Zabok

Zabok is a town and municipality situated in northwest Croatia in the Krapina-Zagorje county. It is located at coord|46|1|46|N|15|54|54|E|, at an altitude of 186m above sea level. It has a population of 9,365, 98% which are Croats (2001 census). Zabok is situated on the main crossroads in the heart of Hrvatsko zagorje region. Zabok is the economical centre of the Krapina-Zagorje county. The biggest park area in Zabok is Milan Prpić's park. There are also other smaller parks in the centre of Zabok, along with a number of playgrounds which were built as part of the town's housing projects. Town's cemetery with a finely kept garden is located in the northeastern part of the town centre. Town's major Ivan Hanžek (SDP) was elected a member of "Hrvatski sabor" (Croatian Parliament) on 2007. state elections.

Etymology and earliest references

"Zabok" means "behind the river curve" (the river in question is the Krapinica). The name "Zabok" first appeared in 1335 in a text in which ownership of Zabok was given to Petar, son of Nuzlin, by the King of Hungary, Karlo I. The Nuzlin family added the prefix "de Zabok" to their name and, by the 15th century, had started naming themselves "Zaboky de Zabok".

History

In 1782, Sigismund Vojković-Vojkffy started the construction of a church in Zabok, completing it in 1805. With the abolition of the feudalism, former serfs were offered a possibility of choosing their own place of settlement, and the majority settled along the roads connecting Gredice and Bračak with the new centre developing around the church, to form the new city centre. The town reached its final shape in the period after World War II, when it spread longitudinally along the northern side of the railway track.

Culture

Zabok is home to a monument to the Croatian poet Antun Gustav Matoš. [ [http://www.totalportal.hr/article.php?article_id=145286 Memorial to Antun Gustav Matoš unveiled in Zabok] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.zabok.hr/index.html Official website of Zabok]
* [http://www.kud-zabok.hr/ KUD Zabok]
* [http://zone.mingorp.hr/English/zabok.htm Croatian government page on Zabok]
* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/HR/7/Zabok.html Weather / geographical information on Zabok]
* [http://gimagm.hr/ Gimnasium Antun Gustav Matoš Zabok]
* [http://www.sszabok.hr/ High School Zabok]
* [http://www.bolnica-zabok.hr/ County Hospital Zabok]
* [http://www.ss-sudigo-zabok.skole.hr/ Art School Zabok]
* [http://www.stk-zabok.hr/ Table tennis club Zabok]
* [http://www.pd-zagorske-steze.hr/ Climbing CLub "Zagorske steze" Zabok]
* [http://www.knjiznica-zabok.hr/ "Ksaver Šandor Gjalski" Library Zabok]
* [http://kkzabok.com/site/ Basketball Club "Zaboky"]
* [http://www.zabok-ribolov.com/ Fishing Club Zabok]
* [http://www.os-ksaver-sandor-djalski-zabok.skole.hr/ "Ksaver Šandor Gjalski" Primary School]