History and Geology of Zagreb, Croatia

When looking into the history and Geology of the Balkans, I wanted to focus in on Zagreb, Croatia because it is one of the cities that my group is planning. One of the first things that I noticed was that even with Croatia's expansive coast line the capital city of Zagreb is not located on the coast. Zagreb is in the center of the arc of the country as shown below.

I found this odd at first because having a direct sea port can be very beneficial to a cities trade and overall well-being. I decided to look further into the geography and history as to why Zagreb was founded in the location it was, why it is called Zagreb, and the impact the geological structures have had on its history.

I found that Zagreb is located around the Sava River and below the southern slopes of the Medvednica Mountain. The Sava River provides the city with a source of fresh water and the mountain would have provided protection for the city. The term Zagrabiti translates directly to "to scoop" and is believed to be the foundation for "Zagreb." This term relates to the urban legend that the city was near a graba (water-filled hole) and early settlers had to scoop the water out of the hole.

The countries actions during the 19th and 20th century helped the city flourish. Cultural and Historic institutions were constructed as well as Croatia's first railroad. During this time the population increased greatly. It was during this time that Zagreb became the center of Croatia because it linked the entire country through a network of rail and roads. In WWII when Croatia became the Independent State of Croatia which was backed by Germany and Italy, Zagreb became the capital city.

During the 1991-1995 war between Croatia and Serbia over Croatian independence, Zagreb's location in the northwest part of the country allowed it to escape bombing and stay relatively preserved. The combination of the location and geographic features has allowed Zagreb to develop and prosper as the capital of Croatia.