that followed it.
After consultation with the Crisis Management Office and Crisis Headquarters, a decision was made to put a temporary stop to the daily noon tradition from the 28th of March until further notice.
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