Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Name	Zagreb
Official name	City of Zagreb''Grad Zagreb''
Nickname	''Beli Zagreb Grad'' (White Zagreb City)
Settlement type	City
Image shield	Coat of arms of Zagreb.svg
Map caption	Location of Zagreb within Croatia
Dot x	|dot_y
Coordinates display	inline,title
Coordinates region	HR
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	Croatia
Subdivision type1	County
Subdivision name1	City of Zagreb
Government type	Mayor-Council
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Milan Bandić
Leader title1	City Council
Leader name1
established title	RC diocese
Established date	1094
established title2	Free royal city
Established date2	1242
Established title3	Unified
Established date3	1850
Parts type	Subdivisions
Parts	17 districts70 settlements
Unit pref	Metric
Area footnotes
Area total km2	171
Population as of	2011
Population total	686,568
Population density km2	4130
Population urban	792,875
Population metro	1,288,000
Timezone	CET
Utc offset	+1
Timezone dst	CEST
Utc offset dst	+2
Elevation footnotes
Elevation m	158
Elevation ft	518
Elevation max m	1035
Elevation min m	122
Postal code type	Postal code
Postal code	HR-10000
Area code type	Area code
Area code	+385 1
Registration plate	ZG
Website	zagreb.hr

Zagreb () 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 population in 2011 was 686,568, while its municipal population was 792,875; the wider Zagreb metropolitan area has a population of around 1,288,000 people.

Its favourable geographic position in the southwestern part of the Pannonian Basin, which extends to the Alpine, Dinaric, Adriatic and Pannonic regions, provides an excellent connection for traffic between Central Europe and the Adriatic Sea. The transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific and research institutions and industrial tradition underlie its leading economic position in Croatia. Zagreb is the seat of the central government, administrative bodies and almost all government ministries.

History

The oldest settlement in the urban area of Zagreb was a Roman town of Andautonia, now Šćitarjevo, which dates back to the 1st century AD. The first recorded appearance of the name Zagreb is dated to 1094, at which time the city existed as two different city cores: the smaller, eastern Kaptol, inhabited mainly by clergy and housing Zagreb Cathedral, and the larger, western Gradec, inhabited mainly by farmers and merchants. Gradec and Zagreb were united in 1851 by ban Josip Jelačić, who was credited for this, with the naming the main city square, Ban Jelačić Square in his honour. During the period of former Yugoslavia, Zagreb remained an important economic centre of the country, and was the second largest city. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Zagreb became the capital of Croatia.

Etymology

The name Zagreb appears to have been first recorded in 1134 in a document relating to the establishment of the Zagreb bishopric around 1094, although the origins of the name Zagreb are less clear. The Croatian word "zagrabiti" translates approximately to "to scoop", which forms the basis of some legends. One Croat legend says that a Croat ban (viceroy) was leading his thirsty soldiers across a deserted region. He drove his sabre into the ground in frustration and water poured out, so he ordered his soldiers to dig for water. The idea of digging or unearthing is supported by scientists who suggest that the settlement was established beyond a water-filled hole or ''graba'' and that the name derives from this. Some sources suggest that the name derives from the term 'za breg' or 'beyond the hill'. The hill may well have been the river bank of the River Sava, which is believed to have previously flowed closer to the city centre. From here, the words may have been fused into one word and, thus, the name Zagreb was born. According to another old legend, a city ruler was thirsty and ordered a girl named Manda to take water from Lake Manduševac (nowadays a fountain in Ban Jelačić Square), using the sentence: "Zagrabi, Mando!" which means, ''Scoop it up, Manda!''.

During Austrian rule, Zagreb was more commonly known by its Austrian German name Agram. In today's German, name ''Zagreb'' prevails.

Early Zagreb

The history of Zagreb dates as far back as 1094 when the Hungarian King Ladislaus founded a diocese. Alongside the bishop's see, the canonical settlement Kaptol developed north of Zagreb Cathedral, as did the fortified settlement Gradec on the neighbouring hill; the border between the two being the Medveščak stream. Today the latter is Zagreb's Upper Town (Gornji Grad) and is one of the best preserved urban nuclei in Croatia. Both settlements came under Tatar attack in 1242. As a sign of gratitude for offering him a safe haven from the Tatars the Croatian and Hungarian King Bela IV bestowed Gradec with a Golden Bull, which offered its citizens exemption from county rule and autonomy, as well as its own judicial system. According to legend, Bela left Gradec a cannon, under the condition that it be fired every day so that it did not rust. Since 1 January 1877, the cannon is fired daily from the Lotrščak Tower on Grič to mark midday.

There were numerous connections between the Zagreb diocese and the free sovereign town of Gradec for both economic and political reasons. However, the term Zagreb was used for these two separate boroughs in the 16th century. Zagreb was then seen as the political centre and the capital of Croatia and Slavonia.

17th and 18th century

It was not until the 17th century and Nikola Frankopan that Zagreb was chosen as the seat of the Croatian viceroys in 1621. At the invitation of the Croatian Parliament, the Jesuits came to Zagreb and built the first grammar school, the St. Catherine's Church and monastery. In 1669, they founded an academy where philosophy, theology and law were taught.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Zagreb was badly devastated by fire and the plague. In 1776, the royal council (government) moved from Varaždin to Zagreb and during the reign of Joseph II Zagreb became the headquarters of the Varaždin and Karlovac general command.

19th to early 20th century

In the 19th century, Zagreb was the centre of the Croatian National Revival and saw the erection of important cultural and historic institutions. In 1850, the town was united under its first mayor - Janko Kamauf.

The first railway line to connect Zagreb with Zidani Most and Sisak was opened in 1862 and in 1863 Zagreb received a gasworks. The Zagreb waterworks was opened in 1878 and the first horse-drawn tram was used in 1891. The construction of the railway lines enabled the old suburbs to merge gradually into Donji Grad, characterised 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. An electric power plant was built in 1907 and development flourished 1880–1914 after the earthquake in Zagreb when the town received the characteristic layout which it has today.

The first half of the 20th century saw a considerable expansion of Zagreb. Before World War I, the city expanded and neighbourhoods like Stara Peščenica in the east and Črnomerec in the west were created. After the war, working-class districts such as Trnje emerged between the railway and the Sava, whereas the construction of residential districts on the hills of the southern slopes of Medvednica was completed between the two World Wars.

In the 1920s, the population of Zagreb increased by 70 percent — the largest demographic boom in the history of the town. In 1926, the first radio station in the region began broadcasting out of Zagreb, and in 1947 the Zagreb Fair was opened.

During World War II, Zagreb became the capital of the Independent State of Croatia, which was backed by the Germans and Italians. The city capitulated to the Partisans at war's end.

Modern Zagreb

The area between the railway and the Sava river witnessed a new construction boom after World War II. After the mid-1950s, construction of new residential areas south of the Sava river began, resulting in Novi Zagreb (Croatian for ''New Zagreb''), originally called "Južni Zagreb" (Southern Zagreb). The city also expanded westward and eastward, incorporating Dubrava, Podsused, Jarun, Blato and other settlements. The cargo railway hub and the international airport Pleso were built south of the Sava river. The largest industrial zone (Žitnjak) in the south-eastern part of the city represents an extension of the industrial zones on the eastern outskirts of the city, between the Sava and the Prigorje region. Zagreb also hosted the Summer Universiade in 1987.

In 1991, it became the capital of the country following secession from Second Yugoslavia. During the 1991–1995 Croatian War of Independence, it was a scene of some sporadic fighting surrounding its JNA army barracks, but escaped major damage. In May 1995, it was targeted by Serb rocket artillery in two Zagreb rocket attacks which killed seven civilians.

An urbanised area connects Zagreb with the surrounding districts of Sesvete, Zaprešić, Samobor, Dugo Selo and Velika Gorica; Sesvete was the first and the closest one to become a part of the agglomeration and is already included in the City of Zagreb for administrative purposes.

