HRVATSKO ZAGORJE
It comprises the whole area north of Mount Medvednica up to Slovenia in the north and west, and up to the regions of Međimurje and Podravina in the north and east. The population of Zagorje is not recorded as such, as it is administratively divided among Krapina-Zagorje County (total population 142,432), western and central part of Varaždin County (total population 183,730) and northwestern part of Zagreb County (total population 309,696), so the population of Zagorje can be reasonably estimated to exceed 300,000 people.
Croatian people usually refer to this region as "Zagorje", a word which literally means "transmountain (area)", "beyond the mountain" (with respect to Medvednica). However, to avoid confusion with a nearby Zagorje ob Savi municipality in Slovenia which bears the same name, the Croatian part is called Hrvatsko zagorje, meaning "Croatian Zagorje".
Manufacturing of traditional wooden toys
Since 2009 UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity has been richer for one cultural treasure from Croatia – traditional manufacturing of children’s wooden toys.
Villages in the Croatian region of Hrvatsko Zagorje developed a special technique for manufacturing of children’s wooden toys, which has been handed down for generations. The men use traditional tools to work the wood that comes from the trees in the region, and the women decorate the toys and instruments with ecologically friendly paint.
No two toys are precisely the same, because they are all made by hand!
These toys are sold in fairs, markets and specialty shops around the world. The most famous place where they can be bought is the Marian shrine of Our Lady of the Snow in Marija Bistrica, the most famous Croatian pilgrimage site.