About Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital city, as well as biggest city of the Republic Croatia in Central Europe. It is located along the Sava river on the southside of the Medvednica mountain. The city has 804,507 residents, and if you should include the entire metropolitan area, it has 1,086,528 residents: nearly a quarter of Croatia’s total amount of residents. The history of Zagreb can be traced back the Roman age. It was at first divided into two parts: Kaptol and Gradec, before these two joined into what is now Zagreb. In 1851 it got its first mayor. The city of Zagreb has a special status in Croatia’s administrative divisions; it’s a city county, with a separate status from the county of Zagreb. The administrative division within Zagreb contains 17 districts. Out of these districts, Gornji Grad and Donji Grad form the city centre, maar the district of Novi Zagreb (east and west) and Maksimir also have much to see.

Zagreb is the most important city of Croatia on both the economical and the political level: it holds the government’s seats, including most of the ministries. On top of that almost all of Croatia’s big companies, media, and scientific institutes have headquarters in Zagreb. It also is the main transport hub in Central Europe.

Furthermore, Zagreb is an important tourist city. Not only to pass through when you’re travelling to the Adriatic Sea, but also as a destination in itself. Almost 1 million people visit the city every year. The city has a lot of sights to see, and events to entertain tourist. It has many museums, reflecting Zagreb’s history, culture, and art as well as that of Croatia as a whole, but also the rest of Europe and the world. The historical centre of Zagreb can be found north of the Ban Jelačić Square and consists of Gornji Grad and Kaptol, containing lots of medieval churches, palaces, galleries, and governmental buildings.

The city of Zagreb has lots sports and recreational centres. Around the Jarun lake in the southwest of the city, you can find a recreational beach, with multiple restaurants, night clubs, and a discotheque. At the lake, it is also possible to swim, sunbathe, water ski, and practice other (water) sports. Zagreb also has a lot of other stadiums and arenas, such as the large and modern Arena Zagreb, and the Dom Sportova. In these venues, you can also watch concerts as opposed to them just hosting sports. Arena Zagreb also contains a large shopping centre, including restaurants, a wellness centre, and a cinema. In the Maksimir district, the Maskimir Stadium and Park can be found. With the last one including the Zagreb Zoo. In the north of the city, on the mountain, a large winter sports area can be found.

Zagreb is the main hub of the five largest Croatian highways. Across the city, five large motorways (avenues) can be found. These avenues were meant to solve the traffic issues in and around Zagreb, but are mainly found in gridlock. The city tried to making parking easier by building lots of large, underground parking garages. Zagreb has seven traffic bridges and two train bridges across the Sava river. Its public transfer network consists of 19 tram lines, 120 bus routes, a funicular, and an airport. Zagreb’s main station also functions as the main hub of train traffic in Croatia.

The University of Zagreb is the oldest university in Croatia and one of the oldest and largest Universities in the southeast of Europe. It consists of 29 faculties, 3 art academies, and the Croatioan Study Centre. The city also houses two other universities: the Catholic University of Croatia, and the Libertas International University.