February the 2nd, 2026 – Croatia’s largest train station can be found in Zagreb, on one of the country’s most beautifully decorated old squares, but how much do you actually know about its long history?
As Putni kofer writes, it’s often the first thing that greets us when we arrive in any given European city. Very often these grand old train stations are attractions in and of themselves. They’re so much more than just another of many entrances to an urban hive, and special attention has usually been paid to their decoration, luxury, and architectural beauty.
Old train stations across Europe are often the pride of the cities they’re in, an indication of their power, greatness, and wealth. They’re always the beginning or end of a journey or a meeting place. One such building is Zagreb’s main railway station, or Glavni Kolodvor. It might not hold a candle to London’s St. Pancras or King’s Cross, but it is Croatia’s largest train station both in terms of its size and the trains that stop there. There are also a surprisingly large number of interesting stories related to it.
croatia’s largest train station is right next to the esplanade hotel, a direct link to the orient express
Croatia’s largest train station is located in the very centre of Zagreb, on one of the most beautiful squares in both the capital and the country, King Tomislav Square (Trg Kralja Tomislava). It is one of the symbols of the capital city, and in its immediate vicinity stands the famous Esplanade Hotel, another building that boasts a truly fascinating history associated with no less than the famous Orient Express.
The construction of Zagreb’s main train station building began back in 1890. It didn’t take all that long before it was completed, the building was opened on August the 18th, 1892, and was then called the State Railway Station. It was built according to the design of Ferenc Pfaff, the main architect of the Hungarian State Railways. It was and still is considered one of his most important works.
a grand opening for franz joseph I
The platform part of the building was designed along the entire length of its southern side. It had three tracks, the first of which was covered, and the other two were uncovered. The construction of the station reception building, its equipment and the construction of the boiler room were carried out by fourteen different Croatian and Hungarian companies. The construction of the station complex itself began in early 1891 and was completed on June the 20th, 1892. The station was opened for trial operation on July the 1st, 1892, but it was officially put into service after the ceremonial opening held on August the 18th, on the birthday of Emperor and King Franz Joseph I. After the ceremony, the first train set off towards Rijeka at 10:35 a.m.
It is a two-story building with two elevated side wings and a central pavilion. The main station building was built in the neo-Renaissance style, and the sculptures that adorn it were made in the sculpture company of Vilim Maršenko in Budapest. The building itself is 186.5 metres long, and has been renovated, or reconstructed, on several occasions. Once in the 1980s, on the occasion of the Univerzijada, and then again in 2006.
a protected cultural asset and the site of croatia’s largest railway accident
The main station building is actually listed as a protected cultural asset of Croatia, and within it is the chapel of the Mother of God, which was opened there in 1994, in honour of the arrival of Pope John Paul II. It was renovated much more recently in 2022.
Unfortunately, Croatia’s largest railway station was also the scene of the largest railway accident in the country, which occurred in August 1974. Back at that time, at the eastern entrance to the building, a passenger train travelling on the Athens-Belgrade-Zagreb-Dortmund route derailed its nine carriages and completely overturned. 167 of the approximately 400 passengers tragically lost their lives. Some of the passengers could not be identified due to the sheer extent of their injuries and had to be buried in a mass grave at Mirogoj.
The train crashed into the station at a speed of 104 kilometres per hour, instead of the permitted 50 kilometres per hour. More tragic still, this accident is considered to be caused by human error. The driver and his assistant, who survived, hid that fact, and it is believed that exhaustion was the cause. Both were sentenced to prison.
