Zaprešic
Encyclopedia
Zaprešić (ˈzâːpreʃitɕ) is a city in 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"...

 in 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 ...

. Its population is 25.875 inhabitants for the city proper
City proper
City proper is defined as a "locality with legally fixed boundaries and an administratively recognized urban status that is usually characterized by some form of local government", or the area within the corporate limits. This definition has been consistently used since the United Nations...

, and over 51,000 for its seven-municipality metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

. Zaprešić is the third-largest, and most densely populated division of the county. It is located northwest of the Croatian capital 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...

, and near the 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...

n border. It is centered on plains north of the Sava River
Sava River
The Sava is a river in Southeast Europe, a right side tributary of the Danube river at Belgrade. Counting from Zelenci, the source of Sava Dolinka, it is long and drains of surface area. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia, along the northern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and through Serbia....

, and is bordered by Medvednica Mountain
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...

 to the east, and the Marija Gorica Hills to the west.

The first human settlement in, and near Zaprešić dates from the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

, and several Roman roads were constructed in the area. The first records of the modern town date from 1334. Since that date, the town's history includes being a part of a feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...

 estate to operating the first meat packaging plant in Croatia. However, it was not formally established as a city until 1995. The city is governed by a mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

, a city government of seven members (upper house
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...

), and a city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

 of nineteen members (lower house
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...

). The current ruling party is the Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...

 (HDZ), and the current mayor is Željko Turk
Željko Turk
Željko Turk is the current mayor of Zaprešić, a town in Zagreb County, Croatia. He became the mayor in 2006 and his term ends in May 2009. He is affiliated with the Croatian Democratic Union...

. Zaprešić has its own fire department, but police coverage is provided by the city of Zagreb. Komunalno poduzeće Zaprešić
Komunalno poduzeće Zaprešić
Komunalno poduzeće Zaprešić is an utility company in Croatia that manages water, gas and garbage disposal in the metropolitan area of Zaprešić ....

 manages all utilities except electricity. Tap water
Tap water
Tap water is a principal component of "indoor plumbing", which became available in urban areas of the developed world during the last quarter of the 19th century, and common during the mid-20th century...

 in Zaprešić is of high quality.

Due to its many rail
Croatian Railways
Croatian Railways is the national railway company of Croatia. It was formed after the dissolution of Yugoslavia and Yugoslav Railways.Croatia is a member of the International Union of Railways . The UIC Country Code for Croatia is 78.-Railway network:...

, and road
Highways in Croatia
Highways in Croatia are the main transport network in Croatia.The Croatian classification includes several classes of highways:* The main motorways are named A accompanied by one or two digits...

 transport corridors, Zaprešić has been dubbed the "northwestern gate to Zagreb County". It lies directly next to the A2
A2 (Croatia)
The A2 motorway is a motorway in the Hrvatsko Zagorje region of northern Croatia, connecting Zagreb to the Macelj border crossing and Slovenia. The A2 motorway is part of the European route E59 and the Pan-European Corridor Xa...

 highway connecting Zagreb to Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...

. It also is adjacent to the main railway leading northwest out of Zagreb. Centered around the tertiary sector, the city's economy is booming due to a large population influx.

Zaprešić's educational facilities range from kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

s to centers of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

. The city is home to four elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

s, one high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

, and two universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

. 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 is NK Inter Zaprešić
NK Inter Zaprešic
NK Inter Zaprešić is a Croatian football club based in Zaprešić, a town northwest of the capital Zagreb originally founded in 1929. They play in the Prva HNL after they were promoted from Druga HNL at the end of the 2006–07 season...

, a member of the First Football League of Croatia. Other sports are also present in Zaprešić, and the city is home to a golf resort
Golf resort
Golf resorts are resorts that cater specifically to the sport of golf, and include access to one or more golf course and or clubhouse. Golf resorts typically provide golf packages that provide visitors with all greens and cart fees, range balls, luxury accommodations and...

.

History

The first records of human inhabitants in the Zaprešić metropolitan area date back to the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

, evident through stone axes found in Brdovec
Brdovec
Brdovec is a town and a municipality in the Zagreb County, Croatia.The closest town to Brdovec is neighboring Zaprešić on the east. According to the 2001 census, there are 10,287 inhabitants, 92% which are Croats...

, and axes from the Copper Age
Copper Age
The Chalcolithic |stone]]") period or Copper Age, also known as the Eneolithic/Æneolithic , is a phase of the Bronze Age in which the addition of tin to copper to form bronze during smelting remained yet unknown by the metallurgists of the times...

 found in Marija Gorica
Marija Gorica
Marija Gorica is a municipality in Croatia in the Zagreb County. According to the 2001 census, there are 2,089 inhabitants, absolute majority which are Croats.-Settlements:*Marija Gorica *Kraj Donji*Bijela Gorica*Kraj Gornji...

. Halstatt culture traces were uncovered in the area of Sveti Križ. The Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 left their imprints on Zaprešić in the form of the Siscia–Neviodunum–Emona
Emona
Emona or Aemona, short for Colonia Iulia emona, was a Roman castrum founded in 14-15 AD, possibly by the Legio XV Apollinaris , on a territory already populated by ancient settlers of uncertain origin...

 road, which followed Sava River
Sava River
The Sava is a river in Southeast Europe, a right side tributary of the Danube river at Belgrade. Counting from Zelenci, the source of Sava Dolinka, it is long and drains of surface area. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia, along the northern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and through Serbia....

 on its left bank through the Zaprešić area, passing near modern settlements.

