Zagreb: Encyclopedia II - Zagreb - History

Zagreb - History

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 (Grič). 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 yearly 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 (the economic and traffic centre has shifted southwards 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 which is 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 the construction of new residential areas south of the Sava river was begun resulting in the so-called Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb). The city also expanded towards the west and the east incorporating Dubrava, Podsused, Jarun, Blato etc.

The cargo railway hub and the international airport Pleso were built south of the Sava river. The biggest industrial zone (Žitnjak) in the southeast represents an extension of the industrial zones on the eastern outskirts of the city, between the Sava and the Prigorje region.

Urbanized lines of settlements connect Zagreb with the centres in its surroundings: Sesvete, Zaprešić, 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 the Zagreb county (which excludes the city).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki