Until the second half of the 19th century, Zagreb was a free and royal city consisting of Gradec and Kaptol, located at the base of the slopes of Mt. Medvednica.

There were villages in the vicinity - Trnje, Vrapce, Horvati etc. In the valley below the town were fairgrounds and the legendary Manduševac Spring.The former fairgrounds became the main city square, below which were built a series of parks: today's Zrinski Square, Strossmayer Square and Tomislav Square...

The parks, adorned with fountains and sculptures, were surrounded with magnificent palatial buildings, including the Palace of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Arts Pavilion and the Main Railway Station.Among the buildings constructed along the park edge is the Schlessinger Palace, named after its first owner.Built in the Secession style in 1891 overlooking what is today J. J. Strossmayer Square, in 1907 it was adapted into a hotel and thus became the first hotel to be opened in Zagreb. In 1987 at the time of the World Student Games, a new section of the hotel was built and the original section was completely reconstructed.