English Park

Topusko is a small spa town in the Banovina region of central Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it has been known for its warm springs since Roman times. The thermal water, rising at a high temperature, has drawn bathers and patients for centuries, and the town grew around its spa. English Park, laid out in the style of the English landscape garden, is the green space beside the spa buildings and one of the pleasantest places in town for a walk.

The English landscape style became fashionable in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, as designers moved away from strict formal gardens toward a more natural look. Instead of straight avenues and clipped hedges, parks of this type offer winding paths, open lawns, groups of trees placed to frame a view and sometimes a small lake or a pavilion. Spa towns across Central Europe adopted the style for their curative parks, where patients were prescribed gentle walks as part of their treatment, and English Park in Topusko follows that tradition. Old trees give shade in summer, and in autumn the colours are rich.

The park is not a place for dramatic sights. It is a place for slow strolling, for sitting on a bench with a book, for letting children run and for taking a break between baths and sightseeing. Joggers use the paths in the morning and families gather at weekends. Neighbouring spots in the same part of town include the 19th-century Medical Restoration building, the Mollinariyevo Spring, named after a 19th-century commander connected with the spa, and the modern Topusko Spa, with its pools and treatments.

Topusko also has a good deal of history to offer. The ruins known as Opatovina are the remains of a medieval abbey, founded by monks in the Middle Ages, and the area around the springs holds traces of Roman bathing. Nikolino brdo, a hill on the edge of town, gives a view over the roofs and the surrounding countryside, and paths lead to Lake Ribnjak, a fishpond, and the woodlands nearby. The thermal pools of the spa are a main reason for visiting, and a walk in the park is a natural complement.

The park is free and open at all times. It suits spa guests, families, walkers and anyone who enjoys a restful corner in a small, quiet town. A visit takes half an hour to an hour, and the best seasons are spring for blossom and autumn for colour.