Zaprešić - WikiHQ

Zaprešić () is a town in Zagreb County, in central Croatia. It has a population of 19,644 inhabitants in the town proper, with 25,223 in the administrative area. The town's metropolitan area, which encompasses the seven neighbouring municipalities, has a population of 54,640. Zaprešić is the third-largest, and most densely populated town of the county. It is located northwest of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and near the Slovenian border. It is centered on plains north of the Sava River, and is bordered by Medvednica Mountain to the east, and the Marija Gorica Hills to the west.

The first human settlement in, and near Zaprešić dates from the Neolithic, and several Roman roads were constructed in the area. Vicinity to transport corridors is also reflected in the meaning of the name (za, 'near or behind', prešće 'crossing'). The first records of the settlement date from 1474, although, some authors claim that the church of Saint Peter in Zaprešić could have been mentioned in a document supposedly written in 1334. In the late medieval and early modern times, the village history includes being a part of a feudal estate Susedgrad, as well of being a part of Brdovec parish.

During the 19th century the town was operating the first meat packaging plant in Croatia. However, it was not formally established as a town until 1995. The town is governed by a mayor, a town government of seven members (upper house), and a town council of twenty-one (lower house). Zaprešić has its own fire department, but police coverage is provided by the City of Zagreb. Komunalno poduzeće Zaprešić manages all utilities except electricity. Tap water in Zaprešić is of high quality.

Due to its many rail, and road transport corridors, Zaprešić has been dubbed the "northwestern gate to Zagreb County". It lies directly next to the A2 highway connecting Zagreb to Central Europe. It also is adjacent to the main railway leading northwest out of Zagreb. Centered on the tertiary sector, the town's economy is booming due to a large population influx.

Zaprešić's educational facilities range from kindergartens to centers of higher education. The town is home to four elementary schools, one high school, and two universities. The Zaprešić metropolitan area contains six castles that together make up what is known as the "palace path." The town also has a museum and an art gallery. The most popular sport in the region is football, and the local team was NK Inter Zaprešić, that used to be a member of the First Football League of Croatia. Other sports are also present in Zaprešić, and the town is home to a golf resort.

History

The first records of human inhabitants in area of what is today Zaprešić can be traced back to the Neolithic, which can be seen by stone axes found in nearby Brdovec, and axes from the Copper Age found in Marija Gorica. Hallstatt culture traces were also uncovered in the area of Sveti Križ. The Romans left their imprints on nearby in the form of the Siscia–Neviodunum–Emona road, which followed Sava River on its left bank through area of what is today Zaprešić, passing near modern settlements. In 1334, the parish church of St. Peter was founded in Zaprešić, marking the first evidence of the modern settlement of Zaprešić. The settlement developed rapidly, which is attributed to its position on trade and transit routes. Another revolt leader was Ilija Gregorić, a resident of Marija Gorica.thumb|left|Memorial panels on Zaprešić railway station building dedicated to martyrdom of local peasants in 1903.

In 1903, Zaprešić railway station was a hotspot of two anti-Hungarian riots caused by Khuen Hedervary's magyarization policy and breaking of Croatian–Hungarian Settlement of 1868 by installing Hungarian national symbols on railway objects across Croatia. These demonstrations were part of a wider national movement that swept the country at a time. In both occasions the demonstrations turned into a scuffle with local gendarmes which ended up with several peasants killed and dozens of locals arrested. Peasants that were killed or injured by the gendarmes are traditionally celebrated as a heroes and national martyrs. In their honour, two separate memorial boards were placed on the building of Zaprešić railway station in 1928. and 2003. After the First World War, the oldest meat industry in Croatia, the Industrija mesnih proizvoda, was founded.

Zaprešić was formally established for the first time in 1952, when the Municipality of Zaprešić () was formed. The municipality operated as part of the Zagreb kotar and later City of Zagreb. The Town of Zaprešić (Grad Zaprešić) was incorporated on 30 November 1995. On that day, parts of the surrounding municipalities of Pušća, and Hruševec Kupljenski (which was disbanded, leaving only a namesake settlement) and the City of Zagreb were incorporated into a new Town of Zaprešić. The settlement of Merenje came under the jurisdiction of Zaprešić on 17 January 1997.

