Monument to the poet and general Petar Preradović

The monument to Petar Preradović, situated in the square bearing his name, was a gift to the city of Zagreb from the theater director Stjepan Miletić, and it was crafted by the sculptor Ivan Rendić.

Initially, the statue was erected in what is now Strossmayer Square, behind the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU) building. That square was known as Academic Square between 1886 and 1928. The monument was officially unveiled on May 23, 1895.

In 1954, it was relocated to its present location on Cvijetni trg (Flower Square), the popular name among Zagreb residents for Petar Preradović Square. The poet is portrayed in natural size, wearing his general’s uniform, bareheaded, with a paper in his left hand and a writing quill in his right. The bronze statue stands on a pedestal made of Istrian marble.

The Petar Preradović Monument from 1895 is considered one of Rendić’s most skilled works. The very rigidity of the execution accentuates the stiff posture and the somewhat rough features of the Croatian writer. The pedestal is architecturally clean and simplified, mirroring the sculpture itself.