| Popis: |
Zagreb is a city with centuries-old tradition of annual fairs where first modern international trade fair was organized as early as 1864. History of Zagreb International Trade Fair begins back in 1909, when its predecessor, trade show named Zagreb Convention was founded and its first exhibition was held next year. Over the years the Fair changed its locations several times, due to physical limitations of the place available and lack of space needed. With last relocation to its current location on the right bank of the Sava River, close to the cardinal city axis, Zagreb Fair gained far greater importance, propelling also further development of the city and giving decisive impulse to immediate construction of emerging New Zagreb. For the following event 1957 the new Fair was completed i.e. substantially enlarged to the extension plan by Božidar Rašica, to comprise total of 21 exhibition pavilions: nine for domestic exhibitors, designed by renowned Croatian architects, and ten other for the and with also one more for collective foreign shows as well as one for domestic representatives of foreign industries. In upcoming decade or so several new pavilions were built, the others changed owners or users. Italy for instance constructed consecutively three national pavilions in 1956, 1959 and 1962, selling previous ones to Poland and to Netherlands and Switzerland respectively. Original Hungarian pavilion of 1956, having light and dismountable metal structure, after giving place to new BRD pavilion moved nearby and later again on more distant point to accommodate domestic wooden industries, while Hungary shared a new pavilion with Spain. Above all, however (new) Zagreb Trade Fair, generously arranged, embellished in time with fine landscaping and a number of open-air sculptural accents, was not only a prestigious international commercial event. Its premises become unrivaled arena for most direct head-to-head competition of radically opposed Western and Eastern worlds, involving (following establishment of Non-Aligned Movement 1961) also 3rd World countries in famous AYA - Africa-Asia-Yugoslavia exhibition hall. |
