Tkalčićeva Street, Zagreb (must see)

Tkalciceva Street was once the course of Medvescak Creek, creating the border between the twin settlements of Gradec and Kaptol. Since the earliest days of the city, the Medvescak had supported water mills along its length. The mills were the basis of Zagreb's industry, producing cloth, paper, soap, liquor, and leather.

Competition among the mills triggered feuds between Kaptol and Gradec. A treaty of 1392 limited the construction of new mills on the shared border. That left only two mills within the city, both owned by the Cistercian Monastery. The creek was covered over, and the mills were demolished in 1898. The result was the creation of a street named Creek Street.

In 1913, Creek Street (Ulica Potok) was renamed Tkalciceva Street in honor of historian and priest Ivan Tkalcic, who had died in 1905. Most of the houses on Tkalciceva Street date from the 18th or 19th century. The creek now serves as part of the Zagreb sewer system, but it had been a source of power to the Medvescak Fountain.

The street runs parallel to and in between Upper Town (Gornji Grad) and New Village (Nova Ves). It reaches Ban Jelacic Square to Little Street (Mala Ulica). Initially, it had been paved with gravel taken from the Sala River. In the 20th century, it was resurfaced with asphalt. Small businesses replaced the mills, and the leather industry closed shop in 1938.

Tkalciceva Street was a "red light" district in the early 20th century. Prostitution was legal, and the street was a popular tourist attraction. Every other house was a brothel. The most high-toned house was the Kod Zelene Lampe (Green Lantern). The sex business went the way of the mills and the leather shops with the coming of WW II.