When Joseph II ascended to the throne (1780–1790), he issued a range of patents and edicts with the aim of standardizing the position of non-Catholics in the Monarchy. The Hungarian Edict of 31st of March 1783 enabled Jews to freely settle in Croatia and Slavonia and in free royal cities. Jews who settled in the northern parts of Croatian lands came mostly from western Hungary and the present-day eastern Austria and Moravia. The first census carried out in Croatia in 1857 showed that 5132 Jews lived in 330 settlements in the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia. The Jewish community significantly expanded in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Due to the fact that it was a late settlement, Jews mostly lived mixed together with non-Jewish inhabitants. The Jewish Community of Zagreb was founded in 1806. Besides establishing communities, Jews also often founded a range of different charitable societies and organizations, women and youth organization, and in the 20th century they founded sports societies. This was also the case for the Jewish Community of Zagreb. The community established its school as early as 1827. This period, from tolerance (1783) to emancipation (1873), was marked by the fight for equal rights, and the enactment of a range of laws which enabled the integration of the Jewish community into a wider society. The religious split in the Hungarian Jewish community also had an impact on the Zagreb Jewish community, and probably on other Croatian and Slavonian communities too. Jews came to Croatia and Slavonia mostly from the parts of Hungary affected by religious turmoil. Reform or neological religious orientation became dominant in Zagreb Jewish community.
A more intense settlement of Jews coincided with the economic and social modernization of Croatia and Slavonia, and they arrive enriched by the experiences gained in the center of the Monarchy. In the 2nd half of the 19th century and later, Jews in Croatian lands opened stores and banks, built factories in villages, towns and cities where they had not existed before. Then they did the same in the most developed communities, thus significantly contributing to the overall economic growth and the integration of the Croatian lands into the European economy, which also actively contributed to the process of Croatian national integration.
Jews in Zagreb invested into property, and the Downtown abounds with buildings built with the investment of Jewish individuals, families, or a part of Jewish architects. The most prominent buildings are the ones that we are passing by in our walk: Masarykova 22 (the work of architect Slavko Lowy, also known as „The first Zagreb skyscraper“, Preradovićeva 5, Bogovićeva 4, and finally Marićev Passage to Praška Street.
Taking into consideration all of the above mentioned, think about the contribution of Jewish community and individuals to Croatian culture and society. Do you know that these buildings are mostly protected as cultural heritage? You will come across them later in our walk while visiting other locations.