Has it ever happened to you that a bookstore looked mundane from the outside, but turned out to be a real treasury inside? That’s exactly what happened to me when I visited Znanje (“knowledge”) bookstore in the center of Zagreb. The facade was a bit … weird, as the bookstore seems to be part of the hotel or something. Also, the shop windows didn’t really invite me to go in, as they featured some children’s cardboard figures and toys.
But I didn’t let myself be discouraged and proceeded down the stairs to the ground floor, which is almost entirely devoted to foreign language books. They have a most popular section, a new arrivals section, and sections meticulously divided into genres, like fiction, history, cooking, science fiction etc. I must tell that this simple-looking store had probably one of the best selections of English literature in terms of the variety. I was able to find a book here that I’ve been hunting after for a long time, and it is an Italian literature book! I also liked how orderly and organized everything was on the shelves, how well the books were grouped regarding certain topics or genres.
This bookstore is very simple. No fancy leather armchairs or cafe serving lattes (although, those are nice complements, too :), just good professionally selected literature. Also noteworthy is the fact that they have some foreign books in languages other than English there (German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian). Not so many of those, but still a rare occasion in a European bookstore.
The prices are common for Croatia, around 100 kuna per paperback (approximately 13 euros). I bought two books in English: a Morante, a collection of essays by Aciman (never read him but was intrigued by the blurb), a book in Spanish by Sabato and a book in German by Seethaler, the latter two as a way to torture myself trying not to forget these two languages I have once learned 🙂
If you are ever in the Croatian capital and in need of a good companion, visit Znanje located at Gajeva ul. 1 in Zagreb, and thank me later!