Hrvatsko Zagorje is a region north of Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

, Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

. It comprises the whole area north of Medvednica

Medvednica

Medvednica is a mountain in central Croatia, just north of Zagreb and marking the southern border of the historic region of Zagorje. The highest peak, at 1,035 m, is Sljeme. Most of the area of Medvednica is a nature park , a type of preservation lesser than a national park...

 mountain up to Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

 in the north and west, and up to the regions of Međimurje and Podravina

Podravina

Podravina or Podravje are Slavic names for the Drava river basin in Croatia and Slovenia.-History:...

 in the north and east. The population of Zagorje is not recorded as such, as it is administratively divided among Krapina-Zagorje County

Krapina-Zagorje County

Krapina-Zagorje county is a county in northern Croatia. It encompasses most of the historic region called Hrvatsko Zagorje.The Krapina-Zagorje county is a candidate for being the most idyllic county in Croatia: the many villages and small towns spread out across the hillsides are perfect for...

 (total population 142,432), western and central part of Varaždin County

Varaždin County

Varaždin County is a county in northern Croatia. It is named after its county seat, the city of Varaždin.-Geography:In addition to the city of Varaždin, the county includes the towns of Ivanec, Ludbreg, Lepoglava, Novi Marof and Varaždinske Toplice, as well as 22 municipalities...

 (total population 183,730) and northwestern part of Zagreb County

Zagreb County

Zagreb County is a county in central Croatia. It surrounds – but does not contain – the nation's capital Zagreb, which is a separate territorial unit. For that reason, it is often nicknamed "Zagreb ring"...

 (total population 309,696), so the population of Zagorje can be reasonably estimated to exceed 200,000 people.

Croatian people usually refer to this region as "Zagorje", a word which means "upland", "hinterland" or literally "beyond the mountain" (Medvednica). However, due to a nearby Zagorje ob Savi

Zagorje ob Savi

Zagorje ob Savi is a town and a municipality in central Slovenia. It is located in the valley of Medija Creek, a minor left-bank tributary of the Sava River, east of Ljubljana southwest of Celje, and west of Trbovlje. Traditionally the area was part of the Upper Carniola region. The entire...

 municipality in Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

 which bears the same name, the Croatian part is disambiguated by being called Hrvatsko zagorje, meaning "Croatian Zagorje".

The town of Krapina

Krapina

Krapina is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 and a total municipality population of 12,479...

 is often referred to as the cultural capital of Kajkavian dialect

Kajkavian dialect

The Kajkavian dialect is one of the three main dialects of Croatian. It has low mutual intelligibility with the other two dialects, Štokavian and Čakavian. All three are named after their word for "what?", which in Kajkavian is kaj....

, the north-western dialect of the Croatian language

Croatian language

Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...

. Every year, the Festival of Kajkavian Song takes place in Krapina.