Area and population development

+ Cells left-aligned, table centered>

Year	Area (km²)	Population (inside city limits at that time)	Population (inside today's city limits)
colspan=5

Climate

The climate of Zagreb is classified as an oceanic climate (''Cfb'' in Köppen climate classification system), near the boundary of the humid continental climate. Zagreb has four separate seasons. Summers are warm, and winters are cold, without a discernible dry season. The average temperature in winter is and the average temperature in summer is . Particularly, the end of May gets very warm with temperatures rising above , doing so on an average of 17 days each summer.

Snowfall is common in the winter months, from December to March, and rain and fog are common in fall (October to December). Highest recorded temperature ever was in July 1950, and lowest was in February 1956.

Demographics

Zagreb is the largest city in Croatia. Most people live in the city proper. The official 2001 census counted 779,145 residents, although by 2006 that number had grown to 804,900, according to the city government estimates.

The city population was estimated at 791,100 in 2009.

Zagreb metropolitan area population is slightly above 1.2 million inhabitants, as it includes the Zagreb County. In 1997, the City of Zagreb itself was given special County status, separating it from Zagreb County, although it remains the administrative center of both.

The majority of its citizens are Croats making up 92% of the city's population (2001 census). The same census records 60,066 residents belonging to ethnic minorities. Such ethnic minorities comprise: 18,811 Serbs (2.41%), 6,204 Bosniaks (0.80%), 8,030 Muslims by nationality (1.02%), 6,389 Albanians (0.83%), 3,225 Slovenes (0.41%), 3,946 Roma (0.55%), 2,131 Montenegrins (0.27%), 2,315 Macedonians (0.27%), together with other smaller minor ethnic communities, especially the historically present Germans.

City districts

The city districts () are:

{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 10px 0 10px 25px; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #AAA solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; float: left;" class="sortable" |- ! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | No. ! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | District ! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | Area (km²) ! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | Population (2011) ! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | Population (2001) ! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | Population density (2001) |- | 1. || Donji Grad || 3.01 || 37,123 || 45,108 || 14,956.2 |- | 2. || Gornji Grad - Medveščak || 10.12 || 31,279 || 36,384 || 3,593.5 |- | 3. || Trnje || 7.37 || 42,126 || 45,267 || 6,146.2 |- | 4. || Maksimir || 14.35 || 49,448 || 49,750 || 3,467.1 |- | 5. || Peščenica - Žitnjak || 35.30 || 56,446 || 58,283 || 1,651.3 |- | 6. || Novi Zagreb - istok || 16.54 || 59,227 || 65,301 || 3,947.1 |- | 7. || Novi Zagreb - zapad || 62.59 || 58,025 || 48,981 || 782.5 |- | 8. || Trešnjevka - sjever || 5.83 || 55,342 || 55,358 || 9,498.6 |- | 9. || Trešnjevka - jug || 9.84 || 66,595 || 67,162 || 6,828.1 |- | 10. || CČrnomerec || 24.33 || 39,040 || 38,762 || 1,593.4 |- | 11. || Gornja Dubrava || 40.28 || 62,221 || 61,388 || 1,524.1 |- | 12. || Donja Dubrava || 10.82 || 36,461 || 35,944 || 3,321.1 |- | 13. || Stenjevec || 12.18 || 51,849 || 41,257 || 3,387.3 |- | 14. || Podsused - Vrapče || 36.05 || 45,771 || 42,360 || 1,175.1 |- | 15. || Podsljeme || 60.11 || 19,249 || 17,744 || 295.2 |- | 16. || Sesvete || 165.26 || 70,633 || 59,212 || 358.3 |- | 17. || Brezovica || 127.45 || 12,040 || 10,884 || 85.4 |- class="sortbottom" ! style="background: #efefef; border-top: 2px solid gray;" | ! style="background: #efefef; border-top: 2px solid gray;" | TOTAL ! style="text-align:left; background:#efefef; border-top:2px solid gray;"| 641.43 ! style="text-align:left; background:#efefef; border-top:2px solid gray;"| 792,875 ! style="text-align:left; background:#efefef; border-top:2px solid gray;"| 779,145 ! style="text-align:left; background:#efefef; border-top:2px solid gray;"| 1,214.9 |}

Settlements

The city itself is not the only standalone settlement in the City of Zagreb administrative area - there are a number of smaller villages attached to it whose population is tracked separately:

Adamovec, population 980

Belovar, population 381

Blaguša, population 593

Botinec, population 9

Brebernica, population 49

Brezovica, population 604

Budenec, population 323

Buzin, population 1,042

Cerje, population 409

Demerje, population 723

Desprim, population 378

Dobrodol, population 1,206

Donji Čehi, population 227

Donji Dragonožec, population 574

Donji Trpuci, population 427

Drenčec, population 131

Drežnik Brezovički, population 637

Dumovec, population 910

Đurđekovec, population 772

Gajec, population 321

Glavnica Donja, population 552

Glavnica Gornja, population 225

Glavničica, population 229

Goli Breg, population 409

Goranec, population 446

Gornji Čehi, population 368

Gornji Dragonožec, population 295

Gornji Trpuci, population 87

Grančari, population 216

Havidić Selo, population 57

Horvati, population 1,502

Hrašće Turopoljsko, population 1,202

Hrvatski Leskovac, population 2,659

Hudi Bitek, population 441

Ivanja Reka, population 1,799

Jesenovec, population 462

Ježdovec, population 1,699

Kašina, population 1,535

Kašinska Sopnica, population 243

Kučilovina, population 216

Kućanec, population 229

Kupinečki Kraljevec, population 1,948

Lipnica, population 207

Lučko, population 3,024

Lužan, population 723

Mala Mlaka, population 622

Markovo Polje, population 425

Moravče, population 664

Odra, population 1,851

Odranski Obrež, population 1,585

Paruževina, population 634

Planina Donja, population 553

Planina Gornja, population 249

Popovec, population 943

Prekvršje, population 817

Prepuštovec, population 321

Sesvete, population 54,494

Soblinec, population 969

Starjak, population 221

Strmec, population 644

Šašinovec, population 678

Šimunčevec, population 275

Veliko Polje, population 1,655

Vuger Selo, population 278

Vugrovec Donji, population 440

Vugrovec Gornji, population 356

Vurnovec, population 201

Zadvorsko, population 1,302

Zagreb, population 686,568

Žerjavinec, population 556

Economy

Most important branches of industry are: production of electric machines and devices, chemical, pharmaceutical, textile, food and drink processing. Zagreb is international trade and business centre, and the transport crossroad of Central and Eastern Europe.

The city of Zagreb has the highest nominal gross domestic product per capita in Croatia ($ 19,132 in 2005, compared to the Croatian average of $ 10,431). In 2004, the GDP in purchasing power parity was $ 28,261 (€ 19,067).

As of July 2008, the average monthly net salary in Zagreb was 6,228 kuna, about $1,356 (Croatian average is 5,234 kuna, about $1,140). In 2006, the average unemployment rate in Zagreb was around 8.6%. 34% of companies in Croatia have headquarters in Zagreb, and 38.4% of Croatian workforce works in Zagreb, including almost all banks, utility and public transport companies.

Companies in Zagreb create 52% of total turnover and 60% of total profit of Croatia in 2006 as well as 35% of Croatian export and 57% of Croatian Import.

Cityscape

The most important historical high-rise constructions are Neboder on Ban Jelačić Square, Cibona Tower (1987) and Zagrepčanka (1976) on Savska Street, Mamutica in Travno (Novi Zagreb - istok district, built in 1974) and Zagreb TV Tower on Sljeme (built in 1973).

In the 2000s, the city council approved a new plan that allowed for the many recent high-rise buildings in Zagreb, such as the Almeria Tower, Eurotower, HOTO Tower and Zagrebtower. Other new skyscrapers are also in construction or planned, notably the Sky Office Tower. In Novi Zagreb, the neighbourhoods of Blato and Lanište expanded significantly, including the Zagreb Arena and the adjoining business centre.

Due to a long-standing restriction that forbade the construction of 10-story or higher buildings, most of Zagreb's high-rise buildings date from the 1970s and 1980s and new apartment buildings on the outskirts of the city are usually 4-8 floors tall. Exceptions to the restriction have been made in recent years, such as permitting the construction of high-rise buildings in Lanište or Kajzerica.

