Antun Gustav Matoš
One of the greatest figures in Croatian literature, who had a special connection with Samobor.
After fleeing the Austro-Hungarian army in 1908, Matoš accepted the invitation of his school friend, Mijo Juratović, to come to Samobor for recuperation. Unlike Vraz, Matoš did not encounter the love of his life here, but he discovered the strength of friendship and the belonging to a harmonious community. He praised the inhabitants of Samobor in his works and letters, and they in turn helped him in the hardest of times, until his last days in March 1914.
About a hundred years later, on 13 June 2016, on Matoš’s birthday, the town of Samobor paid one more respect to its friend – they placed his bust near the famous cafe bar Matoš, near the Matoš printing office, on the crossroads of the Matoš Street and the Krleža Street, not far from the high school Antun Gustav Matoš.
In that way, a work of the academic sculptor, Marija Ujević Galetović saw the light of day one more time. The bust was originally placed on 13 June 1978 when the impressive bronze bust was unveiled in the courtyard of the printing office by the workers. Still, a more suitable place was given to the writer who described the town with superlatives: “Beautiful is Samobor… Samobor is the bastion of Croatia and one of the most Croatian towns in Croatia“, as he stated.