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History

The first serious ideas about garden exhibitions emerged in the 1930s (at the then "Zagrebački zbor" fair), but the war and its aftermath delayed all of them. It was not until 1966 that Zagreb got its Flower Fair. The first real exhibition, although relatively modest. Večernji list, a newspaper that was already at that point aimed at citizens, deserves the most credit for that.

For the first ten years (until 1975), the Flower Fair was organized exclusively by Večernji list. The exhibition takes place in May or June each year, and already at the second exhibition (in 1967), in addition to flower manufacturers from Zagreb, exhibitors from other parts of the former Yugoslavia and abroad also participated in the exhibition. 155 of them. It all started in the atria of the Upper Town, but soon the Fair expanded to the streets and squares of the Upper Town.

In late 1975, the expert and organizational tasks of the Fair were taken over by RO "ARTO", and Večernji list became a sponsor. As a company specialized in various events, "ARTO" expanded the content of Flower Fair, and in 1977 the flower manifestation grew into a real International Flower Fair.

In the following years, the Fair was accompanied by various related exhibitions and events, for example, the winners in the florists competition in 1981 gained the right to participate in international competitions organized by (FLEUROP-INTERFLORA). 1991 was the last year in which the Flower Fair was held in the Upper Town, organized by RO "ARTO".

In the year of international recognition of Croatia, the Fair also reached its turning point. This year, 1992, the Fair Flower was renamed to Floraart, and the "Zrinjevac" company became the new organizer of the event. This year also marked the redefinition of the Fair into International Garden Exhibition that moved from the Upper Town streets and squares to Sava. More precisely, to Prisavlje next to Boćarski dom.

The reason for this change was the wish to bring the Zagreb flower fair closer to similar manifestations in cities of developed European gardening tradition and to strengthen its international significance as much as possible. And this is exactly what happened. With its interior (4000 m2), Boćarski dom in Zagreb, gave our florists a professional boost that, when it comes to beauty of making flower arrangements, placed them side by side with European florists.

The exterior (30,000 m2), on the other hand, enabled a variety of children's playgrounds, as well as a whole range of categories of arranging demonstration gardens, flower gardens, presentations of dendrology material, etc.

The Croatian Florists Cup is also regularly held. The origins of the accompanying manifestation "Cvijet u srcu grada" (Flower at the Heart of the City) also trace back to that period. This manifestation announces the exhibition on a Sunday preceding the week in which Floraart is held.
The interior of Boćarski dom Zrinjevac, one year after another, was facing space restrictions in the organization of exhibition, so in 2006 a decision was made to move the exhibition to the newly arranged area of Bundek lake. On the bank of Sava river, a former city bathing place was transformed into one of the most beautiful green areas in Zagreb. The large surface area (30 hectares) opened up the possibility of forming flower beds, in which up to 200,000 various summer-blooming plants are planted each year.

The variety of children's playgrounds was not forgotten either, so in the last few years a playground for children with disabilities was constructed, as well as two playgrounds for children of various age groups.

Finally, we would like to point out that  Floraart is above all an educational event, since, same as similar exhibitions in cities of developed European gardening tradition, it is primarily directed towards raising the environmental awareness of citizens, following in the footsteps of the heritage of Zagreb's gardening tradition.