New Zagreb – EastFrom Zapruđe and Bundek to Jakuševec, Buzin and Veliko Polje, south of the Sava

New Zagreb – East at a glance

• Residents (2021 Census)³⁹55,898
• Households renting⁴⁰8.4%
• Area⁴³16.5 km²
• Neighbourhoods in our guide10
• Local committees⁴⁴11

Rents are asking prices from active listings on NajamStanova; residents and renting come from the 2021 Census. Households renting are those paying a market rent.

Where New Zagreb – East is

The district lies south of the Sava. Its boundary starts at Most slobode and runs south-east along the river's south bank to the City boundary, so across the Sava its neighbours are Trnje and Peščenica – Žitnjak.^1,2 To the west, Avenija Većeslava Holjevca separates it from Novi Zagreb – zapad (New Zagreb – West). North of Islandska ulica the line follows the avenue's east side, and further south its west side.^1,2

In the south-west the boundary partly follows the Zagreb–Sisak railway, Odranski prilaz, Velika cesta and the Mala Mlaka – Buzin road. In the south-east it follows the City boundary, crosses a backwater of the Sava and borders the City of Velika Gorica in Zagreb County.^1,2 Besides part of the settlement of Zagreb, the district takes in the whole settlements of Buzin and Veliko Polje and part of Odra.^1,5

Neighbourhoods in New Zagreb – East

• SopotTowers and blocks built from the late 1960s into the 1970s, with streets named after architects and the first tram across the Sava in 1979.Sopot neighbourhood guide
• UtrineAn estate of large blocks of flats on former common pasture, built mainly from 1969 to 1972 and centred on the Utrina market.Utrine neighbourhood guide
• ZapruđeThe first estate in eastern Novi Zagreb, built from 1963 to 1968, with aluminium-clad prefabricated blocks known as limenke and tower blocks.Zapruđe neighbourhood guide
• TravnoA 1970s estate to Miroslav Kollenz's plan, built around the large green of Park Travno, with Mamutica and its 1,169 flats.Travno neighbourhood guide
• DugaveAn estate whose foundation stone was laid in 1977, the only one in Novi Zagreb with blocks turned 45 degrees to the surrounding roads.Dugave neighbourhood guide
• SloboštinaA 1980s estate whose blocks, turned 45°, trace the letter S, with a pedestrian street and an older zone of family houses to the south.Sloboština neighbourhood guide
• SredišćeThe neighbourhood by Lake Bundek that was meant to be Novi Zagreb's centre, with tall blocks, Centar Bundek, new schools and housing beside MSU.Središće neighbourhood guide
• JakuševecA former village with St Mark's wooden church from 1832, the Hrelić fair, and newer blocks on Kamenarka first occupied at the turn of 2008.Jakuševec neighbourhood guide
• Veliko PoljeMostly detached family houses on the Velika Gorica boundary, plus a residential and commercial estate of 19 buildings from 2007 and 2008.Veliko Polje neighbourhood guide
• New ZagrebLies mostly in the neighbouring Novi Zagreb – zapad; its guide covers the city south of the Sava, planned in 1962 for about 250,000 people.New Zagreb neighbourhood guide

District council and local committees

Novi Zagreb – istok is one of the 17 city districts set up by the City Statute of 14 December 1999.^3,4 The City Assembly fixed the districts' boundaries and seats in a decision of 26 February 2009, amended in 2017.^1,4 The local committees (mjesni odbori) were founded in February 2009.⁸ Under its 2022 rules the district is a legal person with its seat at Ulica svetog Mateja 93; in the 2009 decision the seat was at Avenija Dubrovnik 12.^5,1

The district council has 19 members and was constituted on 24 June 2025.⁶ After the Second World War the area belonged to the Velika Gorica district (kotar), and later to the municipality of Novi Zagreb, which existed until 31 December 1990.^8,4

11 local committees (mjesni odbori) in New Zagreb – East: Buzin, Dugave, Hrelić, Jakuševec, Sloboština, Sopot, Središće, Travno, Utrine, Veliko Polje, Zapruđe.⁴⁴

People in New Zagreb – East

At the 2021 Census, 55,898 people lived in New Zagreb – East in 24,752 households. 2,090 households, or 8.4%, paid a market rent (Zagreb: 7.7%). The average household had 2.2 members.^39,40

The district covers 16.5 km², about 3,380 people per square kilometre (Zagreb average: 1,196).⁴³

Its parts: what is where in New Zagreb – East

Until the 1960s this was flat land under pasture, gullies and ponds, with the villages of Buzin, Otok, Jakuševec and Hrelić, recorded centuries before the estates were built.^2,8 Building began after Most slobode opened in 1959. Zapruđe came first, then Utrine, Sopot, Travno, Dugave, Središće and finally Sloboština.^2,8 The firm Jugomont built Zapruđe from 1963 to 1968 as the first estate in the eastern part of Novi Zagreb.⁹ According to the City, Most mladosti in 1973 and the tram line to Sopot in 1979 gave building a new push.⁸