Geography

Zaprešić is a part of the metropolitan area of Croatia's capital and largest city, Zagreb. It is located northwest of Zagreb, lying near the confluence of the Krapina River, and the Sava River. Zaprešić has a lake, Lake Zajarki, situated between the town and the river Sava in the south. It is colloquially known as Bager (Croatian word for excavator). The lake is currently still used as a gravel pit, although it is a known destination for Zaprešić swimmers and beach goers, as well as local people and foreign tourists who do recreational fishing. Fishing activities on lake Zajarki are regulated by Šrd Šaran, Zaprešić. In 2017. the picnic zone was built on eastern side of a big lake which includes barbecue houses and beach volleyball, handball and football fields.

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, the town of Zaprešić has 24,132 inhabitants, a decrease from 2011, 96.82% being Croats, the 2nd largest ethnic group is Serbs at 0.76% followed by Bosniaks at 0.48%.

Religious affiliation in Zaprešić is 81.39% Catholic, followed by 0.87% Orthodox and 5.15% "Other Christians".

{| class="wikitable sortable plain-row-headers"

|+Population development by settlement

! Settlement

! style="width:3em" | 1948

! style="width:3em" | 1953

! style="width:3em" | 1961

! style="width:3em" | 1971

! style="width:3em" | 1981

! style="width:3em" | 1991

! style="width:3em" | 2001

! style="width:3em" | 2011

! scope="row" | Hruševec Kupljenski

| 627

| 609

| 608

| 488

| 552

| 450

| 453

| 432

! scope="row" | Ivanec Bistranski

| 590

| 597

| 584

| 593

| 716

| 823

| 932

| 937

! scope="row" | Jablanovec

| 865

| 851

| 861

| 843

| 868

| 1,042

| 1,342

| 1,378

! scope="row" | Kupljenovo

| 559

| 628

| 644

| 618

| 682

| 722

| 705

| 704

! scope="row" | Lužnica

| 96

| 67

| 91

| 89

| 65

| 64

| 62

| 40

! scope="row" | Merenje

| 252

| 235

| 227

| 175

| 113

| 186

| 158

| 129

! scope="row" | Pojatno

| 689

| 719

| 818

| 837

| 958

| 1,013

| 1,157

| 1,213

! scope="row" | Šibice

| 312

| 297

| 340

| 466

| 385

| 742

| 777

| 746

! scope="row" | Zaprešić

| 2,294

| 2,537

| 3,311

| 4,992

| 8,201

| 15,678

| 17,538

| 19,644

! scope="row" | Total

| 6,284

| 6,540

| 7,484

| 9,101

| 12,540

| 20,720

| 23,125

| 25,223

Austro-Hungarian 1910 census

According to the 1910 census in Croatia, town of Zaprešić had 5,056 inhabitants, which were linguistically and religiously declared to be:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0.5em auto; text-align: center;"

|+Town of Zaprešić

! Language !! Religion

| valign=top |

Economy

thumb|right|[[Messer Group|Messer Croatia Gas chemical facility]]

Due to its accessible location with favorable conditions for expansion, and a very high net migration, and population growth rates (estimated to be 29 persons per 1,000 per year), Zaprešić is expecting an economic boom. Despite the 2008 financial crisis that affected many cities in Croatia, including the capital, the town operates without loans and expects a yearly budget increase in the range of 20 to 30 percent. The tertiary sector is dominant with mainly retailing, and hospitality, and a smaller presence of tourism, as well as souvenir manufacturing and financial and business services. The secondary sector is also present with ceramic industry (Inker - as of 2006 part of Roca), metalworking (Karbon Nova, Lanac, and Unija metali) and chemical industry (Messer Croatia plin, Montkemija). The primary sector mainly consists of agriculture, and is expected to continue shrinking. There are currently of arable land for agricultural use, but the town's general urban plan anticipates an economic shift will lower the amount of agricultural use to by 2015, thus speeding the process of suburbanization started by the expansion of Zagreb. The future of Zaprešić's economy is seen in the development of small, and mid-sized businesses, tourism, and food-related industries. The town's budget in 2008 amounted to HRK 198 million.

The West Gate Shopping Center is a shopping mall located next to the Krapina River and A2 motorway, the center serves 2.3 million residents in the Zagreb region. It is also the largest in the Zagreb metropolitan area with of gross leasable area. Construction started in late 2007. It was opened in October 2009.