Metropolitan administration

According to the Constitution, the city of Zagreb, as the capital of Croatia, has special status. As such, Zagreb performs self-governing public affairs of both city and county. The city administration bodies are the city assembly as the representative body and mayor and the city government as the executive body. The members of the city assembly are elected at direct elections. Prior to 2009, the mayor was elected by the city assembly. It was changed to direct election in 2009. They elect the mayor and members of the city government by majority vote. The city government has 11 members elected on mayor’s proposal by the city assembly by majority vote. The mayor is the head of city government and has two deputies. The city administrative bodies are composed of 12 city offices, 3 city bureaus and 3 city services. They are responsible to the mayor and the city government. Local government is organized in 17 city districts represented by City District Councils. Residents of districts elect members of councils.

City government

The current mayor of Zagreb is Milan Bandić (elected with the support of SDP, but has since become an independent, losing membership in his party).

The city assembly is composed of 51 representatives. , the member parties/lists are:

Social Democratic Party of Croatia (21)

Croatian Democratic Union (7)

Croatian People's Party (5)

Independent list Velimir Srića (5)

Independent list Tatjana Holjevac (4)

Croatian Peasant Party (4)

Croatian Party of Pensioners (3)

Croatian Social Liberal Party (2)

Elections

Zagreb local elections, 2009

Zagreb local elections, 2005

Transport

Highways

Zagreb is the hub of four major Croatian highways. Until a few years ago, all Croatian highways either started or ended in Zagreb.

The highway A6 was upgraded in October 2008 and leads from Zagreb to Rijeka, crossing and forming a part of the Pan-European Corridor Vb. The upgraded coincided with the Mura Bridge opening on A4 and the completion of the Hungarian M7, which marked the opening of the first freeway corridor between Rijeka and Budapest. The A1 starts at Lučko interchange and concurs with the A6 up to the Bosiljevo 2 interchange, connecting Zagreb and Split ( Vrgorac). A further extension of the A1 up to Dubrovnik is under construction. Both highways are tolled by the Croatian highway authorities Hrvatske autoceste and Autocesta Rijeka - Zagreb.

Highway A3 (formerly named Bratstvo i jedinstvo) was the showpiece of Croatia in the SFRY. It is the oldest Croatian highway. A3 forms a part of the Pan-European Corridor X. The highway starts at the Bregana border crossing, bypasses Zagreb forming the southern arch of the Zagreb bypass and ends at Lipovac near the Bajakovo border crossing. It continues in Southeast Europe in the direction of Near East. This highway is tolled except for the stretch between Bobovica and Ivanja Reka interchanges.

Highway A2 is a part of the Corridor Xa. It connects Zagreb and the frequently congested Macelj border crossing, forming a near-continuous motorway-level link between Zagreb and Western Europe. Forming a part of the Corridor Vb, highway A4 starts in Zagreb forming the northeastern wing of the Zagreb bypass and leads to Hungary until the Goričan border crossing. It is the least used highway around Zagreb.

The railway and the highway A3 along the Sava river that extend to Slavonia (towards Slavonski Brod, Vinkovci, Osijek and Vukovar) are some of the busiest traffic corridors in the country. The railway running along the Sutla river and the A2 highway (Zagreb-Macelj) running through Zagorje, as well as traffic connections with the Pannonian region and Hungary (the Zagorje railroad, the roads and railway to Varaždin - Čakovec and Koprivnica) are linked with truck routes. The southern railway connection to Split operates on a high-speed tilting trains line via the Lika region (renovated in 2004 to allow for a five-hour journey); a faster line along the Una river valley is currently in use only up to the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Roads

The city has an avenue network with several main arteries up to ten lanes wide and Zagreb bypass, a congested four-lane highway encircling most of the city. There is much congestion in the city centre during the rush hour and a daytime parking problem. Finding a parking space is supposed to be made somewhat easier by the construction of new underground multi-story parking lots (Importanne Center, Importanne Gallery, Lang Square, Tuškanac, Kvaternik Square, Klaić Street, etc.). The busiest roads are the main east-west artery, former Highway "Brotherhood and Unity", consisting of Ljubljanska Avenue, Zagrebačka Avenue and Slavonska Avenue; and the Vukovarska Avenue, the closest bypass of the city centre. The avenues were supposed to alleviate traffic problem, but most of them are today gridlocked at rush hour and others, like Branimirova Avenue are gridlocked for the whole day.

Bridges

, Zagreb has seven road traffic bridges across the river Sava, and they all span both the river and the levees, making them all by and large longer than . In downstream order, these are:

! Name (English)	! Name (Croatian)	! Year Finished	! Type of bridge	! Road that goes over	! Other Information
Podsused Bridge	''Podsusedski most''	1982	Two-lane road bridge with a commuter train line (not yet completed)	Samoborska Road
Jankomir Bridge	''Jankomirski most''	1958, 2006 (upgrade)	Four lane road bridge	Ljubljanska Avenue	Connects Ljubljanska Avenue to the Jankomir interchange and Zagreb bypass.
Adriatic Bridge	''Jadranski most''	1981	Six lane road bridge (also carries tram tracks)	Adriatic Avenue	The most famous bridge in Zagreb. The bridge spans from Savska Street in the north to the Remetinec Roundabout in the south.
Sava Bridge	''Savski most''	1938	Pedestrian since the construction of the Adriatic Bridge	Savska Road	The official name at the time of building was ''New'' Sava bridge, but it is the oldest still standing bridge over Sava. The bridge is known among experts due to some construction details.
Liberty Bridge	''Most slobode''	1959	Four lane road bridge	Većeslav Holjevac Avenue	It used to hold a pair of bus lanes, but due to the increasing individual traffic and better tram connections across the river, those were converted to normal lanes.
Youth Bridge	''Most mladosti''	1974	Six lane road bridge (also carries tram tracks)	Marin Držić Avenue	Connects eastern Novi Zagreb to the districts of Trnje, Peščenica, Donja Dubrava and Maksimir.
Homeland Bridge	''Domovinski most''	2007	Four-lane road bridge (also carries two bicycle and two pedestrian lanes; has space reserved for light railroad tracks)	Radnička (Workers') Road

There are also two rail traffic bridges across the Sava, one near the Sava bridge and one near Mičevec, as well as two bridges that are part of the Zagreb bypass, one near Zaprešić (west), and the other near Ivanja Reka (east).

Two additional bridges across the river Sava are proposed: Jarun Bridge and Bundek Bridge.

Public transportation

Public transportation in the city is organized in several layers: the inner parts of the city are mostly covered by trams, the outer suburbs are linked with buses, while some suburban areas are accessible by commuter rail.

The public transportation company ZET (''Zagrebački električni tramvaj'', Zagreb Electric Tram) operates trams, all inner bus lines, and the most of the suburban bus lines, and it is subsidized by the city council.

The national rail operator Croatian Railways (''Hrvatske željeznice'', HŽ) runs a network of suburban trains in the metropolitan Zagreb area, and it is a government-owned corporation.

The funicular (''uspinjača'') in the historic part of the city is a tourist attraction.

Taxis are readily available through a network of around a thousand vehicles, but is not particularly popular among the residents because the prices are significantly higher than in other Croatian cities.

Tram network

Zagreb has an extensive tram network with 15 day and 4 night lines covering much of the inner- and middle-suburbs of the city. The first tram line was opened on September 5, 1891 and trams have been serving as a vital component of Zagreb mass transit ever since. Trams usually travel at speeds of 30–70 km/h (19-44 mph), but slow considerably during rush hour. The network is unique as it operates mostly at the curb.

An ambitious program is currently underway to replace old trams with the new and modern ones built mostly in Zagreb by companies Končar elektroindustrija and, to a lesser extent, by TŽV Gredelj. Dubbed "TMK 2200", 70 trams have been delivered in 2005–2007 period, and delivery of additional 70 trams is contracted and already started.

