Krapina, Krapina-Zagorje County, Croatia

🇭🇷 Krapina is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County. Krapina is located in the hilly Zagorje region of Croatia, approximately 55 km (34 mi) away from both Zagreb and Varaždin.

History Krapina has been known since 1193. It has always been a favorite site for castles and country houses of Croatian and Hungarian rulers.

In the first half of the 15th century, it was an important centre of the Counts of Celje, who additionally fortified the town and expanded the nearby castle. Later, it came in the possession of the Keglević family.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Krapina was a district capital in Varaždin County of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.

Prehistoric site In 1899, on a hill called Hušnjakovo near modern Krapina, the archaeologist and paleontologist Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger found over eight hundred fossil remains belonging to Neanderthals.

Proposed Neandertal jewelry: white-tailed eagle claw with striations at the Neanderthal site of Krapina, Croatia, circa 130,000 BP.

The half-cave in Krapina was soon listed among the world's science localities as a rich fossil finding site, where the largest and richest collection of the Neanderthal man had ever been found.

At the site where the Neanderthal remains were discovered there is now a state-of-the-art Neanderthal museum which also includes an extensive section on evolution, making it one of the most interesting evolutionary museums in Europe. It is surrounded by a park with many statues of Neanderthals and the game they hunted, a bear, a moose and a beaver set in the actual locations.

Culture Krapina is home to the yearly Festival kajkavske popevke (The festival of kajkavian song) sung in the local Kajkavian language.

There is also a nearby municipality of Krapinske Toplice (Krapina spa) with numerous thermal springs and spa tourist infrastructure. Krapina is also the birthplace of the linguist and language reformer Ljudevit Gaj. His home is now a museum where visitors can learn about his life and work.

Since 1997, Franciscan monastery and St. Catherine's church in Krapina are hosts of the Krapinafest, annual contemporary Christian music festival.

Population The following settlements comprise the Krapina municipality: • Bobovje; • Doliće; • Donja Šemnica; • Gornja Pačetina; • Krapina; • Lazi Krapinski; • Lepajci; • Mihaljekov Jarek; • Podgora Krapinska; • Polje Krapinsko; • Pretkovec; • Pristava Krapinska; • Strahinje; • Straža Krapinska; • Škarićevo; • Šušelj Brijeg; • Tkalci; • Trški Vrh; • Velika Ves; • Vidovec Krapinski; • Vidovec Petrovski; • Zagora; • Žutnica.

Transport Krapina is connected with A2 freeway and state road D1. It has a train station on R106corridor and a bus station which also serves as a hub for the bus company "Presečki d.o.o". - the company connects Krapina with numerous of towns across the county and region.