Culture and media

thumb|right|Matija Skurjeni Museum

Zaprešić's cultural heritage includes a series of six historic castles and palaces known as "the palace path" (): Lužnica mansion, Januševac palace, Laduč mansion, Oršić family mansion, Jakovlje palace, and Novi Dvori. Novi Dvori (also known as Novi Dvori Jelačićevi – New Jelačić Palace) is known for being the residence of Josip Jelačić, one of the most famous Croatian bans. However, before that it was inhabited by five families (the last one being Erdödy) after its construction in 1611 as a simple two-story house. It remains a well-preserved example of a manorial estate. The palace was left to the state in 1934 by Josip Jelačić's nephew and nieces.

The town is home to the Museum of Matija Skurjeni (opened in 1984), a gallery of works by the renowned painter. It is located in the former granary of Novi Dvori. The art gallery Razvid, that opened in 1991, has held exhibitions of works by many important Croatian artists, such as Franjo Ferenčak, Ivan Lovrenčić, Drago Grgas, Davor Vuković (a native of Zaprešić) and Krešimir Trumbetaš.

The Zaprešić main library, "Ante Kovačić", is a part of the association of Zagreb City Libraries (, KGZ), and has 5,541 members with access to 78,385 books. Albin Bonzelli, an employee of Baron Levin Rauch, founded the first library in

Zaprešić area in 1921 in Brdovec. A more recent library was founded in 1958, and moved to its present location in 1986.

left|thumb|Great Hall of Zaprešić Open University.

Zaprešić contains the ornithological reserve Zaprešić-Sava, which is located south of the town, at Lake Zajarki. The reserve is covered mainly with woods and thick low vegetation, and criss-crossed by fluvial marshes. A radio station operates in Zaprešić: Radio Zaprešić (also known as Round Wave Station Zaprešić, ). The station broadcasts an FM signal at 96.0 and 99.5 MHz, 24 hours each weekday. It was founded on 15 January 1987. In September 2015., radio station changed its name to "Z fm". The local monthly newspaper Prigorski Kaj has its seat in the nearby settlement of Šenkovec in the Brdovec municipality. In 2009. Television Zaprešić (Croatian: Televizija Zaprešić) started operating as a local cable television channel. In April 2015., Television Zaprešić was granted concession for terrestrial broadcasting and changed its name to Televizija Zapad (English: Television West). The television is dedicated to cover the topics of local importance.

Sports and recreation

thumb|[[Stadion ŠRC Zaprešić|Zaprešić Stadium after the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship match between France and Faroe Islands]]

Organized sports in Zaprešić started in 1926, with the first football match between unregistered teams from Zaprešić and Savski Marof. The football club NK Sava (now called NK Inter Zaprešić) was soon formed in 1929. There are 20 sport clubs and associations in Zaprešić, and the most popular ones are association football, basketball, handball, bowling, tennis, table tennis, chess, cycling, taekwondo, and bocce. Zaprešić is the home to several influential sports clubs, such as NK Inter Zaprešić (football), KK Fortuna Zaprešić (basketball), RK Zaprešić (handball), KK Zaprešić (bowling) and others.

Football

NK Inter Zaprešić currently plays in the top tier Hrvatski Telekom Prva Liga. It is currently the best-placed football club in the county. Most of the sports clubs in Zaprešić are members of the Town of Zaprešić Sports Society (). The main sports venue is the ŠRC Zaprešić (Sports and Recreation Center Zaprešić), which encompasses a football stadium and a gym. There are other sports courts in Hruševec Kupljenski, Ivanec, Jablanovec, Kupljenovo, and Pojatno. NK Inter Zaprešić's home stadium is ŠRC Zaprešić, located in the northwest part of the town and handling up to 5,528 visitors.

Golf

The golf resort "Novi dvori" was opened on 16 October 2004, with Prime Minister Ivo Sanader being the first to tee off.

Government

thumb|Zaprešić town council in the aftermath of 2021 local elections: [[Social Democratic Party of Croatia|SDP (red) - 4 seats, Fokus (cyan) - 2 seats, Nezavisni za Zaprešić (yellow) - 1 seat, HDZ and HSU (blue) - 6 seats, DP-Most-Projekt domovina (navy blue) 6 seats.]]