Suburban rail network

The commuter rail network in Zagreb has existed since 1992. In 2005, suburban rail services were increased to a 15-minute frequency serving the middle and outer suburbs of Zagreb, primarily in the east-west direction and to the southern districts. This has enhanced commuting opportunity.

A new link to the nearby town of Samobor has been announced and is due to start construction in 2009. This link will be standard-gauge and tie in with normal Croatian Railways operations. The previous narrow-gauge line to Samobor called ''Samoborček'' was closed in the 1970s.

Air traffic

Zagreb Airport , known as 'Pleso Airport' is the main Croatian international airport, a drive southeast of Zagreb in the suburb of Pleso. The airport is also the main Croatian airbase featuring a fighter squadron, helicopters, as well as military and freight transport aircraft.

Zagreb also has a second, smaller airport, Lučko . It is home to sports airplanes and a Croatian special police unit, as well as being a military helicopter airbase. Lučko used to be the main airport of Zagreb from 1947 to 1959.

A third, small grass airfield, Buševec, is located just outside Velika Gorica. It is primarily used for sports purposes.

Cultural sites

Museums

Zagreb's numerous museums reflect the history, art and culture not only of Zagreb and Croatia, but also of Europe and the world. Around thirty collections in museums and galleries comprise more than 3.6 million various exhibits, excluding church and private collections.

The Archaeological Museum (19 Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square) collections, today consisting of nearly 450,000 varied archaeological artifacts and monuments, have been gathered over the years from many different sources. These holdings include evidence of Croatian presence in the area. The most famous are the Egyptian collection, the Zagreb mummy and bandages with the oldest Etruscan inscription in the world (''Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis''), as well as the numismatic collection.

Modern Gallery () holds the most important and comprehensive collection of paintings, sculptures and drawings by 19th and 20th century Croatian artists. The collection numbers more than 10,000 works of art, housed since 1934 in the historic Vranyczany Palace in the centre of Zageb, overlooking the Zrinjevac Park. A secondary gallery is the Josip Račić Studio at Margaretska 3.

Croatian Natural History Museum (1 Demetrova Street) holds one of the world's most important collection of Neanderthal remains found at one site. These are the remains, stone weapons and tools of prehistoric ''Krapina man''. The holdings of the Croatian Natural History Museum comprise more than 250,000 specimens distributed among various different collections.

Technical Museum (18 Savska Street) was founded in 1954 and it maintains the oldest preserved machine in the area, dating from 1830, which is still operational. The museum exhibits numerous historic aircraft, cars, machinery and equipment. There are some distinct sections in the museum: the Planetarium, the Apisarium, the Mine (model of mines for coal, iron and non-ferrous metals, about long), and the Nikola Tesla study.

Museum of the City of Zagreb (20 Opatička Street) was established in 1907 by the Association of the Braća Hrvatskog Zmaja. It is located in a restored monumental complex (Popov toranj, the Observatory, Zakmardi Granary) of the former Convent of the Poor Clares, of 1650. The Museum deals with topics from the cultural, artistic, economic and political history of the city spanning from Roman finds to the modern period. The holdings comprise over 80,000 items arranged systematically into collections of artistic and mundane objects characteristic of the city and its history.

Arts and Crafts Museum (10 Marshal Tito Square) was founded in 1880 with the intention of preserving the works of art and craft against the new predominance of industrial products. With its 160,000 exhibits, the Arts and Crafts Museum is a national-level museum for artistic production and the history of material culture in Croatia.

Ethnographic Museum (14 Ivan Mažuranić Square) was founded in 1919. It lies in the fine Secession building of the one-time Trades Hall of 1903. The ample holdings of about 80,000 items cover the ethnographic heritage of Croatia, classified in the three cultural zones: the Pannonian, Dinaric and Adriatic.

Mimara Museum (5 Roosevelt Square) was founded with a donation from Ante "Mimara" Topić and opened to the public in 1987. It is located in a late 19th century neo-Renaissance palace. The holdings comprise 3,750 works of art of various techniques and materials, and different cultures and civilizations.

Croatian Museum of Naïve Art (works by Croatian primitivists at 3 Ćirilometodska Street) is one of the first museums of naïve art in the world. The museum holds works of Croatian naïve expression of the 20th century. It is located in the 18th century Raffay Palace in the Gornji Grad. The museum holdings consist of almost 2000 works of art - paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints, mainly by Croatians but also by other well-known world artists. From time to time, the museum organizes topics and retrospective exhibitions by naïve artists, expert meetings and educational workshops and playrooms.

The Museum of Contemporary Art was founded in 1954 and a rich collection of Croatian and foreign contemporary visual art has been collected throughout the decades. The Museum building is located in the center of Novi Zagreb, opened in 2009. The old location, 2 St. Catherine's Square, is part of the Kulmer Palace in the Gornji Grad.

Other museums and galleries Valuable historical collections are also found in the Croatian School Museum, the Croatian Hunting Museum, the Croatian Sports Museum, the Croatian Post and Telecommunications Museum, the HAZU (Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts) Glyptotheque (collection of monuments), and the HAZU Graphics Cabinet.

The The Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters (11 Zrinski Square) offers permanent holdings presenting European paintings from the 14th to 19th centuries, and the Ivan Meštrović Studio, (8 Mletačka Street) with sculptures, drawings, lithography portfolios and other items, was a donation of this great artist to his homeland The Museum and Gallery Center (4 Jesuit Square) introduces on various occasions the Croatian and foreign cultural and artistic heritage. The Art Pavilion (22 King Tomislav Square) by Viennese architects Hellmer and Fellmer who were the most famous designers of theaters in Central Europe is a neo-classical exhibition complex and one of the landmarks of the downtown. The exhibitions are also held in the impressive Meštrović building on Žrtava Fašizma Square — the Home of Croatian Fine Artists. The World Center "Wonder of Croatian Naïve Art" (12 Ban Jelačić Square) exhibits masterpieces of Croatian naïve art as well as the works of a new generation of artists. The Modern Gallery (1 Hebrangova Street) comprises all relevant fine artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Museum of Broken Relationships at 2 Ćirilometodska holds people's mementos of past relationships. It is the first private museum in the country.

People and Art House Lauba (23a Baruna Filipovića) presents works from Filip Trade Collection, a large private collection of modern and contemporary Croatian art and current artistic production.

Events

Zagreb has been, and is, hosting some of the most popular mainstream artists, such as Rolling Stones, U2, Eric Clapton, Deep Purple, Bob Dylan, Depeche Mode, Prodigy, Beyoncé, Nick Cave, Manu Chao, Massive Attack, Metallica, Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga as well as some of world most recognized underground artists such as Dimmu Borgir, Sepultura and many more. This is mostly recognized because of the city's location in central and eastern Europe, and it's good traffic relations with other neighbouring capital cities in that part of Europe. This is the effort of Zagreb community to increase the percentage of tourist visits during the summer time, as Croatia, in generally, is a popular destination for many people around the globe during the vacation period.

Performing arts

There are about 20 permanent or seasonal theaters and stages. The Croatian National Theater in Zagreb was built in 1895 and opened by emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. The most renowned concert hall is named "Vatroslav Lisinski", after the composer of the first Croatian opera was built in 1973.

''Animafest'', the World Festival of Animated Films, takes place every even-numbered year, and the ''Music Bienniale'', the international festival of avant-garde music, every odd-numbered year. It also hosts the annual ''ZagrebDox'' documentary film festival. The ''Festival of the Zagreb Philharmonic'' and the flowers exhibition ''Floraart'' (end of May or beginning of June), the ''Old-timer Rally'' annual events. In the summer, theater performances and concerts, mostly in the Upper Town, are organized either indoors or outdoors. The stage on Opatovina hosts the ''Zagreb Histrionic Summer'' theater events.

Zagreb is also the host of ''Zagrebfest'', the oldest Croatian pop-music festival, as well as of several traditional international sports events and tournaments. The ''Day of the City of Zagreb'' on November 16 is celebrated every year with special festivities, especially on the Jarun lake near the southwestern part of the city.

Education

There are 136 primary schools and 100 secondary schools including 30 gymnasiums. There are 5 public higher education institution and 9 private professional higher education schools.