After a lack of records from the first millennium, Zaprešić again became known in the late 11th century. In 1094, following the formation of the Zagreb Diocese, Ača, an advisor of the Croato–Hungarian
Croatia in personal union with Hungary
Kingdom of Croatia after the succession crisis become a part of Kingdom of Hungary and — depending on sources — either was incorporated into Hungary or Croatia existed in a personal union with Hungary....

 King Ladislav I, was granted land west and east of the Medvednica Mountain
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...

 to protect the newly formed diocese. Zaprešić became part of the Susedgrad
Susedgrad
Susedgrad is the name for the far western part of Zagreb, Croatia. Administratively, it is part of the district Podsused - Vrapče, and to a lesser extent Stenjevec....

Stubica
Donja Stubica
Donja Stubica is a town in Croatia, about 40 km northeast of Zagreb on the northern slope of Medvednica. The total population is 5,727, with 2,202 people in Donja Stubica itself , with a total area of 44.6 km²...

 manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...

, the second-biggest estate in the Croato-Hungarian Zagreb County
Zagreb (former county)
Zagreb County was a historic administrative subdivision of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen , the Hungarian part of the dual Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its territory is presently in northern Croatia...

. 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 important trade and transit routes. This was corroborated by the route of the first railway in Croatia, which passes through Zaprešić.

During 15th and 16th centuries, refugees from Lika
Lika
Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...

 came to Zaprešić to escape the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. Some of these refugees were the so-called Brdovec Franciscans, for whom Lord Zylagy of Susedgrad built an abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...

 in Marija Gorica. The refugees brought the Ikavian way of pronouncing the Slavic yat
Yat
Yat or Jat is the thirty-second letter of the old Cyrillic alphabet. Its name in Old Church Slavonic is jěd’ or iad’ . In the common scientific Latin transliteration for old Slavic languages, the letter is represented by e with caron: .The yat represented a Common Slavic long vowel...

 as [i], which was preserved for a long time in some small Zaprešić communities, although the Zaprešić area has historically been Ekavian Kajkavian (yat being [e] or ɛ). The area was hit hard by the 1573 peasant revolt
Croatian and Slovenian peasant revolt
The Croatian-Slovenian peasant revolt of 1573 was a large peasant revolt in today's Croatia and Slovenia. The revolt, sparked by cruel treatment of serfs by the baron Franjo Tahy, ended after 12 days with the defeat of the rebels and bloody retribution by the nobility.-Background:In the late 16th...

, led by Matija Gubec
Matija Gubec
Ambroz "Matija" Gubec was a Croatian peasant and a revolutionary, best known as the leader of the Croatian-Slovenian peasant revolt...

, who, according to historian Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski
Ivan Kukuljevic Sakcinski
Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski was a Croatian historian, politician and writer. Most famous for the first speech delivered in Croatian before the Parliament, this patriot and cultural figure did some pioneering work in Croatian historiography and bibliography...

, managed the estate of Jablanovec
Jablanovec
Jablanovec is a naselje in the town of Zaprešić, Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, it has 1,343 inhabitants living in an area of .- References :...

, part of modern Zaprešić. One of the revolt leaders was Ilija Gregorić
Ilija Gregoric
Ilija Gregorić was a Croatian soldier, best known as the military commander of rebels during the Croatian and Slovenian peasant revolt of 1573....

, a resident of Marija Gorica.

Two years later, the large manor of Susedgrad and Stubica started to disperse into many small estates owned by low-level members of the nobility. Dozens of simple diocesan curia houses serve as a reminder of this nobility. After the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, 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 City of Zaprešić (Grad Zaprešić) was incorporated on 30 November 1995. On that day, parts of the surrounding municipalities of Pušća
Pušca
Pušća is a municipality in Zagreb County in Croatia. According to the 2001 census, 2,484 people live in Pušća, 96.7 percent of which are Croats. The municipality covers an area of and forms part of the Zaprešić metropolitan area.-Settlements:*Bregovljana...

, and Hruševec Kupljenski (which was disbanded, leaving only a namesake settlement
Hruševec Kupljenski
Hruševec Kupljenski is a naselje in the town of Zaprešić, Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, it has 453 inhabitants spread over an area of .- References :...

) and the City of Zagreb were incorporated into a new City 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 18 kilometres (11.2 mi) northwest of Zagreb, lying near the confluence of the Krapina River
Krapina River
Krapina is a Croatian river flowing through Krapina-Zagorje County and Zagreb County. It is a tributary to the Sava. The confluence of the Krapina River and the Sava River is near Zaprešić. Its length is and its basin covers an area of ....

, and the Sava River. The small Lužnica River marks the western city border of Zaprešić. The Zaprešić metropolitan area consists of Zaprešić and seven surrounding municipalities: Brdovec
Brdovec
Brdovec is a town and a municipality in the Zagreb County, Croatia.The closest town to Brdovec is neighboring Zaprešić on the east. According to the 2001 census, there are 10,287 inhabitants, 92% which are Croats...

