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Zagreb is the capital city of Croatia. The city's population is 782,908 (1.1 million in metro area). It is situated between the southern slopes of Medvednica mountain and the northern bank of the Sava river at an elevation of 120 m above sea level. Its ... more »
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Airports Zagreb is the capital city of Croatia. The city's population is 782,908 (1.1 million in metro area). It is situated between the southern slopes of Medvednica mountain and the northern bank of the Sava river at an elevation of 120 m above sea level.
Its favourable geographic position in the southwestern part of the Pannonian Basin, which extends to the Alpine, Dinaric, Adriatic and Pannonic regions, provides an excellent connection for traffic between Central Europe and the Adriatic Sea.
The traffic position, concentration of industry, scientific and research institutions and industrial tradition underlie its leading economic position. Zagreb seats central state administrative bodies and almost all government ministries.
Zagreb is the largest city in Croatia and the only one whose metropolitan area exceeds one million people. There are 1,088,841 people in the Zagreb metropolitan area, including the smaller cities of Samobor, Velika Gorica and Zaprešic.
Zagreb is an important tourist centre, not only in terms of passengers travelling from Western and Central Europe to the Adriatic Sea, but also as a travel destination itself. Since the end of the Croatian War of Independence, it attracts around half a million visitors annually, mainly from Austria, Germany and Italy. However, the city has greater potential as many tourists that visit Croatia skip Zagreb in order to visit the beaches along the Croatian Adriatic coast and old historic Renaissance cities such as Dubrovnik, Split, and Zadar.
There are three main transit connections:
* the western, towards Ljubljana, Slovenia and on to Western Europe; * the eastern, towards Slavonia and on to Southeastern Europe and the Near East; and * the southern, towards Rijeka, Croatia's biggest port in the Kvarner bay and Split in Dalmatia, the second largest Croatian city and also an important port.
A motorway tunnel going through the Medvednica Mountains is in the planning stages and will become Zagreb's main northern transit connection.
The railway running along the Sutla river and the Zagorje main road (Zagreb - Maribor - Vienna), as well as traffic connections with the Pannonian region and Hungary (the Zagorje railroad, the roads and railway to Varaždin - Cakovec and Koprivnica) are linked with truck routes.
The southern railway connection to Split operates on a line via the Lika region (renovated in 2004 to allow for a five-hour journey); a faster line along the Una river valley is currently in use only up to the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The railway and the motorway (A3) along the Sava river that runs to Slavonia and further to Belgrade are some of the busiest traffic corridors in the country.
The city has a well developed road network with several main arteries up to six lanes wide and a full-profile expressway encircling most of the city. There is some congestion in the city centre and parking is also a problem. This is somewhat alleviated by the construction of new underground multi-story car-parks (Importanne Centre, Importanne Gallery, Langov square).
Public transportation in the city is organized in two layers: the inner parts of the city are mostly covered by trams and the outer suburbs are linked with buses. The public transportation company, ZET (Zagrebacki Elektricni Tramvaj, Zagreb Electric Tram), is subsidised by the city council. Currently there is an ambitious programme underway to replace old trams with the new and modern ones built mostly in Zagreb by companies Koncar elektroindustrija and, to a lesser extent, by TŽV Gredelj. 70 trams have been purchased, with the final tram expected to be delivered by December 2007, and a deal securing an additional 100 trams is forthcoming.
The funicular Uspinjaca in the historic part of the city is a tourist attraction. Taxis are readily available, but are comparatively expensive. In recent years, the state rail operator HŽ (Hrvatske željeznice, Croatian Railways) has been developing a network of suburban trains in metropolitan Zagreb area. As of 2004, east-west railway connections have been upgraded.
Zagreb Airport currently handles 1.6 million passengers a year. A new terminal is planned for 2011, with construction beginning in 2008.
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While the human habitats were present at the wider city area since the Neolithic (including the well-preserved Roman town of Andautonia), it was in 1094 that the Hungarian King Ladislaus founded a bishopric on the Kaptol hill. An independent secular community developed on a neighbouring hill Gradec (Gric). The settlements suffered greatly under the Mongol invasion of 1242, but when they abruptly left, King Bela IV declared Gradec a royal autonomous city in order to attract foreign artisans.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the two communities actively tried to best each other - economically and politically. The bishopric would excommunicate Gradec, which might respond by burning Kaptol. They only worked together for the occasional large commercial venture - such as the three annual fairs each lasting two weeks. These two mediaeval hills, Gradec and Kaptol, finally merged into one community, Zagreb, in the early 17th century. They now form the cultural centre of the modern city as its economic centre has shifted southward since. The bishopric of Kaptol has since become the Archbishopric of Zagreb.
The construction of the railway embankment (1860) enabled the old suburbs to merge gradually into Donji Grad, characterized by a regular block pattern that prevails in Central European cities. This bustling core hosts many imposing buildings, monuments, and parks as well as a multitude of museums, theatres and cinemas.
Working class quarters emerged between the railway and the Sava, whereas the construction of residential quarters on the hills of the southern slopes of Medvednica was completed between the two World Wars.
The area between the railway and the Sava saw much new construction after the Second World War. After the mid-1950s, construction of new residential areas south of the Sava river began, resulting in Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb). The city also expanded westward and eastward, incorporating Dubrava, Podsused, Jarun, and Blato among other settlements.
The cargo railway hub and the international airport Pleso were built south of the Sava river. The largest industrial zone (Žitnjak) in the southeast represents an extension of the industrial zones on the eastern outskirts of the city, between the Sava and Prigorje region.
Urbanized lines of settlements connect Zagreb with the centres in its surroundings: Sesvete, Zaprešic, Samobor, Dugo Selo and Velika Gorica. Sesvete is the closest one to become a part of the conurbation and is in fact already included in the City of Zagreb rather than Zagreb county, which excludes the city.
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Distances are calculated as the crow flies, and are provided as an aid in planning only.
* This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Source wikipedia.
