Zagreb Map

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 146.5 kilometers 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 (As of October 2008 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.

• 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 center, 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.