"Novi Zagreb - for freaks only " a Hudi Bitek Travel Page by diocletianvs

Socialist blocks. Grey suburbs. Monster buildings. Urban disaster.
Those are the words many people that arrive to Zagreb by plane describe the area they see from the airport bus. Those that arrive by train are luckier – no one tells them that this part of Zagreb exists, so they never see it.

Novi Zagreb doesn’t exist in VT database. Although with its nearly 150,000 inhabitants, if it weren’t part of big Zagreb, it would be the 5th largest town in Croatia. When I decided to build a page about Novi Zagreb, I first tried to convince the people on VT to add it to their destination database, but with no success. It is part of Zagreb – was the response.

Yeah, right. Like I could make a must-see tips of Mamutica next to the Cathedral. Of Zaprudje next to Gornji Grad.

Well, it is part of Zagreb, like some other destinations in the database. Like Remetinec, part of Novi Zagreb famous as the place of the Zagreb prison. Like Jakusevac, also part of Novi Zagreb famous as the largest waste disposal area in Europe.

So, why did I pit it under Hudi Bitek? Well, I found it under "destinations around...". And did some research. God knows why they deserved to be in VT database – they have 331 inhabitants by the 2001 census, 149 male and 182 female. You get 48 hits for Hudi Bitek in Google. It’s part of Brezovica, which is administratively part of Novi Zagreb, which is part of Zagreb.

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Let’s get back to Novi Zagreb. It is often refered to as Zagreb’s largest dormitory. Socialist times urban and social disaster. Labels are numerous. And always given by people from (old) Zagreb.

Contrary to Zagreb, there are no traffic jams here. Contrary to Zagreb, when you leave your building you always have green area in front of you. In a small radius you always have everything you might need – school, kindergarten and sports ground; your favourite place to have coffee, market place, bus or tram stop.

If you take some time to enter some of its neighbourhoods, you’ll notice lively atmosphere of peaceful suburbia. Of a generation that was raised here and got used to its scale. And not only got used – they built a certain sense of special pride. Quarters of Novi Zagreb are usually forgotten in offical web pages of Zagreb. But local enthusiasts have built more pages about Novi Zagreb then you’ll find about any part of old town. On Saturdays they have their local festivals. Local bands. And, contrary to what the majority thinks, they are part of a particular urban culture here. People aren’t just sleeping here.

Many of the original inhabitants weren’t able to choose when they were given a flat here in 1960s or 1970s. Many of their children are now choosing to stay, raising new kids amongst those big blocks.