, Bistra, Dubravica, Jakovlje
Jakovlje
Jakovlje is a municipality in Croatia, in Zagreb county. According to the 2001 census there are 3,952 inhabitants, a majority of which are Croats. The municipality consists of three settlements: Igrišće, Jakovlje and Kraljev Vrh.-External links:...

, Luka
Luka, Zagreb County
Luka is a village and a municipality in Croatia in the Zagreb County. According to the 2001 census, there are 1,419 inhabitants in the municipality, absolute majority which are Croats.- External links :*...

, Marija Gorica
Marija Gorica
Marija Gorica is a municipality in Croatia in the Zagreb County. According to the 2001 census, there are 2,089 inhabitants, absolute majority which are Croats.-Settlements:*Marija Gorica *Kraj Donji*Bijela Gorica*Kraj Gornji...

, and Pušća
Pušca
Pušća is a municipality in Zagreb County in Croatia. According to the 2001 census, 2,484 people live in Pušća, 96.7 percent of which are Croats. The municipality covers an area of and forms part of the Zaprešić metropolitan area.-Settlements:*Bregovljana...

. It is formed by the northwestern part of Zagreb County, bordered on the south by the Sava River, on the east by Zagreb, and the Medvednica Mountain, and on the west by the Sutla River, and the 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...

n border. According to the official website, three distinct geographic areas make up the Zaprešić area: the western part of the Medvednica Mountain, the Marija Gorica Hills and the plains that lie between. The western part of the Medvednica Mountain is fairly lightly inhabited, with no settlements except at the base of the mountain. These include the Bistra
Bistra, Zagreb County
Bistra is a municipality in Zagreb County, Croatia. The municipality was established in 1995 by separating from the former Municipality of Zaprešić and its municipal seat is Donja Bistra....

 municipality and the Zaprešić settlement of Jablanovec. The Marija Gorica Hills are located mainly in the Marija Gorica municipality between the rivers of Krapina, and Sutla. The third area, the plains, is the area where the Zaprešić itself is located. Zaprešić has a lake, Lake Zajarki, situated between the town and the Sava River in the south. It is colloquially known as Bager (Croatian word for excavator
Excavator
Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, stick, bucket and cab on a rotating platform . The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. A cable-operated excavator uses winches and steel ropes to accomplish the movements. They are a natural progression from the...

). The lake is currently still used as a gravel pit
Gravel pit
Gravel pit is the term for an open cast working for extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may fill naturally with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used either as nature reserves, or as amenity areas...

, although it is a known destination for Zaprešić swimmers and beach goers.

Demographics

This makes Zaprešić urban area
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

 at 925 inhabitants per square kilometer (2,396 per square mile) the most densely populated in the whole of Zagreb County. The Zaprešić settlement is the largest, and it covers a third of the total area of the city.

According to an official estimate based on the data of the Zagreb police department (Zaprešić precinct), in 2006, 20,733 people had their primary residence
Primary residence
A person's primary residence is the dwelling where they usually live, typically a house or an apartment. A person can only have one primary residence at any given time, though they may share the residence with other people...

 in the Zaprešić settlement, upping the number of town inhabitants to 26,741.

The metropolitan area of Zaprešić had 51,040 inhabitants in 2001.

In the census of 2001, about 91% of inhabitants were Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

; 98.2% of speak Croatian
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...

 as their mother tongue. The sex ratio
Human sex ratio
In anthropology and demography, the human sex ratio is the sex ratio for Homo sapiens . Like most sexual species, the sex ratio is approximately 1:1. In humans the secondary sex ratio is commonly assumed to be 105 boys to 100 girls, an assumption that is a subject of debate in the scientific...

 is 91.69 men to 100 women, and the median age is 36.8 years, which makes Zaprešić one of the younger towns in Zagreb County.
Population development by settlement
Settlement 1948 1953 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Hruševec Kupljenski
Hruševec Kupljenski
Hruševec Kupljenski is a naselje in the town of Zaprešić, Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, it has 453 inhabitants spread over an area of .- References :...

627 609 608 488 552 450 453 430
Ivanec Bistranski
Ivanec Bistranski
Ivanec Bistranski is a naselje in the town of Zaprešić, Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, it has 932 inhabitants living in an area of .- References :...

590 597 584 593 716 823 932 955
Jablanovec
Jablanovec
Jablanovec is a naselje in the town of Zaprešić, Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, it has 1,343 inhabitants living in an area of .- References :...

865 851 861 843 868 1,042 1,342 1.431
Kupljenovo
Kupljenovo
Kupljenovo is a naselje in the town of Zaprešić, Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, it has 705 inhabitants living in an area of .- References :...

559 628 644 618 682 722 705 729
Lužnica
Lužnica
Lužnica is a settlement in the town of Zaprešić, Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, it has 62 inhabitants, spread over an area of . It is thus the smallest settlement by population in Zaprešić. Lužnica is the home to the Lužnica Castle, a baroque castle and touristic point of...

96 67 91 89 65 64 62 40
Merenje
Merenje
Merenje is a naselje in the town of Zaprešić, Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2011 census, it has 129 inhabitants living in an area of . This makes it the smallest settlement by area in Zaprešić.- References :...

