Country Croatia Elevation 203 m (666 ft) Vehicle registration KR Population 12,479 (2011) Area code 049 | County Krapina-Zagorje Postal code 49 000 Area 47.53 km² Local time Saturday 5:09 AM | |
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Time zone Central European Time (UTC+1) Weather 8°C, Wind SE at 5 km/h, 77% Humidity Points of interest Neandertalermuseum in Krapina, Stari Grad Krapina, MUZEJ EVOLUCIJE I NALAZI | ||
Krapina ([krâpina]) is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 (2011) and a total municipality population of 12,480 (2011). Krapina is located in the hilly Zagorje region of Croatia, approximately 55 km (34 mi) away from both Zagreb and Varaždin.
Contents
Map of 49000, Krapina, Croatia
Population
The following settlements comprise the Krapina municipality:
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 late 19th and early 20th century, Krapina was a district capital in the Varaždin County of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.
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.
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. In the sandy deposits of the cave about nine hundred remains of fossilised human bones were found - the fossil remains belonged to several dozen different individuals, of different sex, from 2 to 40 years of age.
Culture
Krapina is a home to yearly Festival kajkavske popevke (The festival of kajkavian song) sung in the local Kajkavian dialect.
At the site where the Neanderthals remains were discovered there is now a state-of-the-art Neanderthal museum which also includes an extensive segment 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 their game, a bear, a moose and a beaver set in the actual locations. 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.