About Zagreb(Croatia)
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately 122 m (400 ft) above sea level. In the last official census of 2011, the population of the settlement of Zagreb was 686,568,[3] while the total population of its administrative area was 792,875. The wider Zagreb metropolitan area includes the City of Zagreb and the separate Zagreb County with a population of 317,642, bringing the total metropolitan area population up to 1,110,517. It is the only metropolitan area in Croatia with a population of over one million.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 transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific and research institutions and industrial tradition underlie its leading economic position in Croatia. Zagreb is the seat of the central government, administrative bodies and almost all government ministries.
First recognition of the settlement as Zagreb appears to have been recorded in 1094, although the origins of the name Zagreb are less clear. Popular Croatian legend suggests that, while crossing a deserted region with his thirsty troops, a Croatian ban or viceroy drove his sabre into the ground through sheer frustration at his plight and, on doing so, inadvertedly uncovered a source of water, saving the day for both himself and his troops. The ban immediately ordered the troops to scrape the soil in order to uncover the water, and the name Zagreb comes from the Croatian verb to scrape. The idea of digging or unearthing is supported by scientists who suggest that the settlement was established beyond a water-filled hole or 'graba' and that the name derives from this. Others suggest that the name derives from the term 'za breg' or beyond the hill. The hill may well have been the river bank of the River Sava, which is believed to have previously flowed closer to the city centre. From here, the words may have been fused into one word and, thus, the name Zagreb was born.
The cultural and older part of modern-day Zagreb is actually based around two ancient hill communities, those of Kaptol and Gradec. Hungarian King Ladislaus founded a bishopric in Kaptol in 1094, and then, following the departure in the 13th century of the Mongols, King Bela IV declared Gradec to be a royal autonomous city as a means of attracting foreign artisans. These honours and awards sparked competition and rivalry with the two communities constantly endeavouring to outdo each other both politically and commercially. It was not until the 17th century that the two entities merged to form Zagreb. Though this area remains the cultural heart of the city and the bishopric in Kaptol has been upgraded to archbishopric status, development since the 18th century has seen most of the commercial activity shift to the southern expansion of the city.
The introduction of the railroad to Zagreb in the 19th century was a key factor in the development of todayís Zagreb. The addition of Zagreb to the Oriental Expressí schedule was influential in the construction of opulent buildings such as the Regent Esplanade, constructed to cater for the foreign rich who now stopped regularly in Zagreb on their way to Istanbul. In addition, the opening of the route through to Istanbul meant that Zagreb was now at the centre of the main East-West trade route, as well as the traditional established route between Austria and Hungary. The building of the railroad also allowed older suburbs to be naturally incorporated into the city centre and provided ready-made locations for further expansion to take place. Most of this development took place between the railway and the Sava River, the most intensive period of which came after World War II. With Yugoslaviaís accession to the league of Communist countries, expansion of Zagreb spilled south of the Sava River; an area now known as Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb) was born, and expansion continued to the east and west, absorbing several suburbs along the way.
On declaring independence from Yugoslavia on June 25th 1991, Zagreb was officially declared the capital of Croatia. Though for some time Zagreb was considered a Croatian stronghold and eventual target of the Serb/Yugoslavian insurgent forces, fortunately for the city and its residents very little conflict was actually experienced. Today, Zagreb is the only Croatian city whose metropolitan population exceeds one million. The vast majority of Zagrebís residents consider themselves to be Croats; of the many other ethnic minorities, Serbs are the most significant.
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