One of the chief industries in Samobor is crystal cutting, although it also relies heavily on weekend excursions of residents from Zagreb; Lada tells me that it is common to head there for a coffee.
Sitting above the town on Temec Hill, about 20 minute walk from the town centre, is Stari Grad Samobor, the 13th Century Samobor Old Town (really a castle fortress); today it is in ruins and only parts of the walls remain, after the last inhabitants abandoned it in the 18th century. It is accessed by a series of dirt (mud) tracks; it seemed like a good place to start my visit.
It struck me as I walked along the wall, that most of the men (yes, all men) were in their mid to late 20's when they died - roughly the same age as I was in the early to mid-1990's! It gave me another cause to pause and consider how lucky we are in Australia.
Once again I was struck by how low-rise the city centre is, which gives it a lovely, open feel, which is also very pleasant and people-friendly. Most of the high-rise office buildings are not in the centre, but somehow the city centre is obviously thriving; and perhaps that has to do with the medium to high density apartment living that fills the city centre, rather than a city centre almost totally reliant on businesses, that empty as soon as the lights go out every night and over the weekends (other than the pubs and clubs, of course).
The square was named after Croatia's first king, and is dominated by a monument to him. King Tomislava defended the continental part of Croatia from Hungarian attacks and for the first time united all Croatian lands into one country; with papal recognition of his realm, he was crowned king in the year 925.
It seems that he rode a steed - not a gelding, and definitely not a mare!
The roads around the square are home to some beautiful buildings from the 1800's, so I've included a couple of shots alongside the Art Pavilion:
The square that bears his name is home to a fine bronze of St George and the dragon - this time with St George in the act of slaying the beast.
From here, I wandered the streets, finding a few more interesting sculptures, on my way back to the city's main square - Ban (Governor) Jelacic Square: