Maksimir Park, at East of Zagreb’s centre, is a 316-hectare (780-acre) park and it is the greatest masterpiece of garden architecture in Croatia. Founded in 1787, Maksimir Park was the first large public park in South-Eastern Europe, and predates the majority of Europe’s public park foundings. The park was opened in 1794 under the initiative of the man for whom it was named, Bishop Maksimilijan Vrhovac of Zagreb (1752–1827).At that time, the park was located on the outskirts of the city, although today it is surrounded by many of the city’s neighborhoods.[citation needed] It was formerly a dense forest of hornbeams (Carpinus betulus) and oaks (Quercus robur and Q. petraea). The remainder of the original forest survives as a girdle to the park, the area in total measuring above 1,005 acres (4.07 km2).
