ZAGREB, the capital of Croatia, -situated on the slopes of Medvednica Mountain (Zagrebacka Gora) and along the banks of the Sava river; elevation 120 m; population 706,770. The favourable geographic position in the south-western part of the Pannonian Basin which extends to the Alpine, Dinaric, Adriatic and Pannonic regions, provides the best valuation of traffic connection between Central Europe and the Adriatic Sea. The city core comprises the mediaeval parts of the town called Gradec (Gric) and Kaptol. The construction of the railway embankment (1860) enabled the old suburbs, which did not represent an urban whole up to then, to merge gradually into Donji Grad, characterized by a regular block pattern. Between the two World Wars working-class quarters emerged between the railway and the Sava, and residential quarters on the hills of the southern slopes of Medvednica. The blocks between the railway and the Sava were built after the Second World War, and from the mid-1950s new residential areas south of the Sava river, the so-called Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb). The cargo railway hub and the international airport Pleso were built south of the Sava. The biggest industrial zone (Zitnjak) in the south-east represents an extension of the industrial zones on the western and eastern outskirts of the city, between the Sava and the Prigorje region. Urbanized lines of settlements connect Zagreb with the centres in its surroundings: Sesvete, Zapresic, Samobor, Dugo Selo and Velika Gorica. The traffic position, concentration of industry (metal-processing, electrical appliances, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, printing and leather industries, wood processing, paper etc.), scientific and research institutions and industrial tradition underlie its leading economic position. Zagreb seats central state administrative bodies (legislative, judiciary, executive, monetary, defence, health care, cultural, educational, traffic, etc.). There are three main traffic communications: the western, towards Ljubljana, i.e. West Europe; the eastern, towards South-eastern Europe and the Near East; the south-western, towards Rijeka, Croatia's biggest port. The railway running along the Sutla river and the Zagorje main road (Zagreb - Maribor - Vienna), as well as traffic connections with the Pannonian region and Hungary (the Zagorje railroad, the roads and railway to Varazdin and Koprivnica) are linked with the trunk routes. The railway connection with Bosnia and Herzegovina, along the Una valley to Split, is currently out of use due to the war damage.

Zagreb is a big Croatian tourist centre, not only in terms of transit from West and Central Europe to the Adriatic Sea but also as a tourist destination. The city with a tradition of almost one thousand years celebrated in 1994 its 900th birthday. Zagreb is not only rich in cultural and historical monuments, museums and galleries, it also has a variety of modern shops, and offers good quality of diversified restaurants as well as sports and recreation facilities. It is a big centre of congress tourism, economic and business events and trade fairs not only in Croatia but also in this part of Europe. Being an important junction point, it has road, air, railway and bus connections with European metropolises and all bigger cities and tourist resorts in Croatia.

Zagreb has rich civil and cultural heritage, dating from the pre-historic period (Veternica Cave, Palaeolithic) and archaeological finds of the Roman culture (Scitarjevo) up to the present. The historical part of the town, the Upper Town and Kaptol are a unique urban core even in European terms, and thus represent the target of sightseeing tours. The old town, its streets and squares can be reached on foot, starting from Ban Josip Jelacic Square, the central part and the heart of Zagreb, or by a funicular in the nearby Tomiceva Street. The old core of the town includes many famous buildings, churches, museums and institutions as well as pleasant restaurants and coffee bars.

The history, art and culture not only of Zagreb and Croatia but also of Europe and the world, can be seen by walking through the large number of Zagreb museums. Around thirty collections in museums and galleries comprise more than 3.6 million various exhibits, excluding church and private collections. Only the Archaeological Museum (Nikola Subic Zrinski Square 19) disposes of 400,000 objects, not all of them being exhibited. The holdings include evidence of Croatian presence in this area as well as rare samples which made the museum known in the whole world. The most famous are the Egyptian collection, the mummy and bandages with the oldest Etruscan inscription in the world as well as the numismatic collection. A part of the museum is set aside for the collection of stone monuments dating back predominantly to the Roman period.

The Croatian Museum of Natural Sciences (Demetrova Street 1) holds the world's most extensive collectionof the remains ofNeanderthal man found on one site - the remains of the pre-historic man of Krapina and stone weapon and tools. The Technical Museum (Savska Street 18) keeps the oldest preserved machine in this area, dating from 1830 which still operates. Valuable historical collections are found in the Croatian Historical Museum, the Museum of the City of Zagreb, the Museum of Arts and Crafts, the Ethnographic Museum, the Croatian School Museum, the Croatian Hunting Museum, the Croatian Sports Museum, the Croatian Post and Telecommunications Museum, the HAZU (Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences) Glyptotheque (collection of monuments), the HAZU Graphics Cabinet.