Zabok is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

and situated in northwest

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 ...

in the

Krapina-Zagorje County Krapina-Zagorje County (, hr, Krapinsko-zagorska županija) is a county in northern Croatia, bordering Slovenia. It encompasses most of the historic region called Hrvatsko Zagorje. The area contains the excavation site of a 100,000-year-old ...

. According to the 2011 census, it has a total population of 8,994, with 2,714 in Zabok itself. Zabok is situated on the main crossroads in the heart of Hrvatsko Zagorje region. Zabok is the economical centre of the Krapina-Zagorje County.

History

In 1782, Sigismund Vojković-Vojkffy started the construction of a church in Zabok, completing it in 1805. With the abolition of the

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structu ...

, former serfs were offered a possibility of choosing their own place of settlement, and the majority settled along the roads connecting Gredice and Bračak with the new centre developing around the church, to form the new city centre. The town reached its final shape in the period after

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, when it spread longitudinally along the northern side of the railway track.

Geography

Zabok is located at , at an altitude of 186 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

. The following settlements comprise the town's administrative area: * Bračak, population 21 * Bregi Zabočki, population 257 * Dubrava Zabočka, population 591 * Grabrovec, population 607 *

Grdenci Grdenci is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D1 highway. References Populated places in Krapina-Zagorje County {{KrapinaZagorje-geo-stub ...

, population 459 * Gubaševo, population 262 * Hum Zabočki, population 457 *

Jakuševec Zabočki Jakuševec is a neighborhood in the Novi Zagreb – istok city district of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Located on Sajmišna Road east of Sarajevska Road and Utrine, Travno and Dugave apartment block complexes, the neighborhood is mostly uni ...

, population 364 * Lug Zabočki, population 585 * Martinišće, population 338 *

Pavlovec Zabočki Pavlovec Zabočki is a village in Croatia. Populated places in Krapina-Zagorje County {{KrapinaZagorje-geo-stub ...

, population 605 * Prosenik Gubaševski, population 155 * Prosenik Začretski, population 158 * Repovec, population 312 *

Špičkovina Špičkovina is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D24 highway and R201 railway. Populated places in Krapina-Zagorje County {{KrapinaZagorje-geo-stub ...

, population 764 * Tisanić Jarek, population 345 * Zabok, population 2,714 In the 2011 census, 98% of the population were

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

Politics

The town's major Ivan Hanžek (

Social Democratic Party of Croatia The Social Democratic Party of Croatia ( hr, Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske, SDP) is a social-democratic political party in Croatia. The SDP is anti-fascist, progressive, and strongly pro-European. The SDP was formed in 1990 as the succes ...

) was elected a member of the Croatian Parliament in the 2007 parliamentary election.

Etymology and earliest references

"Zabok" means "behind the river curve" (the river in question is the Krapinica). The name ''Zabok'' first appeared in 1335 in a text in which ownership of Zabok was given to Petar, son of Nuzlin, by the Hungarian king, Charles I. The Nuzlin family added the prefix ''de Zabok'' to their name and, by the 15th century, had started naming themselves "Zaboky de Zabok".

Culture

Zabok is home to monuments to

Antun Gustav Matoš Antun Gustav Matoš (; 13 June 1873 – 17 March 1914) was a Croatian poet, short story writer, journalist, essayist and travelogue writer. He is considered the champion of Croatian modernist literature, opening Croatia to the currents of E ...

and Katarina Zrinska. The soprano Vlatka Oršanić was born in Zabok and received her early music education at the music school there. Zabok_railway_station_in_August_2022

Transportation

Zabok is the central railway hub of Krapina-Zagorje County. It lies on the corridor R201 (Zaprešić-Čakovec) and also serves as a terminus for railway lines to and from Krapina / state border with

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

(R106) and Gornja Stubica ( L202). Zabok bus station is served by buses of the company "Presečki d.o.o." which connect the City of Zabok with numerous cities through county and inter-county lines such as Zabok-

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 Sl ...

, Zabok- Zlatar, Zabok- Marija Bistrica, Zabok-Krapina, Zabok- Pregrada, Zabok- Hum na Sutli, Zabok- Bedekovčina and Zabok- Oroslavje.

References

External links

Official website of Zabok
{{Authority control Populated places in Krapina-Zagorje County Cities and towns in Croatia