Craftsmanship in Velika Gorica

The human need to create and create added value with one’s own hands is primordially natural, woven into human nature. It is followed by the vital need for the exchange of goods – trade, and these two phenomena created craftsmanship. This is also confirmed by the archaeological sites from the oldest times, where we will find useful and other objects, made by diligent hands with primitive tools, just like those found in the Scitarjevo site of Andautonia. If we think of the people of Turopolje in this context, we will first think of palirs, masters of woodworking, who unsurpassedly tamed oak groves into timber and useful objects. There is no doubt that our Turopolje oak has built Turopolje as much as Turopolje man. It was used to build cottages, blockhouses, mansions that gave people a safe roof over their heads, bridges that connect us on earth and wooden chapels that connect us to the heavenly one. Every village in Turopolje was also known for their knowledge – the people of Kuce were known for making oak chests, the people of Mraclin as tanners, the people of Busevec as roasters and bakers…

Since the time when Velika Gorica received fair rights, from the beginning of the 17th century, the development of trade opened is the door to the development of craft professions, but also invited master craftsmen from the surrounding towns and neighboring countries to our city, who brought with them new knowledge, new products, but also new value, making Velika Gorica truly great in every respect. The descendants of those masters are still part of the artisanal life of our Turopolje, and with their cultural identity they enrich our city as truly multicultural. This is also visible in the historic city center, where today’s architecture is a reflection of their contribution to the development of Velika Gorica.

If the main idea of life in Turopolje has been “community” since ancient times, visible through the Turopolje Brotherhood, then it is also emphasized in artisan life. Already from the records of 1844, we know that the craftsmen of Gorica joined together, and in 1846 King Ferdinand I issued the privilege of the “Velikogorica Guild”. Since the time when the united craftsmen took over the “Kulu” building in Kurilovecka street, their headquarters, the goal of the Association has been to contribute to the development of Velika Gorica craftsmanship and thus the city itself. Many craftsmen have developed their small enterprises into large companies that are the bearer of the economic life of Velika Gorica, primarily in the wood and metal processing industry, and have become an indispensable generator of the overall development of our city.