Oroslavje

Oroslavje
Town
Church in Oroslavje
Church in Oroslavje
Oroslavje is located in Krapina-Zagorje County
Oroslavje
Oroslavje
Oroslavje is located in Croatia
Oroslavje
Oroslavje
Location in Croatia
Coordinates: 46°00′N 15°55′E / 46.00°N 15.91°E / 46.00; 15.91
Country Croatia
County Krapina-Zagorje
Government
 • MayorViktor Šimunić (Independent)
Area
[1]
 • Town
32.0 km2 (12.4 sq mi)
 • Urban
7.8 km2 (3.0 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
 • Town
5,834
 • Density180/km2 (470/sq mi)
 • Urban
3,253
 • Urban density420/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (Central European Time)
Websiteoroslavje.hr

Oroslavje (Croatian pronunciation: [ôroslaːvje]) is a town and municipality in Krapina-Zagorje County in Croatia.

Oroslavje is often referred to as The Gate of Croatian Zagorje (Vrata Hrvatskog zagorja)[3] because of its geographical position and its proximity to The City of Zagreb and Zagreb County.

History

Donje Oroslavje castle

The history of the city is tightly connected with the two castles in the town of Oroslavje. Oroslavje used to have two castles, but now only has one. The castle in so-called "Gornje Oroslavje" or "Upper Oroslavje" used to belong to the Čuklins, followed by the Vranyczanys. It was almost completely destroyed in the fire of 1949 and was later demolished.[4] The only thing saved was the French-style park in front of the castle with a fountain. The second castle that used to be owned by the Vojkiffy family remained whole, but it is currently in bad shape.[5]

"Gornje Oroslavje" castle in 1903

The Oroslavje church was most likely built in 1652 or 1653. It is first mentioned in historical sources in 1669. Its current shape was made in the beginning of the 20th century. Since 1941 it has been a parish church.[6]

The first textile school in Yugoslavia was founded in Oroslavje in 1927.[7]

In 2025, the city spent $225,000 to acquire a massive book created by farmer Joseph Mikulec, born near Oroslavje in 1878, who walked the world collecting autographs of presidents and kings.[8]

Demographics

In the 2021 census, there were 5,834 inhabitants in the following settlements:[2]

In the same census, the absolute majority were Croats at 98.27%.

Town of Oroslavje: Population trends 1857–2021
v
population
2199
2713
3206
3565
3745
3958
4008
4947
5485
5192
5339
5661
6268
6576
6253
6138
5834
18571869188018901900191019211931194819531961197119811991200120112021
Sources:Croatian Bureau of Statistics publications

Administration

The current mayor of Oroslavje is Viktor Šimunić and the Oroslavje Town Council consists of 13 seats.

Groups Councilors per group
Independents
11 / 13
HDZ-HSU
1 / 13
SDP-HNS
1 / 13
Source:[9]

Culture

The town day is on 11 August. Every year there is a festival held the week of the town day. Typically, there are many attractions, concerts performed by famous Croatian singers and groups, amusement parks, and so on.[10]

Transport

Oroslavje is ~30 min (31 km (19 mi)) from the capital of The Republic of Croatia, Zagreb. Oroslavje has an entrance/exit point to the A2 Motorway connecting Zagreb to the border crossing Macelj/Gruškovje with Slovenia. Oroslavje also has two entrance/exit points to the D14 Freeway in Croatia connecting the A2 Motorway with Zabok, Bedekovčina, finishing in Zlatar Bistrica. Further expansion of the road to the A4 Motorway which could then be used to get to Zagreb or Varaždin is in progress.

It has frequent public transit. Busses and trains are commonly used.

Education

Sport

Since 2005 the FIS Roller Ski Cup (link to Croatian site) is held in Oroslavje[11]

References

  1. ^ Register of spatial units of the State Geodetic Administration of the Republic of Croatia. Wikidata Q119585703.
  2. ^ a b "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements" (xlsx). Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2021. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. 2022.
  3. ^ "Official town page referring to Oroslavje as the "Vrata Hrvatskog zagorja"".
  4. ^ Žmegač, Andrej; Vojtić, Marijana (2013). "Dvorac Gornje Oroslavje" [Gornje Oroslavje Castle] (PDF). Peristil (in Croatian). 56 (1): 247–254. doi:10.17685/Peristil.56.22. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  5. ^ "Town official data on the history of Oroslavje".
  6. ^ "Oroslavje official town data on the Oroslavje church". Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
  7. ^ "Povijest grada". www.tzoroslavje.hr. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  8. ^ Dvorak, Petula (24 July 2025). "A farmer traveled the world by foot, collecting 60,000 autographs in a book". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  9. ^ "II. KRAPINSKO-ZAGORSKA ŽUPANIJA" (PDF). State Election Committee of the Republic of Croatia. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Slavi se Dan grada Oroslavja: 'Odradili smo kapitalne projekte na koje se dugo čekalo, no tu ne stajemo'". www.zagorje.com. 2024-08-15. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  11. ^ "Sport". www.oroslavje.hr. Retrieved 2025-07-22.

Literature

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.