University

Founded in 1669, the University of Zagreb is the oldest in Croatia and one of the largest and oldest universities in the Southeastern Europe. Ever since its foundation, the university has been continually growing and developing and now consists of 28 faculties, three art academies, the Teacher Academy and the Croatian Studies Center. More than 200,000 students have attained the Bachelor's degree at the university, which has also assigned 18,000 Master's and 8,000 Doctor's degrees.

As of 2011, University of Zagreb is ranked among 500 Best Universities of the world by the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Religious organizations

The Archdiocese of Zagreb is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Croatia, serving as its religious centre. The current Archbishop is Josip Cardinal Bozanić. Zagreb is also the Episcopal see of the Metropolitan of Zagreb, Ljubljana and all of Italy of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Islamic religious organisation of Croatia has the see in Zagreb. Current president is Mufti Ševko Omerbašić. A mosque used to be located at the Žrtava Fašizma Square, but it was relocated to the neighborhood of Borovje in Peščenica. Mainstream Protestant churches have also been present in Zagreb - Evangelical (Lutheran) Church and Reformed Christian (Calvinist) Church.

Surroundings

The wider Zagreb area has been continuously inhabited since the prehistoric period, as witnessed by archaeological findings in the Veternica cave from the Paleolithic and excavation of the remains of the Roman Andautonia near the present village of Ščitarjevo.

The picturesque former villages on the slopes of Medvednica, Šestine, Gračani and Remete, maintain their rich traditions, including folk costumes, Šestine umbrellas, and gingerbread products.

The Medvednica Mountain (), with its highest peak Sljeme (1,035 m), provides a panoramic view of metropolitan Zagreb, the Sava and the Kupa valleys, and the region of Hrvatsko Zagorje. In mid-January 2005, Sljeme held its first World Ski Championship tournament.

From the summit, weather permitting, the vista reaches as far as Velebit Range along Croatia's rocky northern coast, as well as the snow-capped peaks of the towering Julian Alps in neighboring Slovenia. There are several lodging villages, offering accommodation and restaurants for hikers. Skiers visit Sljeme, which has four ski-runs, three ski-lifts and a chairlift.

The old Medvedgrad, a recently restored medieval burg built in the 13th century, represents a special attraction of Medvednica hill. It overlooks the western part of the city and also has the ''Shrine of the Homeland'', a memorial with an eternal flame, where Croatia pays reverence to all its heroes fallen for homeland in its history, customarily on national holidays. Travel agencies organize guided excursions to the surroundings as well as sightseeing in Zagreb itself.

Tourism

Zagreb is an important tourist center, not only in terms of passengers travelling from Western and Central Europe to the Adriatic Sea, but also as a travel destination itself. Since the end of the war, it has attracted close to a million visitors annually, mainly from Austria, Germany and Italy. However, the city has even greater potential as many tourists that visit Croatia skip Zagreb in order to visit the beaches along the Croatian Adriatic coast and old historic Renaissance cities such as Dubrovnik, Split, and Zadar. There are many interesting things for tourists in Zagreb, for example, the two statues of Saint George, one at the Marshal Tito Square, the other at Kamenita vrata, where the image of Virgin Mary is said to be only thing that hasn't burned in the 17th century fire. Also, there is an art installation starting in Bogovićeva street, called Nine Views. Most of the people don't know what the statue Prizemljeno sunce (The Grounded Sun) is for, so they put grafitti or signatures on it, but it's actually the Sun scaled down, with many planets situated all over Zagreb in relative scale with the Sun.

The historical part of the city to the north of Ban Jelačić Square is composed of the Gornji Grad and Kaptol, a medieval urban complex of churches, palaces, museums, galleries and government buildings that are popular with tourists on sightseeing tours. The historic district can be reached on foot, starting from Jelačić Square, the center of Zagreb, or by a funicular on nearby Tomićeva Street.

Souvenirs and gastronomy

Numerous shops, boutiques, store houses and shopping centers offer a variety of quality clothing. Zagreb's offerings include crystal, china and ceramics, wicker or straw baskets, and top-quality Croatian wines and gastronomic products.

Notable Zagreb souvenirs are the tie or ''cravat'', an accessory named after Croats who wore characteristic scarves around their necks in the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century and the ball-point pen, a tool developed from the inventions by Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, an inventor and a citizen of Zagreb.

Many Zagreb restaurants offer various specialities of national and international cuisine. Domestic products which deserve to be tasted include turkey, duck or goose with ''mlinci'' (a kind of pasta), ''štrukli'' (cottage cheese strudel), ''sir i vrhnje'' (cottage cheese with cream), ''kremšnite'' (custard slices in flaky pastry), and ''orehnjača'' (traditional walnut roll).

Recreation and sports

There are several sports and recreational centers in Zagreb. Recreational Sports Center Jarun, situated on Jarun Lake in the southwest of the city, has fine shingle beaches, a world-class regatta course, a jogging lane around the lake, several restaurants, many night clubs and a discothèque. Its sports and recreation opportunities include swimming, sunbathing, waterskiing, angling and other water sports, but also beach volleyball, football, basketball, handball, table tennis, and minigolf.

Dom Sportova, a sport center in northern Trešnjevka features six halls. The largest two can accommodate 7,358 and 3,900 people, respectively. This center is used for basketball, handball, volleyball, hockey, gymnastics, tennis, and many others. It is also used for concerts.

Arena Zagreb is was finished in 2008. The 24,000-seat arena hosted the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship. The Dražen Petrović Basketball Hall seats 5,400 people. Alongside the hall is the high glass Cibona Tower. Sports Park Mladost, situated on the embankment of the Sava river, has an Olympic-size swimming pool, smaller indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a sunbathing terrace, 16 tennis courts as well as basketball, volleyball, handball, football and field hockey courts. A volleyball sports hall is within the park.

Sports and Recreational Center Šalata, located in Šalata, only a couple hundred meters from the Jelačić Square, is most attractive for tennis players. It comprises a big tennis court and eight smaller ones, two of which are covered by the so-called "balloon", and another two equipped with lights. The center also has swimming pools, basketball courts, football fields, a gym and fitness center, and a four-lane bowling alley. Outdoor ice skating is a popular winter recreation. There are also several fine restaurants within and near the center.

Maksimir Tennis Center, located in Ravnice east of downtown, consists of two sports blocks. The first comprises a tennis center situated in a large tennis hall with four courts. There are 22 outdoor tennis courts with lights. The other block offers multipurpose sports facilities: apart from tennis courts, there are handball, basketball and indoor football grounds, as well as track and field facilities, a bocci ball alley and table tennis opportunities.

Recreational swimmers can enjoy a smaller-size indoor swimming pool in Daničićeva Street, and a newly opened indoor Olympic-size pool at Utrine sports center in Novi Zagreb. Skaters can skate in the skating rink on Trg Sportova (Sports Square) and on the lake Jarun Skaters' park. Hippodrome Zagreb offers recreational horseback riding opportunities, while horse races are held every weekend during the warmer part of the year.

The 38,923-seat Maksimir Stadium, last 10 years under renovation, is located in Maksimir in the northeastern part of the city. The stadium is part of the immense Svetice recreational and sports complex (ŠRC Svetice), south of the Maksimir Park. The complex covers an area of . It is part of a significant Green Zone, which passes from Medvednica Mountains in the north toward the south. ŠRC Svetice, together with Maksimir Park, creates an ideal connection of areas which are assigned to sport, recreation and leisure.

The latest larger recreational facility is Bundek, a group of two small lakes near the Sava in Novi Zagreb, surrounded by a partly forested park. The location had been used prior to the 1970s, but then went to neglect until 2006 when it was renovated.

