Zabok is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

situated in northwest

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in the

Krapina-Zagorje County Krapina-Zagorje County (, ) is a county in northern Croatia, bordering Slovenia. It encompasses most of the historic region called Hrvatsko Zagorje. The area contains the excavation site of a 100,000-year-old Neanderthal man in caves near the ...

. According to the 2011 census, it has a total population of 8,994, with 2,714 in Zabok itself. Zabok is situated on the main crossroads in the heart of

Hrvatsko Zagorje Hrvatsko Zagorje (; Croatian Zagorje; ''zagorje'' is Croatian language, Croatian for 'backland' or 'behind the hills') is a cultural region in northern Croatia, traditionally separated from the country's capital Zagreb by the Medvednica mount ...

region. Zabok is the economical centre of the Krapina-Zagorje County.

History

In 1782, Sigismund Vojković-Vojkffy started the construction of a church in Zabok, completing it in 1805. With the abolition of the

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

, former serfs were offered a possibility of choosing their own place of settlement, and the majority settled along the roads connecting Gredice and Bračak with the new centre developing around the church, to form the new city centre. The town reached its final shape in the period after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when it spread longitudinally along the northern side of the railway track. The

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

"Regeneracija" was founded on 12 March 1956, and the DVD Opće bolnice Zabok on 5 February 2009. On 8 June 2018, Zabok was hit with golf ball sized hail.

Geography

Zabok is located at , at an altitude of 186 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. The following settlements comprise the town's administrative area: * Bračak, population 21 * Bregi Zabočki Donji, population 81 (2021) * Dubrava Zabočka, population 591 * Grabrovec, population 607 * Grdenci, population 459 *

Gubaševo Gubaševo is a village in Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, ...

, population 262 * Hum Zabočki, population 457 * Jakuševec Zabočki, population 364 * Lug Zabočki, population 585 *

Martinišće Martinišće is a settlement in the City of Zabok in Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwes ...

, population 338 * Pavlovec Zabočki, population 605 * Prosenik Gubaševski, population 155 * Prosenik Začretski, population 158 * Repovec, population 312 *

Špičkovina Špičkovina is a village in Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeas ...

, population 764 * Tisanić Jarek, population 345 * Zabok, population 2,714

Climate

Since records began in 1991, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station was , on 8 August 2013. The coldest temperature was , on 26 January 2000.

Demographics

In the 2011 census, 98% of the population were

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

Politics

The town's major Ivan Hanžek (

Social Democratic Party of Croatia The Social Democratic Party of Croatia (, SDP) is a Social democracy, social democratic political party in Croatia. The SDP is Anti-fascism, anti-fascist, Progressivism, progressive, and strongly Pro-Europeanism, pro-European. The SDP was forme ...

) was elected a member of the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

in the 2007 parliamentary election.

Etymology and earliest references

"Zabok" means "behind the river curve" (the river in question is the Krapinica). The name ''Zabok'' first appeared in 1335 in a text in which ownership of Zabok was given to Petar, son of Nuzlin, by the Hungarian king, Charles I. The Nuzlin family added the prefix ''de Zabok'' to their name and, by the 15th century, had started naming themselves "Zaboky de Zabok".

Culture

Zabok is home to monuments to Antun Gustav Matoš and Katarina Zrinska. The soprano Vlatka Oršanić was born in Zabok and received her early music education at the music school there. Zabok_railway_station_in_August_2022

Transportation

Zabok is the central railway hub of Krapina-Zagorje County. It lies on the corridor R201 (Zaprešić-Čakovec) and also serves as a terminus for railway lines to and from

Krapina Krapina (; ) is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 (2011) and a total municipality population of 12,480 (2011). Krapina is located in the hilly Zagorje region of Croatia ...

/ state border with

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

(R106) and Gornja Stubica ( L202). Zabok bus station is served by buses of the company "Presečki d.o.o." which connect the City of Zabok with numerous cities through county and inter-county lines such as Zabok-

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, Zabok- Zlatar, Zabok- Marija Bistrica, Zabok-Krapina, Zabok- Pregrada, Zabok-

Hum na Sutli Hum na Sutli () is a village and a municipality in the Krapina-Zagorje County of Croatia. In the 2011 census, there were 5,060 inhabitants in the municipality, in the following settlements: * Brezno Gora, population 75 * Donje Brezno, populatio ...

, Zabok-

Bedekovčina Bedekovčina is a village and municipality in the Krapina-Zagorje County in Croatia. It is connected by the D24 road (Croatia), state road D24 and R201 railway (Croatia), R201 railway. In the 2011 census, the total population of the municipality w ...

and Zabok- Oroslavje.

References

Literature

External links

Official website of Zabok
{{Authority control Populated places in Krapina-Zagorje County Cities and towns in Croatia