Mason - Flat Stanley Visits Croatia!

Dear Mason and all of your friends!

My dearest friend Ashley Brown told Mason’s Flat Stanley to come and visit me in Croatia – so he did! First, he came to Varazdin, my birth place. We spent a weekend together and I showed him the city and the most famous attraction in town, the Old Town Castle that is separated from the city by embankments and moat.

This military fortress that you can see behind the Mason’s Flat Stanley, was unassailable from the outside due to the moat which was fed by the river Drava canal and the cannons inside the walls that in some places were 2.5 metres thick. Inside is the Old Town's Renaissance Palace, whose aristocratic owners have continually changed and adjusted it to suit their tastes from the 13th to the 19th Century. Today the entire Old Town is the Varaždin City Museum.

 The castle is surrounded with green hills and pine trees. All around the castle is path on the top of hills, and you can go for a walk around it. By walk you can see a small part of the town and lots of church roofs. 
 

Varaždin is one of the oldest in Croatia, and back in the days it was capital. This is the city of baroque, young people, music, flowers and

bicycles. Mason’s Flat Stanley enjoyed it very much! He took a photo with me, so he can show how much fun we had!

After Varaždin, we went for a trip to Zagreb. Zagreb is the biggest city in Croatia and capital. Zagreb is a city with a rich history dating from the Roman times to the present day. The name “Zagreb” is mentioned for the first time in 1094 at the founding of the Zagreb diocese of Kaptol, and Zagreb became a free royal town in 1242.

Ban Jelačić Square is the central square of the city of Zagreb, named after ban Josip Jelačić who is remembered for his abolition of serfdom in Croatia.

The square has existed since the 17th century. Its first name was Harmica. It features buildings belonging to different architectural styles and oldest standing building was built in 1827.

The square features a large statue of ban Josip Jelačić on a horse, that you can see on the photo and was created by Austrian sculptor Anton Dominik Fernkorn. The statue was originally installed on October 19, 1866 by Austrian authorities.

Mason’s Flat Stanley and I spent a great sunny weekend in Croatia – small country at the crossroads of Central Europe, Southeast Europe and the Mediterranean. It is famous for Adriatic Sea coast that contains more than a thousand islands. What more can I say – you must come and visit us!

Best, 

Danela