Krapina is a town in northern
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and the administrative centre of
Krapina-Zagorje CountyKrapina-Zagorje county is a county in northern Croatia. It encompasses most of the historic region called Hrvatsko Zagorje.The Krapina-Zagorje county is a candidate for being the most idyllic county in Croatia: the many villages and small towns spread out across the hillsides are perfect for...
with a population of 4,482 (2011) and a total municipality population of 12,479 (2011). Krapina is located in the hilly
ZagorjeHrvatsko Zagorje is a region in northern Croatia.Zagorje may also refer to:*Zagorje ob Savi, a town and a municipality in Slovenia*NK Zagorje, a Slovenian football club-See also:...
region of Croatia, approximately 55 km (34.2 mi) away from both
ZagrebZagreb 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 above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
and
VaraždinVaraždin is a city in north Croatia, north of Zagreb on the highway A4. The total population is 47,055, with 38,746 on of the city settlement itself . The centre of Varaždin county is located near the Drava river, at...
.
Population
The following settlements comprise the Krapina municipality:
- Bobovje, population 508
- Doliće
Doliće is a village in the municipality of Sjenica, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 322 people....
, population 435
- Donja Šemnica
Donja Šemnica is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D35 highway....
, population 901
- Gornja Pačetina
Gornja Pačetina is a village in Croatia....
, population 403
- Krapina, population 4,482
- Lazi Krapinski, population 79
- Lepajci
Lepajci is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D1 highway....
, population 391
- Mihaljekov Jarek, population 470
- Podgora Krapinska, population 568
- Polje Krapinsko, population 667
- Pretkovec, population 65
- Pristava Krapinska, population 213
- Strahinje, population 328
- Straža Krapinska, population 42
- Škarićevo, population 705
- Šušelj Brijeg, population 4
- Tkalci
Tkalci is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D206 highway....
, population 435
- Trški Vrh
Trški Vrh is a village in Croatia....
, population 375
- Velika Ves
Velika Ves is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D1 highway....
, population 724
- Vidovec Krapinski, population 215
- Vidovec Petrovski, population 95
- Zagora
Zagora may refer to:*Zagora, Morocco*Zagora Province, Morocco*Zagora, Greece* The region Zagore in north-eastern Bulgaria*The city of Stara Zagora*The city of Nova Zagora*Zagora , a region in inland Dalmatia...
, population 96
- Žutnica, population 249
History
In 1899, on a hill called Hušnjak near modern Krapina, the archaeologist and paleontologist
Dragutin Gorjanović-KrambergerDragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger was a Croatian geologist, paleontologist, and archeologist.-Education:...
found over eight hundred fossil remains belonging to Neanderthals. Moreover, these fossil remains are said to exhibit traces of
cannibalismCannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
and/or mortuary defleshing. At the site where the Neanderthals were discovered, there is now a park with many statues. These statues include a bear, moose, and a beaver.
Krapina has been known since 1193. It has always been a favourite site for castles and country houses of Croatian and
HungarianHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
rulers.
Culture
Today it is a reasonably developed town, boasting its festival
kajkavskih popevki sung in the local
Kajkavian dialectThe Kajkavian dialect is one of the three main dialects of Croatian. It has low mutual intelligibility with the other two dialects, Štokavian and Čakavian. All three are named after their word for "what?", which in Kajkavian is kaj....
of the
Croatian languageCroatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
.
There is also a nearby municipality of
Krapinske TopliceKrapinske Toplice is a village and municipality in Krapina-Zagorje County in Croatia. According to the 2001 census, there are 5,744 inhabitants in the area, absolute majority of which are Croats.The settlements in the municipality are:* Čret, population 664...
(the
spaA spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
s of Krapina).
Krapina is also the home of
Ljudevit GajLjudevit Gaj was a Croatian linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the Croatian national reformation, also known as the Illyrian Movement.-Origin:...
. Ljudevit Gaj was a revolutionary of Krapina, and in 1850 he made a new version of the Croatian grammar. His home is now a museum where visitors can learn about his life and mission.