24 August 2019

Zagreb Hrelic flea market

Hrelic, at last! In August 2019 I could spend a whole Sunday in Zagreb, which means I could visit the large open-air flea market (every Sunday morning).

Zagreb Hrelic flea market, August 2019.
It is no different from other flea markets, of course! Lots of clothes and books (99.5% in Croatian, obviously), mechanical stuff, fishing equipment, very little electronics. I noticed that there was almost no stuff from 1970's, because Croatia at that time wasn't as wealthy as it is now and their borders (Yugoslavia) were closed to many Western products. Most sellers place their stuff on the ground, so be prepared to bend if you spot something that catches your interest.

It took us two hours to walk through 90% of the stalls, but consider that only 70% of them were occupied. And by noon they started leaving! Therefore plan you timing accordingly, if you are serious about finding something unique (for you ;) ).

I bought a working Canon VHS videocamera/camcorder for less than 100 kn and a vintage 4.5V flashlight for 1 kn. The first item will donate the CRT viewfinder to a clock/display project while the flashlight will need some restoration of battery contacts before being usable again.

How to get there.
You can get there by tram and walk about 1 km on the Western bank of the river Sava. Or you can go by car, pass the used cars market and enter a large parking area (10 kuna/stay in 2019). Note: throughout the 1 km walk there are occasional "pirate" sellers, that you'll miss if you go by car.

It is all in open air. Hot in a sunny Summer day, freezing cold in Winter. Dress accordingly! I was lucky to be there in a cloudy August day, which was perfect.

You can buy food and beverages at few kiosks spread around the area, if you aren't looking for a modern cozy romantic restaurant :) I didn't look for toilets.


It was a positive experience and I will pay another visit when I have a chance.

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