Some of the most notable sport clubs in Zagreb are: NK Dinamo Zagreb, KHL Medveščak Zagreb, RK Zagreb, KK Cibona, KK Zagreb, KK Cedevita, NK Zagreb, HAVK Mladost and others.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Zagreb is twinned with the following towns and cities:

* Mainz, Germany ''(since 1967)''

* Saint Petersburg in Russia ''(since 1968)''

* Tromsø, Norway ''(since 1971)''

* Lisbon, Portugal ''(since 1977)''

Pittsburgh, United States>USA ''(since 1980)''

Buenos Aires, Argentina ''(since 1972)''

* Kyoto, Japan ''(since 1972)''

Shanghai, People's Republic of China>China ''(since 1980)''

* Bologna, Italy ''(since 1963)''

* Budapest, Hungary ''(since 1994)''

* Vienna, Austria ''(since 1994)''

* Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina ''(since 2001)''

* Ljubljana, Slovenia ''(since 2001)''

* London, United Kingdom ''(since 2009)''

Partner cities

The city has partnership arrangements with:

	* Kraków in Poland ''(since 1975)''	* Tirana, Albania.

See also

187700 Zagreb

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb

Crometeo

Eurovision Song Contest 1990

List of mayors of Zagreb

Zagreb County

Zagreb County (former)

List of radio stations in Zagreb

:Category:Buildings and structures in Zagreb

:Category:Former counties of Croatia

Zagreb Stock Exchange

References

Bibliography

Footnotes

Notes

External links

Official website of the City of Zagreb

Official website of the City of Zagreb

First news portal about Zagreb

Zagreb Tourist Board

Zagreb Fair

Zagreb International airport

VR Panorama of Ban Jelačić Square

Zagreb photos

Category:Capitals in Europe Category:Cities and towns in Croatia Category:Counties of Croatia

af:Zagreb am:ዛግሬብ ar:زغرب an:Zagreb ast:Zagreb az:Zaqreb bn:জাগরেব zh-min-nan:Zagreb be:Горад Заграб be-x-old:Загрэб bar:Agram bo:ཛག་རེབ། bs:Zagreb br:Zagreb bg:Загреб ca:Zagreb cv:Загреб cs:Záhřeb cy:Zagreb da:Zagreb pdc:Zagreb de:Zagreb dsb:Zagreb et:Zagreb el:Ζάγκρεμπ es:Zagreb eo:Zagrebo eu:Zagreb fa:زاگرب hif:Zagreb fo:Zagreb fr:Zagreb fy:Zagreb ga:Ságrab gv:Zagreb gag:Zagreb gd:Zagreb gl:Zagreb hak:Zagreb ko:자그레브 hy:Զագրեբ hsb:Zagreb hr:Zagreb io:Zagreb ilo:Zagreb id:Zagreb ia:Zagreb ie:Zagreb os:Загреб is:Zagreb it:Zagabria he:זאגרב jv:Zagreb ka:ზაგრები kw:Zagreb sw:Zagreb kv:Загреб ht:Zagreb ku:Zagreb la:Zagrabia lv:Zagreba lb:Zagreb lt:Zagrebas lij:Zagabbria ln:Zagreb lmo:Zagabria hu:Zágráb mk:Загреб mt:Żagreb mi:Zagreb mr:झाग्रेब ms:Zagreb nah:Zagreb nl:Zagreb ja:ザグレブ pih:Sakreb no:Zagreb nn:Zagreb nov:Zagreb oc:Zagrèb mhr:Загреб pnb:زغریب pms:Zagabria nds:Zagreb pl:Zagrzeb pt:Zagreb crh:Zagreb ro:Zagreb qu:Zagreb ru:Загреб sah:Загреб sc:Zagàbria sco:Zagreb sq:Zagrebi simple:Zagreb sk:Záhreb cu:Ꙁагрєбъ sl:Zagreb szl:Zagrzeb ckb:زاگرێب sr:Загреб sh:Zagreb fi:Zagreb sv:Zagreb tl:Lungsod ng Zagreb ta:சாகிரேப் th:ซาเกร็บ tg:Загреб tr:Zagreb udm:Загреб uk:Загреб ur:زغرب ug:Zagréb vec:Zagavria vi:Zagreb vo:Zagreb war:Zagreb wo:Sagreb yi:זאגרעב yo:Zagreb zh-yue:薩格勒布 zh:萨格勒布

Gradec or Grič () is a part of the Zagreb, Croatia, historical nucleus and it's situated on the hill of Gornji Grad.

History

Gradec was given a royal charter by King Bela IV in 1242. The royal charter, also called the Golden Bull, was a very important document by which Gradec was declared and proclaimed "a free royal city on Gradec, the hill of Zagreb". This act made Gradec a feudal holding responsible directly to the king. The citizens were given rights of different kinds; among other things they were entitled to elect their own "city judge" () fulfilling the role of a mayor. They were also entitled to manage their own affairs.

The citizens engaged in building defensive walls and towers around their settlement, fearing a new Tatar invasion. They completed the defensive system at a time between 1242 and 1261. It could be rightly assumed that by building its fortification walls in the middle of the 13th century, Gradec acquired its outward appearance that can be clearly seen in today's Gornji Grad. The defensive walls enclosed the settlement in the shape of a triangle, its top located near the tower called Popov Toranj and its base at the south end (the Strossmayer Promenade), which could be explained by the shape of the hill. In some places, rectangular and semicircular towers fortified the defensive walls.

There were four main gates leading to the town: the west gate in the Mesnička Street, the new north gate, later known as the Opatička Street gate, Dverce in the south and the ''Kamenita vrata'' () in the east. Kamenita vrata is the only gate still preserved to date.

Gornji Grad today

Gornji Grad is a local government unit, encompassing a population of 3,432.

Undoubtedly, the focal point of Gornji Grad is the square around St. Mark's Church that had been called St. Mark's Square for years. St. Mark's Church is the parish church of Old Zagreb. When guilds developed in Gradec in the 15th, and later in the 17th century, being the societies of craftsmen, their members including masters, journeymen and apprentices would gather regularly in St. Mark's Church.

On the opposite side of the Square at the corner of Basaričekova Street lies the St. Mark's parish office. The house has been standing there since the 16th century, although it underwent reconstruction in the 18th century and had an extension added in the 19th century. At the west end of St. Mark's Square, the mansion called ''Banski dvori'', the former residence of the Civil Governor of Croatia (), was built at the beginning of the 19th century and yet, it can be classed among the Zagreb antiquities. ''Banski dvori'', along with the Baroque mansion beside it, is the seat of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. Since 1734, the Croatian Parliament has taken up the east side of St. Mark's Square.

Gornji Grad was recently closed to car traffic except for residents, making it prima facie a pedestrian zone.

See also

History of Zagreb

History of Croatia

Zagreb cathedral

Kaptol

Ban Jelačić Square

Grič cannon

Views of Gradec

References

External links

http://www.guide.ndo.co.uk/html/oldzagreb.html

Category:Neighborhoods of Zagreb Category:Gornji Grad - Medveščak Category:History of Zagreb

bs:Gradec de:Gornji Grad (Kroatien) fr:Gradec (quartier de Zagreb) ko:그라데츠 hr:Gradec (Zagreb) sr:Градец (Загреб) sh:Gradec (općina) sv:Gradec, Zagreb

Natali Dizdar (born August 27, 1984), also known as Natalie Dizdar, is a Croatian pop singer.

Dizdar was born in Zadar and raised in Sukošan, and attended music school in her youth. She became famous by becoming the runner-up of the ''Story Supernova Music Talents'' reality show, aired on Nova TV in late 2003.

Endowed with an indisputable vocal talent, after the show she pursued a solo career, signed a contract with Croatia Records, trying to build a repertoire based on pop-jazz and other more worldly elements of popular music. Her first single, ''Ne daj'', was entered into the 2004 Split Festival and soon became a radio hit. She collaborated with Matija Dedić, Arsen Dedić and Coco Mosquito on her first few albums. Both albums received several Porin nominations.

Discography

''Natali Dizdar'' (2005)

''Pronađi put'' (2009)

References

External links

Natali Dizdar's official MySpace site

Natali Dizdar at Agapa (agent)

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Croatian female singers Category:Croatian pop singers Category:People from Zadar

de:Natali Dizdar hr:Natali Dizdar nl:Natalie Dizdar sh:Natali Dizdar

Miroslav Radman (born April 30, 1944 in Split) is a prominent Croatian biologist and a member of the French Academy of Sciences. Radman's specialty is DNA repair; in 1974 he discovered the SOS response. He is now a professor of cellular biology at the Faculté de Médecine - Necker, Université Paris V, Paris, France.

