GC555R0 Pimp my Pump: Headquarters (Traditional Cache) in Croatia created by ArizonaSmith

This cache has been archived.

ArizonaSmith: The little house was painted again, all traces of Pimp my Pump crew are gone. No sense of keeping the cache here anymore. It will still be the reference of all pimped pumps around Zagreb. I am very sad that the time has come to archive this one. Farewell!
Mala kućica je opet prefarbana, svi tragovi Pimp my Pump ekipe su izbrisani, tako da nema smisla više držati cache na ovom mjestu. Cache će uvijek biti referenca o svim spimpanim pumpama u Zagrebu. Jako sam tužan što je došlo vrijeme za arhivaciju. Zbogom!

GC555R0 ▼

A cache by ArizonaSmith Message this owner

Hidden : 6/17/2014

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Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

EN: Iron water pumps are one of the symbols of "old Zagreb". They have been erected since the end of 19-th century, primarily in neighborhoods that were not connected to the municipal water supply (Trnje, Tresnjevka Bukovac), and in places where people always need to have an access to running water (cemeteries, markets ...). In Zagreb, the pumps with characteristic shape got nicknamed "Iron Francek" („železni Francek“), or "Iron Martin" („železni Martin“), and there are several versions about the origin of the name. Francek and Martin are frequent Zagreb names and nicknames were probably given with that in mind, but there is also a version that the name originated in the era when Emperor Franz Joseph came to Zagreb in 1895. to officially open the Croatian National Theatre.

I remember when I was a child, we used to spend whole afternoons playing football or basketball, and after the game we used to walk to the nearest pump (it's was never far away), and refresh ourselves with cold water. You should really push the pump handle hard for water to flow, so someone else had to hold the handle while you drink. There was a trick, that not all children knew about (and it didn’t work on all pumps), how to make the water go by itself for 10-20 seconds – you stuck a finger in a hole, blocking the water from exiting, while pressing the handle with the other hand. In a while, the water began to emerge from the area around the handle. Then, you released the handle and pulled out the finger, and voilà, the water run from the pump (without the handle being pressed) for long enough to satisfy your thirst.
Excellent article on the history of Zagreb pumps can be found here (croatian only, I’m afraid).

Several artists united in the group "PimpMyPump" decided to brighten up completely neglected Zagreb pumps, by spraying them with paint. Pump at the crossing of Trakošćanska and Kranjčevićeva street was perhaps the first to be “pimped”, the others followed shortly. The whole history of painting events can be found here (again, croatian only).

They started to pimp the pumps during the night, because they were afraid of the police, as they could be charged with vandalism. Slowly they became the “talk of the town”, and recently emerged as one of the town attractions, gained some sponsors (Adidas and Medvedgrad pub/restaurant), and currently organizing pimping as big events, with food, drinks, DJ and sport tournaments. They even branded a water bottle label (well, only the bottle, water comes from the pumps, obviously!). Way to go boys!

This little house was painted with motifs from many painted pumps in Zagreb, during the “Culture Fair”, October 10th-12th 2013. I like to think of it as “Pimp my Pump headquarters”, a quiet little place where PmP crew gathers in the evening to plan their next activities...

HR: Željezne pumpe za vodu su jedan od simbola „starog Zagreba“. Postavljane su već od kraja 19-og stoljeća, prvenstveno u kvartovima koji nisu bili spojeni na gradski vodovod (Trnje, Trešnjevka, Bukovac), te na mjestima gdje je stalno trebalo imati pristup tekućoj vodi (groblja, tržnice...). U Zagrebu su te pumpe karakterističnog oblika dobile ime „železni Francek“ ili „železni Martin“, a postoji više verzija o porijeklu imena. Francek i Martin su česta zagrebačka imena, pa su nadimci vjerojatno dani od milja, ali postoji i verzija da je ime nastalo u doba kad je car Franjo Josip 1895. godine došao u Zagreb svečano otvoriti Hrvatsko Narodno Kazalište.
Sjećam se kad sam kao dijete po cijelo popodne igrao nogomet ili košarku, a onda nakon igre pješačenje do najbliže pumpe (uvijek je neka bila u blizini), i osvježenje hladnom vodom. Drška pumpe se morala jako pritisnuti da poteče voda, tako da je netko drugi morao držati ručku dok bi ti pio. Postojao je i trik, kojeg nisu sva djeca znala (a nije ni radio na svim pumpama) kako se može srediti da voda sama ide jedno 10-20 sekundi – prstom se začepio otvor na pumpi, dok bi se drugom rukom držala pritisnuta ručka pumpe, sve dok voda ne bi počela izlaziti iz prostora oko ručke. Tada, kad bi se izvadio prst, voda je išla sama dovoljno dugo da se možeš lijepo napiti.
Odličan članak o povijesti zagrebačkih pumpi možete naći ovdje .

Nekoliko umjetnika udruženih u grupu “PimpMyPump” je odlučilo uljepšati potpuno zapuštene zagrebačke pumpe farbajući ih sprejem. Pumpa na križanju Trakošćanske i Kranjčevićeve je izgleda bila prva na “udaru”, nakon čega su slijedile i druge. Cijelu povijest događanja možete naći ovdje.
Ispočetka su farbali pumpe po noći jer su se bojali policije i optužbi za vandalizam. No, polako su postali vijest dana u gradu, te postali jedna od gradskih atrakcija, dobili sponzore (Adidas i pivnice/restorani Medvedgrad), te trenutno organiziraju pimpanje pumpe kao velike evente, s hranom, pićem, DJ-em i sportskim natjecanjima. Čak su lansirali i svoju marku vode u bocama (doduše, samo etiketu i boce, voda dolazi iz pumpi). Samo napred dečki!

Ova kućica je oslikana motivima sa već ofarbanih pumpi u Zagrebu tijekom “Velesajma kulture”, 10-12 listopada 2013. Ja nekako zamišljam da je ovdje “Pimp my Pump centrala”, tiho malo mjesto gdje se PmP ekipa okuplja i planira sljedeće aktivnosti...