252 235 227 175 113 186 158 129
Pojatno
Pojatno
Pojatno is a census-designated naselje in the town of Zaprešić in Zagreb County, Croatia. It has a population of 1,157 people, living mainly by the main street, "Matije Gupca". Pojatno is located north of Zaprešić, away from Zagreb, near the Krapina River...

689 719 818 837 958 1,013 1,157 1.215
Šibice
Šibice
Šibice is a naselje in the town of Zaprešić, Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, it has 777 inhabitants living in an area of .- References :...

312 297 340 466 385 742 777 761
Zaprešić 2,294 2,537 3,311 4,992 8,201 15,678 17,538 20.057
Total 6,284 6,540 7,484 9,101 12,540 20,720 23,125 25.875

Economy

Due to its accessible location with favorable conditions for expansion, and a very high net migration
Net migration rate
Net migration rate is the difference of immigrants and emigrants of an area in a period of time, divided per 1,000 inhabitants...

, and population growth rates (estimated to be 29 persons per 1,000 per year), Zaprešić is expecting an economic boom. Despite the ongoing financial crisis that hit 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
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

, and hospitality
Hospitality industry
The hospitality industry consists of broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, restaurants, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line, and additional fields within the tourism industry. The hospitality industry is a several billion dollar industry...

, and a smaller presence of tourism
Tourism in Croatia
Tourism in Croatia is a well-developed industry. Many tourists visit to experience the country's extensive coastline and well-preserved coastal Renaissance towns...

, as well as souvenir
Souvenir
A souvenir , memento, keepsake or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. The term souvenir brings to mind the mass-produced kitsch that is the main commodity of souvenir and gift shops in many tourist traps around the world...

 manufacturing) and financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...

. The secondary sector is also present with ceramic industry
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...

 (Inker), metalworking
Metalworking
Metalworking is the process of working with metals to create individual parts, assemblies, or large scale structures. The term covers a wide range of work from large ships and bridges to precise engine parts and delicate jewelry. It therefore includes a correspondingly wide range of skills,...

 (Karbon Nova, Lanac, and Unija metali) and chemical industry
Chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...

 (Messer Croatia plin, Montkemija). The primary sector mainly consists of agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

, and is expected to continue shrinking. There are currently 3040 hectares (7,512 acre) of arable land
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...

 for agricultural use, but the town's general urban plan anticipates an economic shift will lower the amount of agricultural use to 930 hectares (2,298 acre) by 2015, thus speeding the process of suburbanization
Suburbanization
Suburbanization a term used to describe the growth of areas on the fringes of major cities. It is one of the many causes of the increase in urban sprawl. Many residents of metropolitan regions work within the central urban area, choosing instead to live in satellite communities called suburbs...

 started by the expansion of Zagreb. The future of Zaprešić's economy is seen in the development of small
Small business
A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...

, and mid-sized businesses, tourism, and food-related industries. The city income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...

 rate is 12 percent. The city budget in 2008 amounted to HRK
Croatian kuna
The kuna is the currency of Croatia since 1994 . It is subdivided into 100 lipa. The kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute....

 198 million.

The Shopping City Zagreb (also called West Gate Shopping Center) is a shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

 planned to create a major job demand in the Zaprešić region. Located next to the Krapina River and A2 highway, the center will serve 2.3 million residents in the Zagreb region. It will also be the largest in the Zagreb metropolitan area with 100000 square metre of gross leasable area
Gross leasable area
Gross leasable area in the retail development industry is a term applied to shopping malls, lifestyle centers, outlet malls and other retail centers to indicate the amount of floor space available to be rented...

. Construction started in late 2007. It was opened in October 2009.

Culture and media

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. Of these, Oršić and Januševec are in the zeroth category of cultural heritage preservation of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

, Lužnica is in the first category of the Croatian Ministry of Culture
Ministry of Culture (Croatia)
The Ministry of Culture is a ministry of the Croatian government, whose work is aimed at preserving the cultural and natural heritage and overseeing its development...

, and Laduč and Novi Dvori are in the second category of the Ministry of Culture. Jakovlje palace is not involved in any cultural preservation program. Novi Dvori (also known as Novi Dvori Jelačićevi – New Jelačić Palace) is known for being the residence of Josip Jelačić
Josip Jelacic
Count Josip Jelačić of Bužim was the Ban of Croatia between 23 March 1848 and 19 May 1859...

, one of the most famous Croatian ban
Ban (title)
Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...

s. However, before that it was inhabited by five families (the last one being Erdödy
Erdody
Erdődy is the name of a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary . The Habsburg Monarchy granted them the title Graf / Gräfin....

) 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
Granary
A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries, pottery is the most common use of storage in these buildings. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals.-Early origins:From ancient times grain...

 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 , and has 5,541 members with access to 78,385 books. Albin Bonzelli, an employee of Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

 Levin Rauch
Levin Rauch
Baron Levin Rauch de Nyék was a politician from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in the late 19th century, the viceroy of Croatia-Slavonia from 1867 to 1871....

, 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.

