The First Public Park in Croatia

The Queen Jelena Madijevka Park on the bastion Ponton is the first public city park in Croatia. It was initiated by the Austrian Commander Baron Franz Ludwig von Welden, a passionate botanist and admirer of Dalmatian flora, and opened on 16^th September 1829. On the north-eastern side of the Park there used to be a café in a quasi-arabesque style. The fact that the Emperor Francis Joseph visited, alongside other city sights, while residing in Zadar in 1875, these public spaces as well, bears witness to the popularity of the Park and café during that time.