Early this afternoon, I took a walk. As I was walking past an antiquarian bookstore, I noticed a hardbound book with a promising title in the window: Old Zagreb. I stopped, hesitated for a moment, and then entered the store. Written by a certain Gjuro Szabo, the book was published in Zagreb by Vasić and Horvat in 1941 in what was still the Kingdom of Yugoslavia at the time. Zagreb was to become the capital of the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state that lasted through the end of World War II, the very same year. Attracted by the confluence of names behind the book, for the writer was of Hungarian origin, while the publishers were of Serbian and Croatian origin, respectively, I bought the book. When I returned to my beloved’s apartment, I started leafing through it in search of a surprise justifying the unexpected purchase. And I found it in no time. Hungarian king Bela IV declared Zagreb a free royal town in 1242 because of the Mongol threat (p. 17). This was the precondition for the erection of a protective wall around the upper town, which was completed in 1266 (p. 19). In short, Zagreb is forever indebted to Mongols.

Addendum (February 11, 2017)

Early this afternoon, I took another walk. When I came to the same antiquarian bookstore, I stopped by the window. And I spotted another hardbound book of the same ilk. Written by a certain Rudolf Horvat, it bore a promising title: The Past of the City of Zagreb. This time around, I did not hesitate for long. The book was published in Zagreb by an association called The Croatian Patriot in 1942 in the so-called Independent State of Croatia. When I returned to my beloved’s apartment, I looked for surprises, and it did not take me long to stumble upon the Mongols one more time. According to Horvat, king Bela IV came to Zagreb in 1241 in his flight from the Mongols, who had occupied much of Hungary already (p. 2). He remained in the upper town together with his family and servants for several months. The Mongols wanted to take him captive, and they crossed into Croatia at Christmas of the same year, but the king and his retinue fled to Dalmatia in time. When the Mongols arrived, they burned down all houses and churches in the town. They also killed everyone who had not managed to escape their onslaught. Mongols left both Croatia and Hungary early in 1242, though. On his return to Hungary a few months later, Bela IV passed through Zagreb. Appalled by the devastation he witnessed, he declared it a free royal town so as to help it redevelop as quickly as possible (p. 3). Horvat’s book was published by The Croatian Patriot in celebration of the seven-hundredth anniversary of this historical twist in Zagreb’s history. One way or another, Zagreb is forever indebted to Mongols for sure.