Zaprešić contains the ornithological
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...

 reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 Zaprešić-Sava, which is located south of the city, at Lake Zajarki. The reserve is covered mainly with woods and thick low vegetation, and criss-crossed by fluvial
Fluvial
Fluvial is used in geography and Earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them...

 marshes. Zaprešić operates a hunting office, which is made of eight clubs: Zaprešić, Kuna, Vidra, Fazan, Srnjak, Šljuka (offices in Luka
Luka, Zagreb County
Luka is a village and a municipality in Croatia in the Zagreb County. According to the 2001 census, there are 1,419 inhabitants in the municipality, absolute majority which are Croats.- External links :*...

, and Bistra) and Vepar.

A radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 operates in Zaprešić: Radio Zaprešić (also known as Round Wave Station Zaprešić). The station broadcasts a FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...

 signal at 96.0 and 99.5 MHz, 24 hours each weekday. It was founded on 15 January 1987. The station's signal can be picked up in three different counties
Counties of Croatia
The primary territorial subdivisions of the Republic of Croatia called županije . In English they are commonly referred to as counties....

. The local monthly newspaper
Weekly newspaper
A weekly newspaper is a general-news publication that is published on newsprint once or twice a week.Such newspapers tend to have smaller circulations than daily newspapers, and are usually based in less-populous communities or small, defined areas within large cities; often, they may cover a...

 Prigorski Kaj has its seat in the nearby settlement of Šenkovec
Šenkovec, Zagreb County
Šenkovec is a naselje in the municipality of Brdovec, Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, it has 733 inhabitants living in an area of . It was the site of a Yugoslav Partisan massacre of civilians at the and of World War II in 1945, which killed approximately 500 people, with the...

 in the Brdovec municipality.

Sports and recreation

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 (later renamed to 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
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...

, bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...

, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...

, chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

, cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

, taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...

, and bocce
Bocce
Bocce is a ball sport belonging to the boules sport family, closely related to bowls and pétanque with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire...

. Zaprešić is the home to several influential sports clubs, such as NK Inter Zaprešić
NK Inter Zaprešic
NK Inter Zaprešić is a Croatian football club based in Zaprešić, a town northwest of the capital Zagreb originally founded in 1929. They play in the Prva HNL after they were promoted from Druga HNL at the end of the 2006–07 season...

 (football), KK Inker,NK Zaprešić and KK Zaprešić (basketball), RK Zaprešić (handball) and others. NK Inter Zaprešić currently plays in Croatian First Football League. 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 Stadion NK Inter Zaprešić
Stadion NK Inter Zaprešic
Stadion NK Inter Zaprešić is a football stadium in Zaprešić, Croatia. It serves as home stadium for football club NK Inter Zaprešić. The stadium has a capacity of 4,528 ....

, located in the northwest part of the town and handling up to 4,528 visitors.

The 140 hectares (346 acre) golf resort
Golf resort
Golf resorts are resorts that cater specifically to the sport of golf, and include access to one or more golf course and or clubhouse. Golf resorts typically provide golf packages that provide visitors with all greens and cart fees, range balls, luxury accommodations and...

 "Novi dvori" was opened on 16 October 2004, with Prime Minister Ivo Sanader
Ivo Sanader
Ivo Sanader |Split]]) is a Croatian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009.Sanader obtained his education in comparative literature in Austria, where he also later worked in the 1980s. He worked as a journalist, in marketing, publishing and also as a private...

 being the first to tee off. However, , only a few parts are in use, with a 27-hole course currently under construction. Nine of these holes will be reserved for practice and eighteen for tournament play. The center operates a driving range
Driving range
A driving range is an area where golfers can practice their swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range attached and they are also found as stand-alone facilities, especially...

 with two practice courses of different sizes, and an area to practice putting green play. One practice course is sheltered from weather conditions and the whole golf course has night lighting. In terms of normal play, three par
Par (score)
The word "par" is a term in the game of golf used to denote the pre-determined number of strokes that a scratch golfer should require to complete a hole, a round , or a tournament...

 3 holes are currently operational and friendly par 9 tournaments are often held at the course. The course also has other amenities, such as a restaurant and the proximity to the Novi Dvori palace. When the construction ends, the golfers will have access to a conference room, a business center, a fitness club, a sauna
Sauna
A sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....

, and a massage parlor
Massage parlor
A massage parlor is a business where customers can receive a massage. Sometimes the term is synonymous with brothel as the term "massage" may be used as a euphemism for paid sexual favours....

.

Government

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
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 and a city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

. The city council is elected each four years. The mayor has executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...

. He is elected directly by the voters. Current Mayor is Željko Turk
Željko Turk
Željko Turk is the current mayor of Zaprešić, a town in Zagreb County, Croatia. He became the mayor in 2006 and his term ends in May 2009. He is affiliated with the Croatian Democratic Union...

 (Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...

—HDZ, elected in 2006, re-elected 2009), whose deputys are Damir Benčević and Stjepan Orgulan. Zaprešić is part of the 1st Croatian electoral district
Electoral district
An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...

, which consists of western Zagreb, and the Zaprešić metropolitan area.

The city council has the legislative power over the town. It represents the residents of Zaprešić and manages city budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...

, and it is composed of nineteen members with one presiding and two vice-presiding members.

