Have you ever noticed the bronze statue of the lady with the umbrella on the little lawn about halfway along Tkalčićeva? That’s Marija Jurić Zagorka (1873-1957), author of books which are certainly classics. Zagorka lived most of her life in Zagreb and many of her stories are imbued with the fortunes of the city. They’re often based on historical fact embellished into rich and intriguing tales.

 

One such story, very well loved, is “The Witch from Grič”. Grič is the name for the lay part of the Upper Town, as opposed to ecclesiastical Kaptol – as you might know, they were originally separate cities. The story goes that a widow and owner of a successful bakery was so appealing as a woman and so successful as an entrepreneur that she attracted the envy of neighbours, the jealousy of women and the venom of men who failed to conquer her. For these reasons she was proclaimed a witch, but it took more than that to take the resourceful lady to the stake…

 

Zagorka’s tale was based on the story of a real life person who, among many women – and men – was proclaimed in league with the devil by a hysterical and envious society. Although Zagorka herself was born more than a century after the last “witch” was burned at the stake, it’s likely that as the first woman journalist in Croatia she felt the same condemnation and suspicion, which is probably why, throughout her life she fought against discrimination of all kinds. A true role model, still delighting and inspiring people today.