Podsused – VrapčeFrom the Vrapčak stream to the Krapina: old villages, Gajnice, Susedgrad and a former cement works

Podsused – Vrapče at a glance

• Residents (2021 Census)³⁶44,910
• Households renting³⁷4.8%
• Area⁴⁰36.1 km²
• Neighbourhoods in our guide4
• Local committees⁴¹7

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 Podsused – Vrapče is

Podsused – Vrapče is Zagreb's westernmost city district.^4,5 In the north and west its border is also the boundary of the City of Zagreb. To the west, on the Krapina river, the neighbour is the town of Zaprešić, and to the south-west, on the Sava, Sveta Nedelja.^2,4,5 In the south the border briefly follows the southern bank of the Sava, next to Novi Zagreb – zapad, then crosses the river, runs through Susedsko polje and follows Ulica Velimira Škorpika north, across Samoborska cesta, to the Zagreb – Ljubljana railway.²

From there Stenjevec lies to the south. The border runs east along the south side of the railway, switches to its north side at Mangartska ulica, beside Aleja grada Bologne, and from Topolčica follows the middle of the Aleja to Ilica.² Črnomerec lies to the east. The border crosses Ilica between house numbers 389 and 393, runs north along Roginina ulica and through Grmoščica, then along streets and forest paths on the slopes and the west side of the Vrapčak stream to the Šestine cadastral area and the city boundary.^1,2 The district's northern, uninhabited parts belong to Medvednica Nature Park.^13,5

Neighbourhoods in Podsused – Vrapče

• VrapčeAn old Kaptol village on the Vrapčak stream, with St Barbara's church and the 1879 hospital; hillside Gornje Vrapče and Vrapče – centar are here.Vrapče neighbourhood guide
• PodsusedAn old market town below the ruins of Susedgrad, with a protected core around Podsusedski trg, villas with gardens and the former cement works.Podsused neighbourhood guide
• GajniceThe Jedinstvo factory's workers' estate, begun in 1948 and mostly built in the 1970s and 1980s, with streets named after Latin American countries.Gajnice neighbourhood guide
• StenjevecAn old village round a Baroque church on a Roman site; the part north of the railway and the hill village Gornji Stenjevec are here.Stenjevec neighbourhood guide

District council and local committees

Zagreb's 17 city districts were created by the City Statute of 14 December 1999.³ Their borders and seats are set by the decision on district borders and seats of 26 February 2009, amended in 2017 and 2020; the consolidated text has applied since 12 November 2020.^1,2 The district's local committees (mjesni odbori) were set up in February 2009.^9,10 The district council elected in 2025 has 15 members and first met on 23 June 2025.^6,7 The district and its local office are based at Sigetje 2, the same address as the seat of the Stenjevec district.^1,2,8

After the Second World War the area lay outside Zagreb's boundaries, although its local people's committees belonged to the Zagreb kotar (county). Parts of the Borčec, Podsused, Stenjevec Gornji and Vrapče Gornje – Bregi committees joined the city on 23 December 1949.⁹ From 1952 parts of today's district belonged to the outlying municipalities of Podsused, Vrapče and Stenjevec. The municipality of Susedgrad was set up in 1955 and merged into the municipality of Črnomerec in 1962. From 1974 to 1990 today's Podsused – Vrapče and Stenjevec districts formed the city municipality of Susedgrad.⁹

7 local committees (mjesni odbori) in Podsused – Vrapče: Gajnice, Gornje Vrapče, Gornji Stenjevec, Perjavica - Borčec, Podsused, Stenjevec - sjever, Vrapče - centar.⁴¹

People in Podsused – Vrapče

At the 2021 Census, 44,910 people lived in Podsused – Vrapče in 16,491 households. 795 households, or 4.8%, paid a market rent (Zagreb: 7.7%). The average household had 2.7 members.^36,37

The district covers 36.1 km², about 1,243 people per square kilometre (Zagreb average: 1,196).⁴⁰

Its parts: what is where in Podsused – Vrapče

The railway divides the district into a mainly residential north and a mainly commercial and industrial south.⁴ The City's 2019 analysis describes the southern, larger part as urbanised and the hilly north as keeping some rural features. By actual land use in 2011, forest covered 44.9% of the district, farmland and unmanaged land 20.3%, and residential and mixed use 19.4%. The green areas are Medvednica in the north, the valleys of the Vrapčak and Dubravica streams and, among others, the Susedgrad, Goljački breg and Lisičina woods.⁵

Besides Stenjevec and Vrapče, the oldest settlements are Orešje, Kostanjek, Dolec, Bizek, Dolje, Jarek, Goljak, Borčec, Perjavica and Lisičina. In the 1890 census Borčec had 780 people, and Bizek and Dolje 400 each. The first strong push to settlement came from the Zidani Most – Zagreb – Sisak railway. The Zagorje railway was built in 1886, and the narrow-gauge Zagreb – Samobor line opened on 14 May 1901.⁹

Gajnice was planned in 1948 and 1949 as housing for workers of the Jedinstvo factory in Jankomir. It took its name from Gajnica, a village path whose name means young forest. By the mid-1950s only the core had been built, 11 buildings of family flats plus a boarding school and a hostel for single workers, a smaller part of what the plan provided for.¹¹ The population grew fast in the 1970s and 1980s, as the new Gajnice estate and the Stenjevec – sjever housing block went up. Vrapče had 245 people in 1880, 1,994 in 1931 and 13,180 in 1971.⁹