Education

The Town of Zaprešić provides education ranging from pre-school to higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

. These include four registered kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

s (stationed on seven locations), four elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

s, one high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

, and one college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

. Elementary schools located in Zaprešić include Antun Augustinčić
Antun Augustincic
Antun Augustinčić was a prominent Croatian sculptor. Along with Ivan Meštrović and Frano Kršinić he is considered one of the three most important Croatian sculptors of the 20th century...

, Ljudevit Gaj
Ljudevit Gaj
Ljudevit Gaj was a Croatian linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the Croatian national reformation, also known as the Illyrian Movement.-Origin:...

, and Kupljenovo elementary schools, and a branch of the Bistra elementary school from the Bistra
Bistra, Zagreb County
Bistra is a municipality in Zagreb County, Croatia. The municipality was established in 1995 by separating from the former Municipality of Zaprešić and its municipal seat is Donja 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 college for 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
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...

 in Zaprešić offers various courses in language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...

s, computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...

, and musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...

s, as well as vocational training.

Infrastructure

Zaprešić is covered mostly by the postal code "10290 Zaprešić", and Croatian Mail operates four post offices in the city: in Ivanec Bistranski, Lužnica, Šibice and Zaprešić. The city proper overlaps with the areas of postal codes "10294 Donja Pušća" (Pojatno), "10295 Kupljenovo" (Hruševec Kupljenski, Kupljenovo, Merenje) and "10298 Donja Bistra" (Jablanovec). Zaprešić has its own police station, PP Zaprešić, a Zagreb County branch of the City of Zagreb Police Department responsible for all of the Zaprešić metropolitan area. Fire coverage is provided by the City of Zaprešić Fire Department , which also serves the complete seven-municipality metropolitan area. There are six volunteer fire brigades in Zaprešić proper, all members of the Zaprešić Firefighting Community . Zaprešić also has a municipal court.

All utilities except electricity are managed by Komunalno poduzeće Zaprešić (Utility company Zaprešić). Zaprešić's electricity is, as in the rest of Croatia, provided by Hrvatska elektroprivreda
Hrvatska elektroprivreda
Hrvatska elektroprivreda is a national power company in Croatia which has been engaged in electricity production, transmission and distribution for more than one century, and with heat supply and gas distribution for the past few decades...

, and distributed by Elektra Zagreb, a company managing access to electricity in Zagreb, and Zagreb County. Zaprešić receives tap water
Tap water
Tap water is a principal component of "indoor plumbing", which became available in urban areas of the developed world during the last quarter of the 19th century, and common during the mid-20th century...

 from underground water reserves through a water pump in the settlement of Šibice. The water from the water pump is of drinking
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...

 quality. However, local factories Pliva
Pliva
Pliva d.d. is a Croatian pharmaceutical company, based in Zagreb, Croatia. One of the world's largest producers of generic Adderall, it has seen drastic increases in revenue with an increasing number of patients being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder . It is the largest pharmaceutical...

, and Kvasac produce waste water, which is released into the Sava River through the Harmica-Pliva-Zaprešić water treatment
Water treatment
Water treatment describes those processes used to make water more acceptable for a desired end-use. These can include use as drinking water, industrial processes, medical and many other uses. The goal of all water treatment process is to remove existing contaminants in the water, or reduce the...

 plant. Before the construction of the treatment plant, the polluted water was piped into the Gorjak Creek, endangering the tap water quality. Possible consequences of releasing waste water into the Sava will be dealt with by the construction of the Zajarki water purification
Water purification
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose...

 system for screening
Screen filter
A screen filter is a type of filter using a rigid or flexible screen to separate sand and other fine particles out of water for irrigation or industrial applications...

 the used water. The ecological problem is multiplied by the fact that the utility company received only 400 requests to clean septic tank
Septic tank
A septic tank is a key component of the septic system, a small-scale sewage treatment system common in areas with no connection to main sewage pipes provided by local governments or private corporations...

s in 2007, although most households in the relatively rural surroundings of Zaprešić use septic systems. There are plans of constructing four hydroelectric power plants around Zagreb with one being in Zaprešić (HE Zaprešić, also known as HE Podsused) as a part of a system of exploiting natural resources of the Sava River.

Transport

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." The Zagreb bypass
Zagreb bypass
Zagreb bypass , is an U-shaped motorway partially encircling Zagreb, Croatia. The largest part by far, between Jankomir and Ivanja Reka interchanges, has been built between 1977 and 1979, while Ivanja Reka - Sveta Helena section has been built between 1996 and 1999. The bypass is long, tracing...

, and the tolled A2
A2 (Croatia)
The A2 motorway is a motorway in the Hrvatsko Zagorje region of northern Croatia, connecting Zagreb to the Macelj border crossing and Slovenia. The A2 motorway is part of the European route E59 and the Pan-European Corridor Xa...

 highway (Zagreb–Macelj
Macelj
Macelj is the name of a village and a forest in northern Croatia bordering on Slovenia. There is an official border crossing in Macelj, and the end of the A2 highway.-Macelj in 1945:...

, toward Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

; part of European Route E59
European route E59
European route E 59 is a north-south Class-A intermediate European route. It begins in Prague, Czech Republic, passes through Vienna, Austria and Maribor, Slovenia, ending near Zagreb, Croatia. The total length of the route is . The E59 largely consists of motorways but some sections are...

