Why we love Karlovac?

Karlovac is the 9th largest city in Croatia and the political, cultural and economic center of Karlovac County. When you walk through the city for the first time, you will quickly see how charmingly, the historical-cultural heritage, nature, culture, and architecture are brought together, and they capture a story from some past times even today.

Karlovac is rich in museums, churches, castles, rivers, bathing areas, beautiful gardens and promenades, parks, plenty of sports and recreational facilities and tourist attractions, both in the city center and in its immediate vicinity.

Karlovac’s parks and promenades are of great value to the city’s residents and they are paying a lot of attention to them. The greenery, in general, is what characterizes Karlovac, which is confirmed by the number of parks in the city. Karlovac is the leader in Croatia by the number of parks considering its city area.

Everyone who loves to spend the day outdoors and enjoy nature walks has to visit the Alley of maple leaf trees in Karlovac, which was planted by Napoleon’s Marshal – Auguste Marmont back in 1809. The Marmont’s Alley is 850 meters long and planted with 112 maple leaf trees.

The promenade or today called the promenade of Dr. Franjo Tuđman, is another popular place in Karlovac, located around the “Star” of Karlovac. The large promenade extends along 11 old houses that used to be civic houses in the second half of the 19th century, and the promenade is recognizable by the trees that are planted in five rows.

Of the other green areas for walking in the city, the most striking are the Renaissance park located next to Karlovac University, the Black promenade, the Avenue of linden trees at the remains of the former fortress, the Arboretum at the Forestry School, the Modrušan park and the inevitable Vrbanić park, which in its original idea was conceived as an outdoor botanical garden.

What especially embellishes Karlovac and gives it a special charm is its history, which can still be observed today from old buildings, castles, and forts that resist the time even today.

Some of these buildings and settlements are the “Star” of Karlovac, which was built in the shape of a six-pointed star to defend the city, at a time when the Turkish army threatened with attacks. Karlovac’s Star also houses the Church of the Holy Trinity, which is also the oldest building in the city.

The old town of Dubovac, which was once the capital of the Princes of Zrinski and Frankopan, who lived there during the 15th and 16th centuries, is also indispensable. The old town of Karlovac was created at the foot of Dubovac.

He who loves history will be delighted by the fact that in Karlovac and its surroundings there are many remains of old medieval castles, forts and other buildings, the most attractive of which are Dubovac, Novigrad na Dobri, Ozalj, Ribnik, Bosiljevo fortress and the Pauline monastery in Kamensko which was founded by the Countess Catherine Frankopan.

Rivers are what Karlovac is known for and why it is nicknamed “the city on four rivers”. Namely, these are – Mrežnica, Korana, Kupa, and Dobra, which we could say represent the core of Karlovac as a city.

Apart from the rivers, Karlovac also has a beautiful natural environment in which visitors can enjoy sightseeing or engage in one of many sports and recreational facilities because Karlovac is a city known for sports and sports achievements.

Karlovac also houses the oldest music school in Croatia, founded back in 1804. and also the Zorin Dom City Theater opened in 1892. which gave a great impetus to the development of the art theater scene in Karlovac.

All these are the reasons why we love Karlovac and why we need to preserve it.

Karlovac je bogat muzejima, crkvama, dvorcima, rijekama, kupalištima, prekrasnim perivojima i šetalištima, parkovima, obiljem sportsko rekreacijskih sadržaja i turističkih atrakcija , kako u samom centru grada tako i u njegovoj bližoj okolici.

Ono što stanovnici grada izrazito cijene i čemu obraćaju veliku pozornost jesu karlovački parkovi i šetališta. Općenito zelenilo je to što karakterizira Karlovac što potvrđuje i broj parkova po kojima  prednjači u Hrvatskoj s obzirom na svoju površinu.

Svi koji vole dan provesti na otvorenom i uživaju u u šetnji po prirodi, definitivno moraju posjetiti Aleju platana u Karlovcu koju je još davne 1809. dao zasaditi Napoleonov maršal Auguste Marmont. Marmontova aleja duga je 850 metara i na njoj je posađeno 112 stabala javorolisne platane.

Velika promenada, ili danas šetalište doktora Franje Tuđmana drugo je popularno šetalište u Karlovcu, a nalazi se oko karlovačke Zvijezde. Velika promenada proteže se uz 11 starih kuća koje su nekad u drugoj polovici 19. stoljeća bile građanske kuće, a promenada je prepoznatljiva po stablima koja su posađena u pet redova.

Od ostalih zelenih površina za šetnju u gradom najupečatljivi su renesansni park koji se nalazi uz karlovačko veleučilište, Crna promenada, drvored lipa kod ostataka nekadašnje tvrđave, arboretum kod Šumarske škole, Modrušanov park te nezaobilazni Vrbanićev perivoj koji je u svojoj izvornoj ideji bio zamišljen kao botanički vrt na otvorenom.

Ono što posebno krasi Karlovac i daje mu posebnu draž je njegova povijest koja se i danas može isčitati iz starih građevina, dvoraca i utvrda koje se još uvijek odupiru vremenu.

Neke od tih građevina i naselja su karlovačka Zvijezda koja je naselje izgrađeno u obliku šesterokrake zvijezde u cilju obrane grada, u vrijeme kad su prijetili napadi od turske vojske. U sklopu karlovačke Zvijezde nalazi se i crkva Svete Trojice koja je ujedno i najstarija građevina u gradu.

Neizostavan je i stari grad Dubovac koji je nekadašnja prijestolnica knezova Zrinskih i Frankopana koji su tamo stolovali tokom 15. i 16. stoljeća. Podno Dubovca i nastao je stari grad Karlovac.

Tko voli povijest oduševit će ga činjenica da se u Karlovcu i njegovoj okolici nalazi mnoštvo ostataka starih srednjovjekovnih dvoraca, utvrda i ostalih građevina među kojima su turistički najatraktivnije Dubovac, Novigrad na Dobri, Ozalj, Ribnik, utvrda Bosiljevo te Pavlinski samostan u Kamenskom koji je osnovala grofica Katarina Frankopan.

Rijeke su ono po čemu je Karlovac poznat i po čemu i nosi nadimak “grad na četiri rijeke”, a to su Mrežnica, Korana, Kupa i Dobra, koje mogli bismo reći i predstavljaju njegovu srž kao grada.

Uz rijeke Karlovac krasi i prekrasno prirodno okruženje u kojemu posjetitelji mogu uživati u razgledavanju, ili baveći se nekim od niza sportsko rekreacijskih sadržaja, jer Karlovac je grad poznat po sportu i sportskim postignućima.

U Karlovcu se nalazi i najstarija glazbena škola u Hrvatskoj, osnovana davne 1804. Godine te također i Gradsko kazalište Zorin dom otvoreno davne 1892. Godine što je dalo veliki zamah razvoju umjetničko kazališne scene u Karlovcu.

Sve ovo su razlozi zašto volimo Karlovac i zašto ga moramo čuvati.