Radman is a co-founder of the Mediterranean Institute For Life Sciences.

In 2011 Radman won the FEMS-Lwoff Award, given out by the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, for his research of DNA repair mechanism in ''Deinococcus radiodurans''.

References

External links

http://www.necker.fr/tamara/pages/miro.html http://www.academie-sciences.fr/membres/R/Radman_Miroslav_bio.htm Miroslav Radman, Grand Prix Inserm 2003 de la recherche médicale Mediterranean Institute For Life Sciences

Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:Croatian biologists Category:French biologists Category:Members of the French Academy of Sciences Category:Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb alumni Category:People from Split Category:Croatian expatriates in France Category:French people of Croatian descent Category:Necker Hospital Category:Croatian atheists

fr:Miroslav Radman hr:Miroslav Radman sr:Miroslav Radman

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	Suzanne Vega
background	solo_singer
birth name	Suzanne Nadine Peck
born	July 11, 1959Santa Monica, California, United States
origin	New York City, United States
instrument	vocals, guitar
genre	Alternative rockFolk rock
occupation	Singer, songwriter, record producer
years active	1982–present
label	A&M;Blue Note
website	SuzanneVega.com
notable instruments	}}

Suzanne Nadine Vega (born July 11, 1959) is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.

Two of Vega's songs (both from her second album ''Solitude Standing'', 1987) reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner". The latter was originally an a cappella version on Vega's album, which was then remade in 1990 as a dance track produced by the British dance production team DNA.

Early life

Suzanne Vega was born July 11, 1959 in Santa Monica, California. Her mother, Pat Vega, is a computer systems analyst of German-Swedish heritage. Her father, Richard Peck, is of Scottish-English-Irish extraction. They divorced soon after her birth. Her stepfather, Ed Vega, also known as Edgardo Vega Yunque, was a writer and teacher from Puerto Rico.

When Vega was two and a half, the family moved to New York City. She grew up in Spanish Harlem and the Upper West Side. At the age of nine she began to write poetry; she wrote her first song at age fourteen. Later she attended New York's prestigious High School of Performing Arts (now called LaGuardia High School). There she studied modern dance and graduated in 1977.

Career

While majoring in English literature at Barnard College, she performed in small venues in Greenwich Village, where she was a regular contributor to Jack Hardy's Monday night songwriters' group at the Cornelia Street Cafe and had some of her first songs published on ''Fast Folk'' anthology albums. In 1984, she received a major label recording contract, making her one of the first ''Fast Folk'' artists to break out on a major label.

Vega's self-titled debut album was released in 1985 and was well-received by critics in the U.S.; it reached platinum status in the United Kingdom. Produced by Lenny Kaye and Steve Addabbo, the songs feature Vega's acoustic guitar in straightforward arrangements. A video was released for the album's song "Marlene on the Wall", which went into MTV and VH1's rotations. During this period Vega also wrote lyrics for two songs on ''Songs from Liquid Days'' by composer Philip Glass.

Her next effort, ''Solitude Standing'' (1987), garnered critical and commercial success including the hit single "Luka", an international success. "Luka" is written about, and from the point of view of, an abused child—at the time an uncommon subject for a pop hit. While continuing a focus on Vega's acoustic guitar, the music is more strongly pop-oriented and features fuller arrangements. The a cappella "Tom's Diner" from this album was later a hit, remixed by two British dance producers under the name DNA, in 1990. The track was originally a bootleg, until Vega allowed DNA to release through her record company, and it became her all-time biggest hit.

Tom's Diner

Suzanne Vega's song "Tom's Diner" was used as the reference track in an early trial of the MP3 compression system, thus earning her the distinction of being named "The Mother of the MP3". Because it is an ''a cappella'' vocal with relatively little reverberation, it was used as the model for Karlheinz Brandenburg's sound compression algorithm. Brandenburg heard “Tom's Diner” on a radio playing the song and was excited and at first convinced it would be “nearly impossible to compress this warm ''a cappella'' voice.”

"Tom's Diner" takes place in Tom's Restaurant at 112th Street and Broadway in New York City. Exterior shots of the same restaurant appear in the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' as Monk's, which is the eatery where Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer hang out. The DNA remix of the track was so popular that it inspired many cover versions—the best of which were eventually collected by Vega on an album titled ''Tom's Album''. A variant of this version was the inspiration of a remixed version of Julee Cruise's "Rocking back inside My Heart". Nick at Nite did a remake of the song in the mid-1990s for a commercial advertising ''I Dream of Jeannie'', in which the chorus is set to the theme from the show. The remixed version of "Tom's Diner" was later sampled by hip hop artist Nikki D in her hit single titled "Daddy's Little Girl", the title track of her debut album. Rapper Tupac Shakur sampled the track in "Dopefiend's Diner".

Luka

On a 1987 Swedish television special, Vega said this about her song "Luka": in real life I don't think he was. I think he was just different.}}

Also, in an ASCAP interview, she responded to a question about "Luka":

"Luka" was covered by The Lemonheads on the 1989 album ''Lick'', shortly before the band was signed by Atlantic Records, and was a minor college-airplay hit.

1990s

Vega's third album, ''Days of Open Hand'' (1990) continued in the style of her first two albums.

In 1992 she released the album ''99.9F°''. It consists of a mixture of folk music, dance beats and industrial music.

Her fifth album, ''Nine Objects of Desire'', was released in 1996. The music varies between a frugal, simple style and the industrial production of ''99.9F°''. This album contains "Caramel", featured in the movie ''The Truth About Cats & Dogs'' and, later, the trailer for the movie ''Closer''. A song not included on that album, "Woman on the Tier", was featured on the soundtrack of the movie ''Dead Man Walking''.

In 1997 she took a singing part on the concept album ''Heaven and Hell'', a musical interpretation of the Seven deadly sins by her colleague Joe Jackson, with whom she had already collaborated in 1986 on "Left of Center" from the ''Pretty in Pink'' soundtrack (with Vega singing and Jackson playing piano).

In 1999, Avon Books published Vega's book "The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writings Of Suzanne Vega"; a volume of poems, lyrics, essays and journalistic pieces.

2000s

September 2001 saw the release of a new album, ''Songs In Red and Gray''. Three songs deal with Vega's divorce from first husband Mitchell Froom.

At the memorial concert for her brother Tim Vega in December 2002, she began as the long-term subject of a direct cinema documentary, ''Some Journey'', by director Christopher Seufert of Mooncusser Films. This has not been completed.

In 2003, the twenty-one-song greatest hits compilation ''Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega'' was released. (The UK version of ''Retrospective'' included an eight-song bonus CD as well as a DVD containing twelve songs.) In the same year she was invited by Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, to play at the Century of Song concerts at the famed RuhrTriennale in Germany.

In 2003, she hosted the American Public Media radio series ''American Mavericks'', about 20th century American composers, which received the prestigious Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting.

On August 3, 2006, Vega became the first major recording artist to perform live in the Internet-based virtual world, ''Second Life''. The event was hosted by John Hockenberry of public radio's The Infinite Mind.

On September 17, 2006, she performed in Central Park, as part of a benefit concert for The Save Darfur Coalition. During the concert she highlighted her support for Amnesty International, of which she has been a member since 1988.

In early October 2006, Vega took part in the Academia Film Olomouc (AFO) in Olomouc, the Czech Republic, the oldest festival of documentary films in Europe, in which she appeared as a main guest. She was invited there as the subject of the documentary film by director Christopher Seufert, that had a test screening at the festival. At the end of the festival she performed her classical songs, and added one brand new piece called "New York Is a Woman".

Vega is also interviewed in the book ''Everything Is Just a Bet'' which was published in Czech in October 2006. The book contains twelve interview transcriptions from the talk show called ''Stage Talks'' that regularly runs in the Švandovo divadlo (Švandovo Theatre) in Prague. Vega introduced the book to the audience of the Švandovo divadlo (Švandovo Theatre), and together with some other Czech celebrities gave a signing session.