The Mandl family founded the Podsused cement works in 1908 under the name Croatia, and from 1950 it was called Sloboda. It stopped work in 1988, when intensive marl digging set off the Kostanjek landslide.^12,14 The City's 2020 leaflet says the cement works site splits the district east to west. According to the same leaflet, Podsused also has Zagreb's largest quarry, Podsusedsko dolje, as well as the Bizek quarry.⁴ The 2019 analysis lists the cement works and INA Vrapče as disused industrial sites, and the city plan (GUP) provides for large commercial zones along Škorpikova ulica.⁵

Susedgrad

A royal fortress first recorded in 1316; the City says King Charles Robert of Anjou built it that year.^14,9 In the 16th century the estate passed to Franjo Tahi, and the 1573 peasant revolt broke out in the Susedgrad and Gornji Stenjevec area on 3 February.⁹ The City's 2020 leaflet counts it among the most important medieval fortresses in Zagreb.⁴

Kostanjek

An old settlement that gave the landslide its name; most of Ulica Kostanjek belongs to the Gornji Stenjevec local committee.^9,12,10 The Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering (Rudarsko-geološko-naftni fakultet) opened an observatory there in 2014 to monitor the landslide.¹²

Gornji Stenjevec

A hill village that gives its name to a local committee, which also takes in Karažnik and Glavica.¹⁰ Parts of its area joined the city on 23 December 1949.⁹ Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, population rose noticeably only in the Gornji Stenjevec and Perjavica – Borčec committees.⁴

Perjavica – Borčec

A local committee named after two old villages, Perjavica and Borčec.^9,10 In 1890 Borčec was the most populous village in the area, and parts of its committee joined the city in 1949.⁹ The committee takes in Medpotoki and parts of Bolnička cesta and Zelena magistrala.¹⁰

Dubravica – Karažnik

The area along Dubravica and Karažnik, the streets that bound Gajnice to the west and north.¹⁰ The City's 2020 leaflet lists new housing zones and sport and recreation zones planned there, and a detailed urban plan (UPU Dubravica – Karažnik) applies to the area.^4,5

Where the name Podsused – Vrapče comes from

The name joins two old place names. Podsused means the settlement below the old feudal estate of Sused, the Susedgrad fortress.^9,14 The City derives Vrapče from the Old Slavic word rab, meaning a slave or serf, and links it to the largest feudal estate in the area, which Béla III gave to the Kaptol (the Zagreb cathedral chapter).⁹

Roads, rail and lines in Podsused – Vrapče

According to the City, the main roads east to the centre are Aleja Bologne, Samoborska cesta, Ilica, Karažnik and Bolnička, and the main north–south roads are Vrapčanska, Gospodska, Dubravica and Zelena magistrala.^4,5 According to the 2020 leaflet, the city plan (GUP) provides for a road, foot and cycle bridge extending Kovinska ulica, a foot and cycle bridge from Priobalna to Rakitje, and the Medpotoki underpass beneath Aleja Bologne and the railway towards Stenjevec.⁴

The Zagreb – Ljubljana railway runs through the district and further east forms its border.² In the 2026 timetable, trains from the main station via Zapadni kolodvor and Kustošija towards Zaprešić stop at Vrapče, Gajnice and Podsused stajalište.¹⁵ There is no tram; public transport is by bus and train.⁵

Bus 119 runs from Črnomerec to Podsused most, 116 from Ljubljanica to Podsused most, and 121 from Črnomerec via Karažnik to Gajnice.^16,18,17 At its Podsused bus depot, ZET put a charging station for electric buses into service on 4 September 2026.³²

Office, health, police and libraries in Podsused – Vrapče

Being built in Podsused – Vrapče

• Tržnica Vrapče: the new market building went up between March and December 2024, and stall sales began on 22 February 2025. The project cost more than €3 million.²⁸ According to Večernji list in August 2026, the design proved impractical and stallholders gradually left. The City said extra works, contracted for €115,279 before VAT, began on 20 July 2026 and should be finished on 16 November 2026.²⁹
• Podsusedski most: in December 2025 the City put out a €3.6 million (before VAT) tender to overhaul Zagreb's westernmost bridge, more than 350 metres long. Ten months of work were planned, starting in spring 2026.^30,31 According to tportal, work had not begun by June 2026 because the second-placed bidder had appealed against the choice of contractor.³¹
• Electric-bus charging station in Podsused: a €21 million grant agreement from the National Recovery Plan was signed in September 2025.³³ ZET put the station into service on 4 September 2026; it has 67 double chargers, or 134 charging places.³²
• Dubravica – Karažnik: the final proposal of the city plan (GUP) amendments, from July 2025, provides for a new zone for school use there, in the Podsused cadastral area.³⁴

Did you know?

• 1Klinika za psihijatriju Vrapče has been open since November 1879. The hospital describes itself as Croatia's largest and oldest psychiatric institution; it was planned for about 300 patients and at one point had 1,500.²²
• 2An estimated 5.3 million cubic metres of marl, about 13 million tonnes, were dug for the cement works on the slope above Podsused.¹²

Renting in Podsused – Vrapče

Nearby districts

• ČrnomerecDistrict guide
• New Zagreb – WestDistrict guide
• StenjevecDistrict guide

• Compare districts: Podsused – Vrapče and Črnomerec
• Compare districts: Podsused – Vrapče and New Zagreb – West
• Compare districts: Podsused – Vrapče and Stenjevec
• All Zagreb neighbourhood guides

If you are still choosing a part of the city, read what living in Črnomerec is like or the New Zagreb – West district guide; for the whole city, browse apartments for rent in Zagreb.

Questions: living in Podsused – Vrapče