According to the City, Dugave and Sloboština absorbed the old villages of Hrelić and Otok, and each now forms one whole with them.⁸ Sloboština was built in several stages in the early 1980s, and it had the first pedestrian street in planned building south of the Sava.¹¹ Work on the new settlement of Veliko Polje also began in the early 1980s.⁸ The City writes that the district stands out for its greenery, parks and playgrounds, which got particular care when the estates were laid out.⁸

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MSU) at Avenija Dubrovnik 17 opened its new building on 11 December 2009.^14,15 Centar Bundek, a residential and commercial complex with 227 flats, received its occupancy permit in January 2013, when the first residents moved in.¹² In the Buzin business zone, between the Zagreb bypass, the Supernova shopping centre and Bauhaus, the City Island business park is going up, planned in five phases.¹³ In Jakuševec, a new building for OŠ Frana Galovića opened on 8 September 2025.^16,17

The Jakuševec – Prudinec landfill is also in the district.The City's 2019 district profile calls it still the city's only municipal waste landfill, and the City writes that the waste problems weigh most on the people of Jakuševec.^2,8

Buzin

An old village and a separate settlement that lies wholly in the district.^1,8 City Island is going up in the Buzin business zone by the bypass, Dom zdravlja Zagreb – Centar has a practice at Buzinska cesta 20, and trains on the Sisak line stop at Buzin halt.^13,29,23

Hrelić

An old village recorded centuries before Novi Zagreb was built; according to the City, the Dugave estate absorbed it, and the two now form one whole.⁸

Otok

An old village that, according to the City, Sloboština absorbed. Before the 1960s the only settlements here were villages: Otok, Buzin, Jakuševec and Hrelić.^8,2

Where the name New Zagreb – East comes from

The name comes from Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb), used informally for the south of the city since 1963 and made official when the municipality of that name was founded.^9,10 Istok means east: the eastern part, which Avenija Većeslava Holjevca separates from Novi Zagreb – zapad.²

Roads, rail and lines in New Zagreb – East

Avenija Većeslava Holjevca runs along the western edge, linked with Avenija Dubrovnik, Islandska ulica and Ulica Savezne Republike Njemačke.^1,18 Sarajevska cesta was rebuilt for 1.8 km, from the Zapruđe roundabout to Ulica Aleksandra Brdarića, and opened to traffic on 2 October 2026.^19,20 At the Jakuševec interchange the A11 motorway to Velika Gorica and Sisak leaves the A3.²²

The Zagreb–Sisak railway forms part of the district's south-western boundary, and passenger trains on it stop at Buzin and Odra after Zagreb Klara.^1,23 According to a 2019 draft urban plan, Odra halt is about 300 metres south of the Veliko Polje plan area.²⁴ Ranžirni kolodvor, the marshalling yard, is meant for processing freight trains: breaking them up and forming new ones.²⁵

Zapruđe is the terminus for buses to Jakuševec, Strmec Bukevski and Sasi.²⁶ Bus 220 runs from Glavni kolodvor (the main station) to Dugave, and bus 241 from Glavni kolodvor to Veliko Polje.^27,28,24

Office, health, police and libraries in New Zagreb – East

Being built in New Zagreb – East

• The tram line on Sarajevska cesta is 2.25 km long, with six stops and a turning loop, and is the first extension of the tram network in 25 years.^20,19 On 3 November 2026 the City announced a test tram within two days and the first passenger tram by the end of the month, if all went well.²¹ An overpass will link Sarajevska directly to the bypass; according to Jutarnji list in October 2026, it is expected to be finished in 2029.^20,19
• A building permit has been issued for the extension of OŠ Otok in Sloboština, the City announced on 9 October 2026. The school now works in two shifts; after the extension it would take 784 pupils in one shift. Detailed design and the tender for a contractor come next.^35,36
• A design competition for Dječji vrtić Sloboština, a nursery in the western part of the estate, opened on 21 June 2024. It is planned for up to 180 children in ten groups.³⁸
• For Park Novi Zagreb, about 70 hectares between Mamutica and Super Andrija, the first workshop for professionals was held on 5 May 2026. The challenges include private land ownership and Avenija Većeslava Holjevca, which cuts through the site.³⁷

Did you know?

• 1Lake Bundek was formed by digging gravel for the building of Most slobode.⁸
• 2The Jakuševec parish of St Mark is recorded in 1334 as the parish "in the field", and as the Sava changed course it moved its seat and changed its name several times.⁸
• 3A Sava dyke, built in 1863 and 1864 at the urging of the Jakuševec parish priest Josip Vitković, protected the church of St Mark from floods.⁸

Renting in New Zagreb – East

Nearby districts

• New Zagreb – WestDistrict guide
• Peščenica – ŽitnjakDistrict guide
• TrnjeDistrict guide

• Compare districts: New Zagreb – East and New Zagreb – West
• Compare districts: New Zagreb – East and Peščenica – Žitnjak
• Compare districts: New Zagreb – East and Trnje
• All Zagreb neighbourhood guides

For listings across the district, see flats for rent in New Zagreb – East. To compare the neighbours, read the New Zagreb – West district guide and the Peščenica – Žitnjak district guide.

Questions: living in New Zagreb – East