She signed a new recording contract with Blue Note Records in the spring of 2006, and released ''Beauty & Crime'' on July 17, 2007. The album was produced by Jimmy Hogarth, which won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Her contract was not renewed and she was dropped in June 2008.

In 2007, Vega followed the lead of numerous other mainstream artists and released her track "Pornographer's Dream" as podsafe. The song spent two weeks at #1 during 2007 and finished as the #11 hit of the year on the PMC Top10's annual countdown. Vega joined the 10th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers. She was also a judge for the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Independent Music Awards.

A partial cover version of her song "Tom's Diner" is used to introduce the 2010 British movie ''4.3.2.1'', with its lyrics largely rewritten to echo the plot. This musical hybrid was released as "Keep Moving".

Vega is currently included in the Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse/David Lynch collaboration "Dark Night of the Soul". She wrote both melody and lyrics for her song, which is titled "The Man Who Played God", inspired by a biography of Pablo Picasso.

Suzanne is rerecording her back-catalogue, both for artistic and commercial (and control) reasons , in the Close-up series. Vol.1 (Love Songs) and Vol. 2 (People & Places) appeared in 2010 while Vol. 3 (States of Being) was released in July 2011 and 4 (Songs of Family) is planned for the near future.

Theater

Vega co-wrote (with Duncan Sheik) a play “Carson McCullers Talks About Love”, about the life of the writer Carson McCullers. In the play, which premiered in 2011, Vega alternates between monologue and songs.

Personal life

On March 17, 1995, Vega married Mitchell Froom, a musician and a record producer (who played in and produced 99.9F° and Nine Objects of Desire). They have a daughter, Ruby Froom (born July 8, 1994). The band Soul Coughing's ''Ruby Vroom'' album was named after her, with Vega's approval, though she requested a slight change. Recently Ruby sang with her mother on a couple of occasions. Vega and Froom separated in 1998.

On February 11, 2006, Vega married Paul Mills, a lawyer and poet. They originally met each other at Folk City on West 4th Street when singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky, a friend of both, introduced them. In the words of her website, "The couple met at Folk City on West 4th Street in 1981. Mr. Mills proposed to Miss Vega in May, 1983, and she accepted his proposal on Christmas Day, 2005."

Discography

Studio albums

!Year	!Album	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="35"	!width="35"
1985	style="text-align:left"	11	91	23	9	54	-	-
1987		2	11	7	1	6	-	8
1990		7	50	74	24	16	-	19
1992		20	86	56	38	27	-	24
1996		43	92	-	-	43	25	23
2001		-	178	-	-	53	36	47
2007		-	129	-	-	81	52	79
2010		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2010		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2011		-	-	-	-	-	-	-

¹ Days of Open Hand made #2 in Norway albums chart

² Nine Objects of Desire made #20 in Finland, #23 in Switzerland, #39 in Sweden

³ Beauty & Crime made #9 in Estonia, #13 in Finland, #37 in Czech Republic, #49 in Poland, #74 in Italy

''Close-Up Vol. 2, People & Places'' Number 2 Top Purchased Album (Amazon.com) 11th October-13th October

Compilation albums

''Tried & True: The Best of Suzanne Vega'', 1998 – UK #46, AUS #96, GER #58

''Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega'', 2003 – UK #27 !width="25"|GER !width="25"|SWI !width="25"|AUT !width="25"|NZ !width="25"|CAN !width="25"|SWE !width="25"|FR !width="25"|NL |- |rowspan="3"| 1985 |"Marlene On The Wall" |85 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |rowspan="4"|''Suzanne Vega'' |- |"Small Blue Thing" |65 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Knight Moves" |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |rowspan="3"| 1986 |"Marlene On The Wall"(re-release) |21 |— |39 |9 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |27 |- |"Left Of Center"Feat.Joe Jackson |32 |— |35 |28 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— ||''Pretty in Pink (soundtrack)'' |- |"Gypsy" |77 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |rowspan="4"|''Solitude Standing'' |- |rowspan="3"| 1987 |"Luka" |23 |3 |21 |11 |— |— |9 |8 |5 |2 |24 |40 |- |"Tom's Diner" |58 |— |— |26 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Solitude Standing" |79 |94 |91 |— |— |— |— |45 |— |— |— |— |- |rowspan="4"| 1990 |"Book Of Dreams" |66 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |rowspan="3"|''Days of Open Hand'' |- |"Tired of Sleeping" |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Men in a War" |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Tom's Diner"(DNA remix) |2 |5 |8 |2 |1 |1 |1 |8 |— |— |16 |4 ||''Taste This'' |- |rowspan="3"| 1992 |"In Liverpool" |52 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |rowspan="4"|''99.9F°'' |- |"99.9F°" |46 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Blood Makes Noise" |60 |— |61 |— |— |— |— |42 |27 |— |— |— |- || 1993 |"When Heroes Go Down" |58 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- || 1996 |"No Cheap Thrill" |40 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |24 |20 ||''Nine Objects of Desire'' |}

"Rusted Pipe (DNA remix)", promotional, 1991

"Caramel", 1996

"Birth-day", promotional, 1997

"World before Columbus", 1997

"Headshots", promotional, 1997

"Book & a Cover", 1998

"Rosemary / Remember me", 1999

"Widow's Walk", promotional, 2001

"Last Year's Troubles", promotional, 2001

"Penitent", promotional, 2001

"(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May", promotional, 2002

"Frank & Ava", promotional, 2007

"Ludlow Street", promotional, 2007

"Unbound", promotional, 2007

"Pornographer's Dream", podsafe, 2007 – PMC #1

Other contributions

''Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films'' (1988) – "Stay Awake"

''One World One Voice'' (1990) – "One World, One Voice"

''Deadicated: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead'' (1991) – "Cassidy" and "China Doll"

''DNA: Taste This (album)'' (1992) – "Tom's Diner (DNA Remix)"and "Salt Water"

''Hector Zazou: Songs From The Cold Sea (album)'' (1994) – "The Long Voyage" (with John Cale)

''Tower Of Song (album)'' (1995) – "Story Of Isaac"

''Dead Man Walking O.M.P.S. (album)'' (1995) – "Woman On The Tier (I'll See You Through)"

''The Smithereens: Blown To Smithereens (album)'' (1995) – "In A Lonely Place"

''Time And Love (album)'' (1997) – "Buy And Sell"

''Perfect Day (single)'' (1997)

Joe Jackson: ''Heaven & Hell'' (1997) – "Angel (Lust)"

''Mitchell Froom: Dopamine (album)'' (1998) – "Dopamine"

''Celebrate The Season (album)'' (1998) – "Coventry Carol"

''Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village in the 60's (album)'' (1999) – "So Long, Marianne" (with John Cale)

''Dan Zanes: Rocket Ship Beach (album)'' (2000) – "Erie Canal"

''Hear Music Volume 7: Waking'' (2002) – "Widow's Walk"

''107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10'' (2002) – "Widow's Walk"

''WYEP Live and Direct: Volume 4 - On Air Performances'' (2002) – "(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May"

''Vigil (album)'' (2004) – "It Hit Home"

''WFUV: City Folk Live VII'' (2004) – "Penitent"

''The Acoustic Album'' (2006, Virgin) – "Marlene On the Wall"

''Dar Williams: Promised Land'' (2008) – "Go To The Woods"

''Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul (2009) – "The Man Who Played God"

''Pioneers For A Cure: Songs To Fight Cancer]] (2011) – "Streets of Laredo (song)"

References

External links

Suzanne Vega on A&M; Records

Suzanne Vega documentary clips

Love Songs Review – Love Songs Review by SLUG Magazine

Category:Fast Folk artists Category:American female singers Category:American folk singers Category:Songwriters from California Category:American female guitarists Category:Barnard College alumni Category:Musicians from New York Category:Female rock singers Category:Feminist musicians Category:People from Santa Monica, California Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:A&M; Records artists Category:Blue Note Records artists

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