Špansko Oranice. Špansko is a

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; American and British English spelling differences, see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community ...

in the western part of

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

. It has about 24,000 inhabitants.Population of Zagreb by local councils, 2011
www.zgizbori.hr, access-date 22 January 2018 It belongs to

Stenjevec Stenjevec is one of the districts of Zagreb, Croatia. It is located in the western part of the city and has 61 000 inhabitants (as of 2011). List of neighborhoods in Stenjevec * Jankomir * Malešnica * "Matija Gubec" * Stenjevec * Špansko Špa ...

district. Špansko is divided into two parts (two independent local councils) – Špansko-sjever (Špansko North) and Špansko-jug (Špansko South) – by

Antun Šoljan Antun Šoljan (1 December 1932, Belgrade - 12 July 1993, Zagreb) was a Croatian writer in a period of Cold War who appeared as a part of the literary magazine ''Krugovi'' (Circles, from 1952 onwards). Šoljan was active as a poet, novelist, short ...

Street. There are two Catholic

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

es in Špansko: parish of

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

and

Ivan Merz Ivan Merz (16 December 1896 – 10 May 1928) was a Croatian lay academic, beatified by Pope John Paul II on a visit at Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 22, 2003. Ivan Merz promoted the liturgical movement in Croatia and together wi ...

Postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

of the neighbourhood is 10090.

Etymology

The name ''Špansko'' derives from the word ''špan'', that in

Duchy of Pannonian Croatia Early Slavs settled in the eastern and southern parts of the former Roman province of Pannonia. The term ''Lower Pannonia'' ( la, Pannonia inferior, hu, Alsó-pannoniai grófság, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Donja Panonija, Доња Панонија, sl, Spo ...

and later during the Croatian history (especially of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

period) noted nobleman's or municipal ( općina's) tax-collector among serfs. Word is of Croatian origin (župan > žpan), but was modified by both Hungarian (''ispan'') and Croatian language (ispan > span > špan). ''Špansko'' is administrative area of a certain ''špan'', his tax-collecting area. The first known

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

of Špansko is ''Lonka'' (1242), which was later modified into ''Lonka Superior'' ("Upper Lonka", 1346). The first mention of the "Špansko" is ''Lwka Špani'' toponym from the year of 1598.

Population

Tituš Brezovački Elementary school has the greatest number of pupils in Zagreb.

Culture

Špansko is known as a "neighbourhood of Croatian poets and warriors" due to its street naming, dominantly by poets and writers ( Dragutin Domjanić, Josip Pupačić, Vid Došen,

Drago Gervais Drago Gervais (April 18, 1904 – July 3, 1957) was a Croatian Istrian poet and playwright, and one of the most prominent poets writing in the Chakavian dialect of Croatian. Drago Gervais was born in 1904 in Opatija. His father Artur, a descen ...

), as well as Croatian

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

s from Homeland War. Špansko has three elementary schools (

Ante Kovačić Antun "Ante" Kovačić (June 6, 1854 – March 10, 1889) was a Croatian writer who is best known for his magnum opus work '' U registraturi''. Biography Early life Born to a family of Croatian peasants in Hrvatsko Zagorje, Kovačić mad ...

, Tituš Brezovački and Špansko Oranice Elementary school), two of which are named by noted Croatian writers. Central square in the neighbourhood is named after

Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski (29 May 1816 – 1 August 1889) was a Croatian historian, politician and writer, most famous for the first speech delivered in Croatian before the Parliament. Considered a renowned patriot, Kukuljević was a proponent of ...

with the Park of the Croatian volunteers (defenders) of the Homeland War.

Ivanka Brađašević Ivanka Brađašević is a contemporary Croatian poet, writer and librarian. Brađašević was born in 1955 in Nova Kapela near Slavonski Brod. She graduated Croatian language, Croatian literature and librarianship at the Faculty of Philosoph ...

worked as a

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

in the Ante Kovačić Elementary school. There are two public libraries, each in the one of the two local councils.

Sport

Špansko is famous for its football club

NK Špansko NK Špansko is a Croatian football club based in the city of Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica moun ...

, which was very successful in the 1980s and 1990s. Famous Croatian female handball player Klaudija Bubalo attended Ante Kovačić Elementary school, where she started playing handball at

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

classes.

Vedran Zrnić Vedran Zrnić (born 26 September 1979) is a Croatian professional handball player for Nexe Našice. He is World champion from 2003, and Olympic champion from 2004 with the Croatia national team.Školska knjiga Školska knjiga (lit. ''Schoolbook'', ) is one of the largest publishing companies in Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domo ...

, Zagreb 2004. {{coord, 45, 48, N, 15, 54, E, display=title, region:HR_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Neighbourhoods of Zagreb