Zagreb, Croatia

Zagreb is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Croatia, a central European country. Zagreb became a modern capital when Croatia declared its independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991. Considered one of central Europe's oldest cities, Zagreb is undergoing rapid development in the early twenty-first century, but maintains a reputation among tourists as a quiet, tranquil alternative to other modern European capitals.

Landscape

Zagreb is located in the northern region of Croatia, covering an area of approximately 641 square kilometers (247 square miles). Zagreb is an inland city, located in the southwestern region of the Carpathian Basin, on the slopes of the Medvednica mountain range. The Sava River borders the city on both the north and the south. Medvednica's highest peak, Sljeme, is the city's highest point, at 1,032 meters (3,386 feet) above sea level. The average elevation of the city is 122 meters (400 feet).

Zagreb is divided into seventeen districts, and within Zagreb's metropolitan area are the cities of Samobor, Velika Gorica, and Zaprešić. Zagreb is sectioned off into three primary areas. Gornji grad (the upper town) is popular for its shopping and cuisine, and home to bazaars that sell both local crafts and imported goods. Donji grad (the lower town) is home to two large green spaces and a botanical garden—the combination of which is said to recreate the feel of an Austrian town and forms a space known as the Horseshoe. Novi Zagreb contains a business district with the city's more modern buildings and high-rises.

Zagreb has a mild, continental climate that features four distinct seasons. Average temperatures range from 14 degrees to 25 degrees Celsius (57 degrees to 77 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer, and -4 degrees to 5 degrees Celsius (24 degrees to 41 degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter. The city has an average annual rainfall of 890 millimeters (35 inches).

People

As of 2023, Zagreb had an estimated population of 684,000 people. Zagreb is almost entirely populated by ethnic Croats, who made up around 90 percent of the city's population at the time of the 2011 census. There are numerous minorities, of which Serbs were the largest at that point, with about 4.4 percent of the total population, followed by Bosniaks, who accounted for just over 1 percent of the population. Albanians, Montenegrins, Macedonians, Romanies, and Slovenians accounted for roughly 0.5 percent or less of the population each, respectively. Zagreb is also home to a small Chinese population and a small number of German and Austrian expatriates. Overall, there were more than 1.1 million people in the greater Zagreb area as of the end of 2018 and approximately 4,169,239 people in Croatia in 2023.

The dominant religion was Catholicism at the time of the 2011 census, at approximately 86 percent, followed by Eastern Orthodox (4.4 percent) and a relatively small percentage of Muslims (1.5 percent). Croatian is the official and most common language. Popular holidays include Anti-Fascist Struggle Day, observed on June 22, Croatian National or Statehood Day, observed on June 25, and Independence Day, celebrated on October 8.

Economy

Zagreb is the economic center of Croatia, with numerous manufacturing and processing industries, including a prosperous chemical industry and the production of both petroleum and natural gas. It is also a major producer of machinery, electronics, pharmaceutical products, and several food products, while other industries include wood processing, leather and textiles, and printing. Zagreb's economy is considered relatively strong. Overall, the economy of Zagreb, and Croatia as a whole, is relatively affluent compared to most other Eastern European nations and capitals. According to the World Factbook, in 2021 the unemployment rate of Croatia was estimated to be 8.68 percent.

The city is an important trade center in Croatia, as well, and hosts an annual International Trade Fair. Its position near the border of the Balkan Peninsula means Zagreb is a major trade hub between Central and Eastern Europe. Croatia's main trading partners include Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, and Serbia.

Zagreb has fifteen tram lines running through it during the day and four at night. In addition, Pleso International Airport in Zagreb offers daily flights to Paris, Milan, London, and several German cities, and has undergone expansion in the early twenty-first century to become more competitive with other major European airports. A new passenger terminal was officially opened in 2017. Though the city still had to compete with some of the country's more tropical destinations for tourists, it made some gains in this area. According to the European Commission, Zagreb set a record for tourist arrivals in 2019 when it welcomed 1.46 million visitors.

