Can you imagine that there was a point in time when Tkalča didn’t have its signature cafés?
It might be hard to imagine that winter was ever a thing in Zagreb now that we’re burning up, but an old photo of Tkalčićeva Street proves that it most certainly was, also giving you some hope that some sort of refreshment might come soon.
Never mind the snow (even though I’m guessing even the most hard-core winter haters would welcome it with arms wide open right now), another thing that is very different is the lack of cafés in Tkalča, one of the most iconic streets in the city, lined with cafés and bars.
However, one of the most popular streets in the city has only been a street for one hundred years – before that, it was a creek, called Medveščak, or sometimes Crkvenik.
Surrounded by mills, it was the heart of Zagreb’s industry, and mostly poorer workers lived in the 18 and 19th c. houses.
In 1898 the creek was covered in gravel from the Sava, and the street was conveniently called Potok (Creek). In 1913, it was renamed and named after Ivan Krstitelj Tkalčić, a 19th c. historian and archaeologist from Zagreb.
It turned into the street we all know and love in the ‘80s, with vibrant energy and lively cafes lining its every corner.
All photos from Zagreb – Kakav je bio nekada, Facebook.