, and pan-European corridor Xa
Corridor Xa
The Corridor Xa is one of the Pan-European corridors. It runs between Graz, Austria and Zagreb, Croatia through three countries: Croatia, Slovenia and Austria. The road route of Corridor Xa is concurrent with E59 throughout its entire length.-Road route:...

) pass through the eastern part of Zaprešić, providing Zaprešić with highway access at a cloverleaf interchange
Cloverleaf interchange
A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which left turns, reverse direction in left-driving regions, are handled by ramp roads...

. The State Route D225 is a major arterial road in Zaprešić. It forms the Pavao Lončar and Marshall Tito Streets, leading west towards Brdovec, Marija Gorica and Slovenia, and east towards western Zagreb, Jablanovec, and Stubica
Donja Stubica
Donja Stubica is a town in Croatia, about 40 km northeast of Zagreb on the northern slope of Medvednica. The total population is 5,727, with 2,202 people in Donja Stubica itself , with a total area of 44.6 km²...

. According to the current city urbanistic plan, the traffic on the D225 will be re-routed through two city 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.The Prigorski Kaj article actually delineates a southern bypass to re-route D225 and a northern bypass to alleviate traffic on the County Route Ž2186 (not directly named in the article).

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
Corridor X (Pan-European corridor)
The Corridor X is one of the pan-European corridors. It runs between Salzburg in Austria and Thessaloniki in Greece. The corridor passes through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia and Greece...

), north to Zabok
Zabok
Zabok is a town and municipality situated in northwest Croatia in the Krapina-Zagorje County. It has a total population of 9,365 . Zabok is situated on the main crossroads in the heart of Hrvatsko zagorje region...

, and Kumrovec
Kumrovec
Kumrovec is a village in the northern part Croatia, part of Krapina-Zagorje County. It sits on the Sutla River, along the Croatian-Slovenian border. The Kumrovec municipality has 1,593 residents , but the village itself has only 269 people...

 (Corridor Xa) and east to the main regional railway hub Zagreb. Croatian Railways
Croatian Railways
Croatian Railways is the national railway company of Croatia. It was formed after the dissolution of Yugoslavia and Yugoslav Railways.Croatia is a member of the International Union of Railways . The UIC Country Code for Croatia is 78.-Railway network:...

 services the Zaprešić train station with major interstate trains going to the west, but also with the suburban line Savski Marof
Savski Marof
Savski Marof is a naselje in the municipality of Brdovec, Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2001 census, it has 35 inhabitants living in an area of . This makes it the least dense settlement and the smallest by population in Brdovec. It is second-smallest by area .- References :...

Zagreb Main Station
Zagreb Main Station
Zagreb Main Station is the central railway station in Zagreb and the largest railway station in Croatia. It is located in the center of Zagreb, on King Tomislav Square....

Dugo Selo
Dugo Selo
-Geography:Dugo Selo is a 20 km drive from Zagreb city centre.The town covers an area of 51 km² and it consists of numerous settlements. The summit of the hill Martin Breg is situated in the northern part of the town. Most neighborhoods of Dugo Selo are located on the Martin Breg...

. 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
Crnomerec
- References :...

 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
Bistra, Zagreb County
Bistra is a municipality in Zagreb County, Croatia. The municipality was established in 1995 by separating from the former Municipality of Zaprešić and its municipal seat is Donja Bistra....

. Meštrović prijevoz, the main intra-city bus company of Zaprešić, operates bus lines connecting Zaprešić and all municipalities in its metropolitan area.

Zaprešić lies along the left bank of the Sava River, but it does not have any bridges that would connect the town to Samobor
Samobor
Samobor is a town in the Zagreb County, Croatia. It is part of the Zagreb metropolitan area.-Geography:Samobor is located west of Zagreb, between the eastern slopes of the Samoborsko gorje , in the Sava River valley.-Population:...

, on the other bank, as the nearest bridge is the Podsused bridge, located in the Podsused – Vrapče district of Zagreb. However, two ferries connect Zaprešić with the roads in Medsave and Samoborski Otok, small villages near Samobor. The widest river in the area, the Sava River, used to be navigable up to Krško
Krško
Krško is a town and municipality in eastern Slovenia. The town lies on the Sava River. The area is traditionally divided between Lower Styria and Lower Carniola...

, Slovenia in Roman times. However, it is, as of 2009, navigable only up to Rugvica
Rugvica
Rugvica is a municipality in Croatia in the Zagreb county. According to the 2001 census, there are 7,608 inhabitants, absolute majority of which are Croats....

, leaving Zaprešić with no more possibility of river transport. The city does not have a port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 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
Hang gliding
Hang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider ....

 or paragliding
Paragliding
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure...

), an airport is planned northeast of the city, 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 runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

s, taxiway
Taxiway
A taxiway is a path on an airport connecting runways with ramps, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller airports sometimes use gravel or grass....

s, air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...

 building, hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...

, 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.

Notable inhabitants

A known historical resident of Zaprešić was Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

 Josip Jelačić
Josip Jelacic
Count Josip Jelačić of Bužim was the Ban of Croatia between 23 March 1848 and 19 May 1859...

 of Bužim
Bužim
Bužim is a village and municipality situated in the most northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Administratively, it is part of the Una-Sana Canton.-Geography:...