Despite the settlement of Zaprešić's long history, only with the founding of the Town of Zaprešić on 30 November 1995 did it have its own elected representatives. The towns administration includes two tiers of power: a mayor and a town council. The town council is elected each four years.  The mayor () has executive power. He is elected directly by the voters. Current Mayor is Željko Turk (Croatian Democratic Union—HDZ, elected in 2006, re-elected 2009, 2013 and 2017), whose deputy's are Damir Benčević and Alan Labus. Zaprešić is part of the 1st Croatian electoral district, which consists of western Zagreb, and the Zaprešić metropolitan area.

The town council () has the legislative power over the town. It represents the residents of Zaprešić and manages the town's budget, and it is composed of twenty-one members with one presiding and two vice-presiding members.

Education

thumb|right|University of Applied Sciences Zaprešić

thumb|left|Ban Josip Jelačić High School

The Town of Zaprešić provides education ranging from pre-school to higher education. These include four registered kindergartens (stationed on seven locations), four elementary schools, one high school, and one college. Elementary schools located in Zaprešić include Antun Augustinčić, Ljudevit Gaj, and Kupljenovo elementary schools, and a branch of the Bistra elementary school from the Bistra municipality. The Ban Josip Jelačić High School is located on the Franjo Tuđman Square in the northwestern part of the town. Zaprešić has a University of Applied Sciences which offers courses in business and management, named after the Croatian historian and theologian Baltazar Adam Krčelić, and located in the town center on Novak Street. The open university in Zaprešić () offers various courses in languages, computer science, and musical instruments, as well as vocational training.

Public safety

There are two firefighting units active in Zaprešić proper:

Zaprešić Fire Department (Javna vatrogasna postrojba grada Zaprešića) - professional firefighting unit, active under this name since January 2000.
Zaprešić Volunteer Fire Department (Dobrovoljno vatrogasno društvo Zaprešić) - volunteer firefighting unit, founded in February 1901. One of the oldest of its kind in Croatia.

Transport

thumb|left|A2 Highway near Zaprešić

thumb|left|Commuter train departing from Zaprešić railway station

thumb|right|Zaprešić bus terminal

The town is a major transport hub for the area of Zagreb County and Zagreb itself. It is thus known as the "northwestern gate to Zagreb County." According to the current urban plan, the traffic on the D225 will be re-routed through two bypasses along the northern and western railway lines to clear the center of Zaprešić of 25,000 daily commuters driving on a two-lane road.

Mass transit provides intra-city and inter-city connections in form of bus and rail. Zaprešić is a major railway intersection, with railways leading west to Slovenia (Corridor X), north to Zabok, and Kumrovec (Corridor Xa) and east to the main regional railway hub Zagreb. Croatian Railways services the Zaprešić train station with major interstate trains going to the west, but also with the suburban line Savski Marof–Zagreb Main Station–Dugo Selo. The town is serviced by two bus companies: the regional Zagrebački električni tramvaj (ZET) and local Meštrović prijevoz. ZET operates line 172 to Zaprešić, which starts at the Črnomerec bus terminal in Zagreb and runs every 8 to 15 minutes during day, and at irregular intervals during the night. Lines 176 and 177 run to the Zaprešić suburban municipality of Bistra. Meštrović prijevoz, the main intra-city bus company of Zaprešić, operates bus lines connecting Zaprešić and all municipalities in its metropolitan area. The widest river in the area, the Sava River, used to be navigable up to Krško, Slovenia in Roman times. The town does not have a port on any of its rivers.

To establish better transport capabilities, and create a solid ground for the emerging air sports that are already available in the town (e.g. hang gliding or paragliding), an airport is planned northeast of the town, between the Krapina River and the railroad. The land at this location is unused, uninhabited, and administratively selected for sports and recreation. The arrangement of the runways, taxiways, air traffic control building, hangar, and other necessary buildings have already been determined. The airport is intended to serve primarily as a sports airport, for teaching flying, and for charter flights. the date when the construction starts had not yet been announced.

Baltazar Adam Krčelić (1715–78), priest and writer.
Ivan Perkovac (1826–71), editor and politician.
Pavao Štoos (1806–62), priest and poet.
Ante Kovačić (1854–89), writer.
Matija Skurjeni (1898–1990), painter.
Davor Gobac (born 1964), musician.
Davor Vuković (born 1951), painter and poet.
Mira Vlahović, opera singer.
Davor Božinović, politician.

Notes

References

External links

Zaprešić official website
Zaprešić on the Zagreb County Tourist Board
Map of Zaprešić