Poklade u Zagrebu (1900.-1918.)
Carnival in Zagreb (1900-1918)

Summary/Abstract: In this paper, a description is given of Carnival events as they were practised in Zagreb during the period from the beginning of the 20th century until the end of World War I, that is, at a time when Zagreb (and Croatia) were part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Since daily newspapers from that time (Obzor and Novosti, and some others) have served as the basic source of the material, the Carnival events are described from their public aspect. These were entertainments and other events that were held in public city spaces, both in enclosed premises and out in the open. Zagreb Carnival events were made up of three parts. The first was a prolonged prologue that lasted from Epiphany (January 6) until Shrove Tuesday, which was crammed with numerous jocular get-togethers, held and attended by all the social strata. The second part represented the culmination of the events; it took place on Shrove Tuesday, when masked balls were organised, along with masked processions and mock street battles with the throwing of sugar-coated almonds. The symbolic conclusion on Ash Wednesday, the third part, was expressed in a twofold manner: by the physical "burial" of the Carnival Prince, who was drowned in the Sava River, and by the metaphysical farewell at the so- -called herring feasts. Further on in the text a considerably summarised comment is given on the Carnival events that took place in the wartime era (1914-1918). The result of analysis has shown that the Zagreb Carnival events during the period in question were composed partly from the broadly disseminated pattern of (Central) European urban Carnivals, while, at the same time, being rooted in the centuries of their local existence, thus being marked by local reality.

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