 (1801–59), the Ban
Ban (title)
Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...

 of Croatia from 1848 until his death. Although born in Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....

, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

 (then Croatia), he received an estate in Zaprešić together with his title. He is responsible for abolishing serfdom
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...

 in Croatia in 1848, but also for an infamous suppression of Croatian intelligentsia, and the Illyrian movement
Illyrian movement
The Illyrian movement , also Croatian national revival , was a cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of 19th century, around the years of 1835–1849...

 during his reign under the orders of Baron Alexander von Bach
Baron Alexander von Bach
Baron Alexander von Bach was an Austrian politician...

, and Emperor Franz Joseph I
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...

. A statue of Jelačić riding a horse was constructed by Anton Dominik Fernkorn
Anton Dominik Fernkorn
Anton Dominick Ritter von Fernkorn was a German-Austrian sculptor. He was born in Erfurt, Thuringia and died in Vienna.- Career :...

, and placed on the Zagreb's central square, Ban Jelačić Square
Ban Jelacic Square
Ban Jelačić Square is the central square of the city of Zagreb, Croatia, named after ban Josip Jelačić. The official name is Trg bana Jelačića...

. The statue has been repeatedly removed, and reinstated during changes in political power and orientation in Croatia, from monarchist, through ultra-nationalist
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...

, and communist
Socialist Republic of Croatia
Socialist Republic of Croatia was a sovereign constituent country of the second Yugoslavia. It came to existence during World War II, becoming a socialist state after the war, and was also renamed four times in its existence . It was the second largest republic in Yugoslavia by territory and...

, up to democratic. After the Croatian declaration of independence, marking the start of the democratic era, the statue was returned to the square, and Zaprešić credits Jelačić with a major arterial road named in his honor.

Baltazar Adam Krčelić (1715–78), a historian, theologian, legal expert, and a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 in Zagreb, lived in what became the Zaprešić metropolitan area. Actually born in Šenkovec, Brdovec, he was the rector of the Croatian language course in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. He wrote 757 books in Latin, and the Kajkavian dialect of Croatian.

The Illyrian movement of Slavic independence in Croatia can also be traced to Zaprešić through two of its citizens: Ivan Perkovac (1826–71), publicist from Harmica, Brdovec, editor of Vijenac
Vijenac
Vijenac is a biweekly magazine for literature, art and science, established in December 1993 and published by Matica hrvatska, the central national cultural institution in Croatia.-Historical background:...

and Pozor, secretary of Matica hrvatska
Matica hrvatska
Matica hrvatska is one of the oldest Croatian cultural institutions, dating back to 1842. The name is somewhat idiosyncratic, best translated as "The Croatian Centre" . It is the largest publisher of Croatian language books...

, and a member of Sabor, the Croatian parliament; and Pavao Štoos
Pavao Štoos
Pavao Štoos , was a Croatian poet, priest and a revivalistAfter graduating theology in Zagreb, he served as a bishop's secretary for a brief period, and from 1842 he as a pastor of the Pokupsko parish....

 (1806–62), a poet, a priest, and an important member of the Illyrian movement from Dubravica. Ante Kovačić
Ante Kovacic
Ante Kovačić was a Croatian writer.Born to a family of Croatian peasants, Kovačić made his way through law school to become an attorney....

 (1854–89) from Marija Gorica lived in the aftermath of the Illyrian movement, but nevertheless became a fruitful writer. His most important work is U registraturi (In the Registry), a novel following the life of Ivica Kičmanović, a peasant who is raised in a village and goes to live in a large city.

Zaprešić's recent history includes several known Croatian public figures, such as Matija Skurjeni
Matija Skurjeni
Matija Skurjeni was a Croatian painter. His works can be found at the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art in Zagreb.-References:...

 (1898–1990), a Croatian naïve
Naïve art
Naïve art is a classification of art that is often characterized by a childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique. While many naïve artists appear, from their works, to have little or no formal art training, this is often not true...

 painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 who lived in Zaprešić from 1953 until his death. He was a co-founder of the Croatian Society of Naïve Painters. An art gallery with his works was opened in Zaprešić in 1987. This art gallery changed to a museum in 2000. Other well-known inhabitants include Davor Gobac (b. 1964), the frontman of Psihomodo Pop
Psihomodo Pop
Psihomodo Pop is a Croatian pop punk group. The band was formed in 1983 in Zagreb and has since achieved a somewhat cult following across the area of former Yugoslavia....

. Although he was born in Karlovac
Karlovac
Karlovac is a city and municipality in central Croatia. The city proper has a population of 49,082, while the municipality has a population of 59,395 inhabitants .Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County...

, he is a resident of Zaprešić; Davor Vuković (b. 1951), a painter and poet from Herceg Novi
Herceg Novi
Herceg Novi is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 inhabitants...

, residing in Zaprešić; and Mira Vlahović, an opera singer. Vlahović sang at the Croatian National Theater. The music scene in Zaprešić includes Connect, a hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

 band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 formed in Zaprešić. Connect is the creator of the Croatian football
Football in Croatia
Football in Croatia, called nogomet, is the most popular team sport in the country and is led by the Croatian Football Federation. It is played in four official components; the domestic league consists of three hierarchical echelons, and a single national team represents the entire state...

hip hop hymn "Samo je jedno"

External links

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