Once in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, you are only 1/2h away from lash green countryside named Zagorje. Zagorje region is located in northern part of Croatia (map), just north from it’s capital city. Actually, only Medvednica mountain separates Zagreb from Zagorje region.
Same goes for Prigorje region which is located more north-east from Zagreb. So, to go to Zagorje from Zagreb you follow signs for Krapina, and for Prigorje follow signs for Vrbovec and Krizevci. Both regions are connected by highway and alternative routes as well.
In both regions you’ll end up in between rolling hills blanketed with patches of forests, vineyards or fields of grain. Here you’ll discover hospitable people of noble nature. They have endured history of foreign rulers, numerous invasions, hardship nature had thrown at them and beside all that they have preserved their language, culture, traditional gastronomy and most importantly, land and water that surrounds them.
As anything else on our pages, we are continually adding new material to our posts, including travel notes, photos and videos.
Roads through countryside will lead you to number of medieval castles and large nobleman’s manor houses as well as those incorporated in today’s modern cities.
Castle Trakoscan in Zagorje region of Croatia
Regional museums may present you with artifacts created by human hand dating back 5000 years. Museum in Krapina on other hand, will introduce you to findings of some of the least Neanderthals of Europe (more than 120.000 years old).
- National Geographic Magazine – “Last of the Neanderthals” [+]
And finally, what attract most of us to Zagorje, beside culinary dishes, are mineral thermal water springs, spas with numerous swimming pools – Stubičke toplice, Tuheljske toplice, Krapinske and Varaždinske toplice (you can find links below to some of their web sites).
Featured on photos are; Klet in Beketinec – traditional cabin in vineyards, rolling hills of Prigorje, migrating birds spend summers in Prigorje too, in Gornja Stubica (Upper Stubica) can be found, made by Antun Augustinčić, monument to Croatian Braveheart – Matija Gubec (executed in 1573), then Petrica Kerempuh statue on the same location, Mihanovic castle, Carriage (Mihanovic castle).
Culinary dishes in Zagorje region could be labeled as continental central-European with it’s own flavors. Traditional meals from Zagorje can be found in many local restaurants as well as in some of the restaurants in Zagreb. The best advice would be, of course, if you have that opportunity, is to join some of the locals around their dining table. If you are that lucky, on the menu could be some of the local meals and deserts that will pleasantly surprised you by aroma and flavors that are no longer present in food that comes from industrialized processing plants we all have tendency to surround ourselves with.
Some of the dishes you should try in Zagroje are;
- Zagorje štrukli
- Sarma (featured in our recipe)
- Cesnjovke sausages (home made)
Links to northern part of Croatia – Zagorje and Prigorje:
- Stubicke toplice – Stubičke thermal spa and health resort, Hotel Matija Gubec
- Terme Tuhelj – indoor & outdoor swimming pools in the heart of Zagorje
- Krapina springs
- Varaždinske toplice (Varazdin springs since 4th century)
