engleski

Hidden Historical Cemetery in a Zagreb Neighbourhood

Cemeteries are both sacred and emotional spaces that can reveal the hopes and fears of the people who created them and were buried there. Interactions with death, dead bodies, and burials produce a mixture of emotions, fear being the most common among them. In our study, we investigate the perceptions and emotions associated with the abandoned historical cemeteries in Zagreb. In the territory of modern Zagreb, there are several cemeteries from the medieval and early modern period. All of them were closed in the 19th century and converted into public spaces (parks, squares, hospitals). St. George’s Cemetery is the only one with visual reminders of its original purpose: a few tombstones and graves remain in today’s park. It is, therefore, a place with multiple identities in the urban neighbourhood. Some of them are based on mysteries and legends related to death and the occult. In this paper local narratives (stories, legends, memories, emotional attachment, and different identifications) about historical cemeteries are collected and analysed. The research also includes interviews focusing on residents from the community of Zagreb’s Upper Town, near the abandoned St. George’s Cemetery. Residents’ answers provide insights into their observations, perceptions, and emotions relating to the hidden cemetery in their immediate surroundings.

historical cemeteries, St. George’s Cemetery, Zagreb, fear of dead bodies, fear of cemeteries, mysteries, legends

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