Location of Hrvatsko zagorje inside Croatia

Hrvatsko Zagorje (; Croatian Zagorje; ''zagorje'' is Croatian for 'backland' or 'behind the hills') is a

cultural region In anthropology and geography, a cultural area, cultural region, cultural sphere, or culture area refers to a geography with one relatively homogeneous human activity or complex of activities (culture). Such activities are often associa ...

in northern

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, traditionally separated from the country's capital

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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

by the

Medvednica Medvednica (, ) is a mountain in central Croatia, just north of Zagreb, and marking the southern border of the historic region of Zagorje. Most of it is encompassed by the Medvednica Nature Park. The highest peak, at is Sljeme. Most of the are ...

mountains. It comprises the whole area north of Mount

up to

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

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

Podravina ''Podravina'' (in Croatian) or ''Podravje'' (in Slovenian) are Slavic names for the Drava river basin in northern Croatia and Slovenia. Both names combine the hydronym with the South Slavic prefix "''po''-", meaning "alongside" or "after". Hist ...

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

Krapina-Zagorje County Krapina-Zagorje County (, ) 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 Neanderthal man in caves near the ...

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

Varaždin County Varaždin County () is a county in Hrvatsko Zagorje. It is named after its county seat, the city of Varaždin. Geography The county contains the city of Varaždin, the towns of: Ivanec, Ludbreg, Lepoglava, Novi Marof and Varaždinske Top ...

(total population 183,730). The population of Zagorje can be reasonably estimated to exceed 300,000 people. In Croatia, the area is usually referred to simply as ''Zagorje'' (Croatian for 'backland' or 'behind the hills'; with respect to

). However, to avoid confusion with the nearby

Municipality of Zagorje ob Savi The Municipality of Zagorje ob Savi (; ) is a municipality in central Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Zagorje ob Savi. The area is part of the traditional region of Upper Carniola. The entire municipality is now included in ...

in Slovenia, the Croatian part is called ''Hrvatsko Zagorje'', meaning 'Croatian Zagorje'. The town of

Krapina Krapina (; ) is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 (2011) and a total municipality population of 12,480 (2011). Krapina is located in the hilly Zagorje region of Croatia ...

is often referred to as the cultural capital of

Kajkavian dialect Kajkavian is a South Slavic supradialect or language spoken primarily by Croats in much of Central Croatia and Gorski Kotar. It is part of the South Slavic dialect continuum, being transitional to the supradialects of Čakavian, Štokavian ...

(Croatian: ''Kajkavščina''), the South Slavic dialect spoken in north-western Croatia. Every year, the Festival of Kajkavian Song () takes place in Krapina. Veliki Tabor 2012 2

Traditional manufacturing of children's wooden toys in Hrvatsko Zagorje has been listed by Unesco as

Intangible Cultural Heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. In ...

in 2009.

Towns and Villages

2011 Census: *

Zaprešić Zaprešić () is a town in Zagreb County, in Croatia. It has a population of 19,644 inhabitants in the city proper, town proper, with 25,223 in the administrative area. The town's metropolitan area, which encompasses the seven neighbouring munic ...

(25.495 people) *

Ivanec Ivanec is a town in northern Croatia, located southwest of Varaždin, east of Lepoglava and north of the mountain Ivanščica. History In the late 19th and early 20th century, Ivanec was a district capital in Varaždin County of the Kingdom of ...

(13,758 people) *

(12,480 people) *

Zabok Zabok is a town situated in northwest Croatia in the Krapina-Zagorje County. 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 r ...

(8,994 people) *

Lepoglava Lepoglava is a town in Varaždin County, northern Croatia, It is located 32 km southwest of Varaždin, 7 km west of Ivanec, and 22 km northeast of Krapina. Demographics A total of 8,283 residents in the municipality (2011 census) live in the fo ...

(8,283 people) *

Bedekovčina Bedekovčina is a village and municipality in the Krapina-Zagorje County in Croatia. It is connected by the D24 road (Croatia), state road D24 and R201 railway (Croatia), R201 railway. In the 2011 census, the total population of the municipality w ...

(8,041 people) *

Pregrada Pregrada is a town and municipality in Krapina-Zagorje County in Croatia. In the 2011 census, there were 6,594 inhabitants in the following settlements: * Benkovo, population 326 * Bregi Kostelski, population 269 * Bušin, population 139 * C ...

(6,594 people) * Sveti Križ Začretje (6,165 people) *

Oroslavje Oroslavje () is a town and municipality in Krapina-Zagorje County in Croatia. Oroslavje is often referred to as The Gate of Croatian Zagorje (''Vrata Hrvatskog zagorja'') because of its geographical position and its proximity to Zagreb, The Cit ...

(6,138 people) * Zlatar (6,096 people) *

Marija Bistrica Marija Bistrica () is a village and municipality in the Krapina-Zagorje County in central Croatia, located on the slopes of the Medvednica mountain in the Hrvatsko Zagorje region north of the capital Zagreb. The municipality has 5,976 inhabitants, ...

(5,976 people) *

Donja Stubica Donja Stubica () is a town in Croatia, about northeast of Zagreb on the northern slope of Medvednica. It is connected by the D307 road (Croatia), state road D307 and L202 railway (Croatia), L202 railway. The total population is 5,680, with 2,200 ...

(5,680 people) *

Krapinske Toplice Krapinske Toplice is a village and municipality in Krapina-Zagorje County in Croatia. According to the 2011 census, there are 5,367 inhabitants in the area, absolute majority of which are Croats. The settlements in the municipality are: * Čret, ...

(5,367 people) *

Gornja Stubica Gornja Stubica () is a village and municipality in Krapina-Zagorje County, Croatia. Climate From 1981 to 1996, the highest temperature recorded at the Stubička gora weather station was , on 28 July 1987. The coldest temperature was , on 12 Februa ...

(5,284 people) *

Hum na Sutli Hum na Sutli () is a village and a municipality in the Krapina-Zagorje County of Croatia. In the 2011 census, there were 5,060 inhabitants in the municipality, in the following settlements: * Brezno Gora, population 75 * Donje Brezno, populatio ...

(5,060 people) *

Veliko Trgovišće Veliko Trgovišće is a village and municipality in Krapina-Zagorje County in Croatia located just south-west from nearby town Zabok. Population In the 2011 census, there were a total of 4,945 inhabitants in the municipality, in the following s ...

(4,945 people) * Bednja (3,992 people) *

Jakovlje Jakovlje is a municipality in Croatia, in Zagreb County. In the 2011 census there were 3,930 inhabitants, in three settlements: * Igrišće, population 731 * Jakovlje, population 2,572 * Kraljev Vrh, population 627 In the same census, a majorit ...

(3,930 people) * Konjščina (3,790 people) *

Klanjec Klanjec () is a small town in northwestern Croatia, in the region of Hrvatsko Zagorje on the border with Slovenia. History In the late 19th and early 20th century, Klanjec was a district capital in Varaždin County (former), Varaždin County of t ...

(2,915 people)

Attractions

Its longest cave is

Sutinščica Sutinščica is the longest cave in Zagorje with of explored passage, and is located in the southern foothills of the Ivanščica massif. Its depth is , but its total vertical difference is . It is a mostly horizontal cave, so its horizontal leng ...

in Mali Komor.

References

Bibliography

* Hrvatsko zagorje Historical regions in Croatia {{CentralCroatia-geo-stub

Towns and Villages

Attractions

See also

References

Bibliography