Čija Je Ona Livada, Čija Ona Trava

In the words of the Herzegovinan folk song Moj Ivane (My Ivan), re-arranged by Marko Perković Thompson in 2000: 'Whose is that lawn, whose is that grass?'

If it's been talked about in the last couple of days, it's probably been Franjo Tudjman's.

Jutarnji list goes into much more detail today about architect Nenad Fabijanić's planned redevelopment of the square into 'a big park with paths, a long pool, a glass pavilion and underground parking.'

The new Tudjmanov trg could eventually host the type of cultural events currently held on Zrinjevac, Jelačićev trg and Cvjetni trg, and even replace the Manduševac fountain as school-leavers' preferred location of watery chaos during their end of year Norijada celebrations.

In fact, the plan seems to have been kicking around Zagreb Town Hall for several years, but according to Fabijanić 'has the greatest urban and social potential in the area of the broader centre of Zagreb', whatever its name:

'When I was working on the project, just like today, I thought that that space could become a city park which could contain various urban functions, from the utilitarian to the symbolic, and become an important social area in the western part of the city where there isn't a single square between Britanski trg and Črnomerec. [...] Whatever name it has received, I see that space as a starting point for the reurbanisation process of the western part of central Zagreb and a place where its urban identity in the 21st century can be confirmed, in which I expect participation by the artistic elite of Zagreb and Croatia.'

All very social and, well, democratic. In fact, art historian Krešimir Galović even recommends that 'monumental monuments' (such as those already erected to Tudjman in towns such as Slavonski Brod) won't suit the space at all, although 'a giant screen' might do the job nicely.

The Gazette doesn't like to be one for predictions, but it's safe to say Ankica Tudjman, Ivo Sanader, Jadranka Kosor and the rest aren't likely to be satisfied with a big screen. Or even the 'single square between Britanski trg and Črnomerec.'

There's not much chance of landing Zagreb with two Tudjman Squares, but it's worth wondering whether the pressure will continue until another prime zagrebački location is named after the late president.

Somewhere like... Zagreb airport, perhaps?

Tudjman Square: Consensus (Or Not)

Jutarnji list is now reporting that the Zagreb City Council's committee on such matters has decided the public space to be renamed in honour of Franjo Tudjman will be - 'the currently unnamed space' between Trg Francuske Republike, Ilica and Ulica Republike Austrije. (So much for Rooseveltov trg and all the other proposals.)

So nobody/nowhere needs to be displaced from public memory after all (except Rudolf von Habsburg, that is: the space is sometimes called Rudolfove vojarne or Rudolf's barracks) and the naming will usefully commemorate 'the space [where] the first president Tudjman held his legendary speech and mass rallies during Croatia's independence.'

Needless to say, not everyone's happy with it. Deputy prime minister Jadranka Kosor has attacked the decision as 'completely unacceptable to [her party] HDZ' and a politicised message from the city's social-democrat mayor Milan Bandić over 'who decides everything in Zagreb'.

Meanwhile, Tudjman's wife Ankica (who's been lobbying for Rooseveltov trg) has complained that Tudjman only held one election rally on the square at a time when he was president of HDZ rather than president of the Croatian state, and moreover that 'it isn't a square at all, but a "named space".'

It's not all bad news for the državotvorni lobby, though: check out the chequerboard-heavy mockups for the square's redesign.

...A Vrati Nam Franju

Neretva River also relays the suggestion from Večernji list that the circus over which Zagreb square should be renamed after late president Franjo Tudjman may finally have pulled into... Britanski trg. Britain out of zagrebački municipal memory, and Tudjman in? It's probably a fair exchange for most, although it's a wonder nobody's yet proposed renaming Britanac after that well-known friend of Croatia, Paul Robinson.

(So far, the inexhaustive list of potential Tudjmanovih trgova (etc.) has included Rooseveltov trg, Trg Francuske Republike, Ulica Hrvatske bratske zajednice, and Zagreb's Pleso airport - all unsuitable in the eyes of one or other Tudjman relative and/or municipal politician.)