History of Velika Gorica

Man has been living in the area of today’s city since prehistoric times. Archaeological excavations prove the first traces of urbanization – Roman roads, city streets, public buildings, the beginnings of the concept of the name – city. And then, the great migration of peoples – the decline of a civilization. Turbulent centuries passed in which this area became part of Croatian lands under the rule of Croatian national rulers – princes and kings. And the Sava, whimsical as it is, shapes the space with floods and changes in its course. Like a silver thread, it passes through centuries-old oak forests. Within them, on higher forest clearings, man builds his homes, creates his settlements. Dense forest – “gora”, oak tree and man enter into a gentle coexistence that continues to this day. Forest – Gora, also gives the name to his first larger settlement – Gorica. In the 13th century we find the first mention of the name: Gorica – a small place with a few houses, and in the 14th century it is mentioned in the list of parishes. From then until today as the “Church of the Blessed Virgin in Polje Turovo”.

Historical sources do not provide reliable evidence, but from other documents we learn that the inhabitants of “Polje Turova” or also known as Zagrebačko polje, members of old Croatian tribes, have been free people since time immemorial. As such, they formed a special tribal Croatian parish, and as a tribal community they settled in that area.

All these first written beginnings of the mention of our city are related to the events of the 11th and 12th centuries – the establishment of the Zagreb diocese and the entry of the Kingdom of Croatia into the state structure with Hungary. That separate Croatian tribal parish, which has its properties based on tribal law and not on the basis of royal privileges, still falls under the castrum (city) of Zagreb according to the Hungarian system. They had an obligation to maintain a guard service connected with the obligation to defend the city of Zagreb. According to their feudal status, they belonged to the order called “Jobagioni” (Hungarian: jobb – better, ágy – bed), which meant a person who has a better legal position than other persons (serfs, citizens). In relation to the real nobility, they had somewhat less rights, although over time they were equated with the nobles. Their freedom was manifested in their right to personal property.

In the 13th century, twelve members of the tribe were appointed to the Order of King’s Servants (King Bela III/IV – 1225). Then, as a community, they got ownership of the forest – Veliki Lug, today’s Turopoljski Lug. A new communal structure of the old tribal parish was established – 1278. A list of old freedoms, customary rights and determination according to external factors was made. It was an act of organization of the Noble Municipality of Turopolje. From then until the 19th century (1848) the Noble Municipality – the nobility of Turopolje, headed by the prefect, played a leading role in the life of that community – the threat of our city, in the legal – judicial, economic and military – defense sphere of life.

It was the time of the fight with the Turks (14th-16th century), the construction of the fortress – the Town of Lukavec – initially from oak logs, and then in the 18th century, hard buildings – the “Wasserburg”. Wars were also fought in Europe for the needs of the king, as a royal cavalry company – the Banderium. They passed on military glory, but also gave the world a tie – a scarf, a reminder of their home in a foreign country, tied in their “Croatian way” (a la Croat). It was necessary to resist the Croatian nobles at home, who want to abolish the freedom of Turopolje and the people of Turopolje. About 20 villages were neglected and abandoned in the area of our present-day city during those war centuries. Only from the 17th century did life calm down to some extent. But there is no more Tur, that noble wild cattle – inhabitant of the great forest in Zagrebački polje. In his memory, they named it Turov polje – Turopolje. And Gorica – a small place inside the forest, with a few houses.

The community of people renews the existence of the brotherhood – new organization, new statute, new day for the election of the prefect – December 13, the feast of St. Lucia. A čardak, the seat of the Noble Municipality, is being built in Gorica. The right to hold annual, then monthly and weekly fairs revives the economy. Craftsmen come, many stay. The need for a school was also indicated, so in 1617 the Noble Municipality made a decision on the foundation of the “People’s School”.

The economy prospered after the great harvest in Turopoljski Lug in the middle of the 18th century. The Gate of Krč or Krčka vrata still remembers that event in Turopoljski Lug today. In Lukavec, on the old site, a new brick fort is springing up – Grad Lukavec – the pride of the brotherhood’s survival. On the front of the castle is the coat of arms Noble Municipality of Turopolje obtained in 1737 by King Karl III.

Already at that time, a new municipal hall was being built in Velika Gorica – Turopolje town – headquarters of Noble community, the place where archives are kept, today the building of the local museum. At the beginning of the 19th century, a new cemetery was opened in the area around today’s chapel of St. Lovre. The parish church is also being renovated – expanded in the Baroque style. An important road passes through Velika Gorica and there is also a station for changing horses. Throughout history, Turopolje people have been farmers and herders. Craftsmanship is practiced by the new settlers, who stay and thus expand the place, which gets the first street, which still forms the backbone today – Zagrebačka/Sisačka – Šenoina (around the church) and the streets surrounding the fairground – today’s area of two elementary schools in Školska Street. A craftsman’s association – a guild – was founded, and soon a cooperative of Velika Gorica craftsmen. These are already the events of the 19th century. The feudal system is disappearing, Noble municipality still manages its property, but now as a land association. The regular postal service is open. The first pharmacy opens. He founded a fire brigade, opened a public reading room, founded singing societies. In the economy, the breeding of a special breed of pig – Turopolka – is progress. In 1862, the route of the first railway line in Banska Croatia passed through Velika Gorica, connecting Sisak, Velika Gorica and Zagreb via the Brick Bridge with Austria.

The earthquake of 1880 destroyed Zagreb, but also left consequences in Velika Gorica. The parish church suffered, which lost its baroque appearance after the renovation under the leadership of Herman Bolle. At the end of the 19th century, the first city park was created around the renovated parish church, an area where there was a cemetery until the end of the 18th century. The area of the fairgrounds moved from the center of the city, and the first public institutions – a school, a court, a bank and a savings bank, and the first private shops – appeared on the central square – today’s Trg Kralja Tomislava. Gorica is also getting a row of wild chestnut trees along the main road. In 1895, a new cemetery was opened far outside of V. Gorica, on a somewhat elevated area, which the people of Gorica call “Visoki Breg”. At the beginning of the 21st century, a new cemetery was opened again, again far outside V. Gorica, now in an area called Kušanec.

The 20th century brings new capital. The first sawmill opens in the village of Turopolje. Turopoljski Lug provides wood pulp. In Novo Cice, a spirit, broom, and dairy factory opens, and in Mraclin, a brick factory opens. In 1907, new industrialists built a tram line for the transportation of goods and people. The horse-drawn tram runs from Novo Cice to the railway station in V. Gorica. until 1937. In the 1930s, Velika Gorica received electricity, and the main streets received public lighting. Administratively, Velika Gorica is the seat of the district. In 1947, the Noble municipality was left without its property and its work ceased until it was restored in 1991 as a native association.

In the middle of the 20th century, the districts were abolished according to the new structure, and V. Gorica became the seat of a new municipality, which changed territorially until the end of the 20th century. Part of that time was part of the city of Zagreb, as one of 14 municipalities. It was a time of rapid growth where the municipality of 14,000 inhabitants, and V. Gorica itself around 2,000, grew by the end of the 20th century into a town with around 30,000 inhabitants. New schools and kindergartens, new roads are being built.

Our time, the 21st century – that small place in the forest with a few houses, has been an independent town since 1995. It has more than 60,000 inhabitants, who live in 8 city districts and 56 surrounding settlements. It is surrounded by new roads. Life is booming. The indigenous people live together in this area, and our neighbors who came from various parts of the homeland and the world also live. This is our home for all of us. (Stjepan Šipušić)