Zagreb Before It Even Existed – Before 1094 – Roman Emperors in Zagreb
During foundation excavations in 1877 for the Palace of Justice, today’s County Court in Zagreb, at 5 Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square, a sestertius of Emperor Hadrian was found. The bronze coin was minted between 134 and 138.
On the obverse of the coin is the inscription HADRIANVS AVG COS III PP and a bust of the emperor with a laurel wreath in drapery facing right. On the reverse is the personification of Egypt.
The inscription carved on the plaque in Roman capitals reads:
BRONZE COIN OF EMPEROR HADRIAN MINTED 134–138 FOUND AT THIS LOCATION IN 1877
The installation of an enlarged copy of Hadrian’s coin on the façade of the County Court building in Zagreb was organized as part of the project Zagreb Before It Even Existed – Before 1094, as the thirteenth realization within the campaign and the second within the project Roman Emperors in Zagreb.
Roman Emperors in Zagreb
The title of the exhibition and cultural project Roman Emperors in Zagreb contains a small paradox. When the Romans lived in this area, during the first few centuries AD, Zagreb did not yet exist, and conversely, when the bishopric was founded here in the 11th century, the Romans were no longer present.
Therefore, there is no continuity of settlement like the one that can be traced in many coastal cities up to the present day, but there is continuity of inhabitation of this area.
Antiquity appears in different environments at different times – in some places it begins earlier and lasts longer, while elsewhere it appears later and disappears earlier.
In the area where Zagreb is located today, the appearance of antiquity can be placed in the last decades before Christ, while its end came sometime during the 5th century AD. In other words, this area was incorporated into the Roman Empire for about four and a half centuries.
This period in Zagreb and its immediate surroundings has been confirmed by material remains at more than 120 sites.
At the top of the hierarchy of power in every empire, including the Roman Empire, stood the emperor, who during his reign, among other things, minted coins bearing his image.
Some such examples have been found in the very center of Zagreb, in the Upper and Lower Towns, which comes as quite a surprise to today’s inhabitants.
Within this project, five very important Roman emperors were selected at five locations: Augustus, Domitian, Hadrian, Probus and Diocletian. They ruled during the first four centuries AD.
The locations are: Diocletian, Ban J. Jelačić Square; Hadrian, 5 N. Š. Zrinski Square; Augustus, St. Mark’s Square; Probus, Tkalčićeva Street; and Domitian, Mletačka Street.
Over 28 years of systematic implementation of the museum-educational campaign Zagreb Before It Even Existed – Before 1094, twelve museum objects, in the form of their replicas, have moved out of the static museum environment into the bustle of Zagreb’s streets, at the authentic locations where they were found.
Their mission is to raise awareness of Zagreb’s natural and cultural heritage and to breathe a touch of museum character into the living urban fabric.