Dubrava is a large urban area in east

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. It is located in the northeastern part of the city and divided by the Dubrava Avenue into two administrative areas: *

Gornja Dubrava Gornja Dubrava (, "Upper Dubrava") is one of the districts of Zagreb, Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautif ...

(''Upper Dubrava''), population 61,841 (2011) * Donja Dubrava (''Lower Dubrava''), population 36,363 The name comes from a Slavic toponym for

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

forests. The species of oak that grows in this area is ''

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus ...

'' L.

History

In its earliest days Dubrava was no more than a village, consisting of a couple of houses and gardens. It slowly grew, mostly because of intensive settling of people from all over

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

to the city of

and surrounding areas. By the 1930s Dubrava had over hundred inhabitants and was connected with Zagreb via road. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began, Dubrava already had electrical power and 250 inhabitants. During the war it was a

partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

base due to its relative distance from other major cities and simultaneous closeness to Zagreb, making it an ideal place from which partisans could operate within Zagreb itself. As the war progressed, the partisans intensified their activities in Dubrava. Due to the increasing successes of the resistance in Dubrava, the occupation forces send army members to take control of Dubrava, where they murdered 13 partisan supporters in December 1944. Following the liberation of Yugoslavia, these people were declared national heroes and several monuments were built in their honor in the Park of December Victims and on the corner of the Konjščinska Street.

References

External links

Official web site of Dubrava
Geography of Zagreb {{ZagrebCity-geo-stub