Walking tour

Samobor is ideal for walking. One can get anywhere within 15 minutes, if in a hurry. But, who would hurry through Samobor?

Leave the car at the largest parking lot in town, just behind the Samobor Open University (cinema) in the Kompare Street or in any of the access streets near the central town square. On Sundays the parking is free so we have given you one less reason to hurry. The yellow church tower of the Samobor parish church can serve as the orientation mark to get to the town centre or just follow the Gradna stream. If you follow it upstream from the parking lot near the cinema, it will take you to the King Tomislav Square in under 5 minutes, unless you stop in one of many Samobor cafés for a cup of coffee or a local aperitif, bermet, or in a cake shop for a famous Samobor cream cake kremšnita, or in a restaurant for a delicious local snack or lunch.

Central town square is the place where you can fill up your mobile phone or camera memory card to the fullest – each building brings back the spirit of the old times, was built with rich details or is a part of an important history – so, for example, on number 13 there is a balcony on which the famous Illyrian poet, Stanko Vraz, first saw his inspiration and muse, Julijana Cantilly, and on number 14, the great writer Antun Gustav Matoš spent his days in Samobor. In the centre of the square there is an old well with potable water and a legend – who takes a sip from the well will always return to Samobor.

If you head for the parish church of Saint Anastasia, you will pass a little house built in 1601 which was the home of the Samobor elementary school. In front of the church there is a statue of the Virgin Mary dedicated to the victims of the First World War, while the plateau in front of the church offers an amazing view of the main square and a large part of the town.

The path on the south side of the church along the iron fence leads to the grave of the celebrated Julijana Cantilly (1812-1842). From the grave take the path along the Passage of Croatian Poets or take the route from the outside, through the Park of the Homeland Gratitude beside the statue dedicated to the late Samobor Homeland War defenders, to the stairs descending to the Milan Lang Street and towards the Franciscan monastery with the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Just opposite the monastery take a glimpse of the “first vacation house” in Samobor, the famous Wagner’s villa with the sequoia park, or the building of the old school. Take the Langova and the Perkovčeva Street, pass the fountain at the crossroads and return to the main square over the bridge dating from 1906 which, at the time, was the second reinforced concrete bridge in Europe.

After returning to the main square it is time to discover the other side of the town. Taking a photo on the wooden bridge across the Gradna stream is a must, capturing the Venice look-a-like canal behind you. Over the bridge is another historical sight, the famous hotel Lavica, built as the addition to the offer of the Hydropathic baths from the 19th century which is located further down the walkway. The big manor house in the park is now the Samobor museum which used to be the home of Ferdo Livadić, who gathered numerous Illyrians at the time, and whose surroundings is now adorned with sculptures and impressive trees along the Gradna stream.

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