Landmarks

The mountain of Medvednica, occasionally called Zagrebačka gora (Zagreb's mountain), is located partially within a nature park in Zagreb itself, and is a popular spot for both skiing and hiking. The mountain's highest peak, called Sljeme, is outfitted with a cable car. The mountain itself it also home to numerous landmarks, including two chapels, the Queen's Well, a medieval fortress called Medvedgrad, and a series of mines. There are several caves that are open to spelunking, including Veternica Cave.

Zagreb boasts several medieval castles, including the Trakoscan, Marusevac, Veliki Tabor, and Miljana. The Zagreb Cathedral, the original construction of which dates back to the twelfth century, is another popular tourist destination, as is St. Mark's Church, where the works of Croatia's most famous sculptor, Ivan Mestrovic, are located. Despite the beauty of these architectural masterpieces, the Croatian National Theater is considered by residents and visitors alike to be the most beautiful and elegant building in Zagreb. Built in 1895, in the then-popular neo-Baroque style, the theater hosts productions of opera, ballet, and drama.

Zagreb is especially known for its numerous museums, and even claims to have more museums per square foot than any other city in the world. They include the Mimara museum, which once served as a middle school and has more than 3,750 works of art on display, including pieces by Francisco de Goya and Rembrandt, the Croatian School Museum, which traces the history of education in Eastern Europe, and the Croatian History Museum. Other museums include the Zagreb City Museum, the Croatian Museum of Architecture, and museums focused on Croatian archaeology, ethnography, telecommunications, and natural history.

History

Zagreb began as two separate settlements called Kaptol and Gradec, which were situated on adjacent hills, and established as early as the eleventh century CE. The name Zagreb was first used to refer to this area in 1094, when a Roman Catholic bishop established a diocese under that name. Throughout the next several decades, wealthy individuals from throughout Europe came to settle in the region.

The two settlements were rivals for decades, but as immigration to the area increased, the borders of both settlements expanded out from the mountain slopes downward toward the Sava River. The Mongols invaded Gradec in 1241, constructing numerous towers and fortifications for protection of the settlement. Amid this fortification, the settlement became a free town.

Gradec and Kaptol were officially combined in 1850 into the city of Zagreb. This new solidarity caused the residential, commercial, and cultural institutions of the city to further improve and expand, and throughout the nineteenth century, Zagreb became a bastion for Croat nationalism. Despite political and social pressure from both Turkey and Germany to adopt their respective identities, Zagreb—and by extension, Croatia—maintained its unique national character. The city's development was set back temporarily in 1880 when an earthquake struck, devastating much of what had already been built.

After serving as the center for the Croatian independence movement, Zagreb became the site of the Croatian Diet in 1918. This meeting formally established Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia as a single nation, independent from their former sovereign nation of Austria-Hungary. Later that same year, the new state formed a cooperative federation with Serbia, Slovenia, and Montenegro. However, Zagreb continued to be the flashpoint for political movements, including those pushing for the complete independence of Croatia, as well as those calling for unity among the several former Austro-Hungarian states.

During World War II, the Axis forces (Germany, Italy, and Japan) installed a puppet government in Zagreb, and appointed the city as the capital of Croatia. Yugoslav forces liberated Zagreb in May 1945, but the remnants of Croatia did not survive. The state became incorporated into Yugoslavia as part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This period witnessed major growth in Zagreb; the city, which had already grown considerably in the south, began to expand to the east and west.

Croatia remained part of Yugoslavia until 1991, when it achieved independence, and Zagreb was once again declared its capital. However, the city experienced further turmoil during the Croatian War of Independence, which began shortly after the country had gained independence from Yugoslavia, though the majority of the fighting was relegated to other parts of the country.

Thousands of citizens gathered in a main square in the city to hold a celebration for their national soccer team when they returned home from the World Cup final in July 2018; though Croatia was ultimately defeated, citizens were especially proud of the accomplishment of having finished in second place.

Bibliography

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