King Tomislav Square in Zagreb, Croatia

This courageous warrior defended the continental part of Croatia from Hungarian attacks and for the first time united all Croatian lands into one country.

Tomislav successfully sought papal recognition of his realm, and was crowned as king in the year 925. Despite dying mysteriously three years later, his status as founder of the Croatian state has never been in doubt.

The statue of Tomislav on horseback was completed by sculptor Robert Frangeš Mihanović in 1938, although protracted political difficulties and the outbreak of World War II prevented the statue from being installed in its current location until 1947.