Folnegovićevo naseljeFrom prefab sheet-metal blocks to Go in the library

Folnegovićevo naselje at a glance

• To the main square by ZET28 min
• To the centre as the crow flies3.2 km
• Residents (2021)^4,54,023
• Dwellings (2011)⁹2,702

Where Folnegovićevo naselje is

Folnegovićevo naselje, popularly known as Folka, lies south of Slavonska avenija and east of Avenija Marina Držića.^1,2 It borders Trnjanska Savica to the west, Sigečica to the north, Savica – Šanci to the east and Borovje to the south.³ The mosque and Islamic Centre on Folka's eastern edge, towards Borovje, officially belong to the Savica – Šanci local committee.^6,2

Folka is at the far western end of the Peščenica – Žitnjak city district and is covered by two local committees (mjesni odbori): the larger Folnegovićevo naselje and the smaller "Janko Matko", in the north-west along Ulica Otona Župančića.^4,5,3,7 The smaller committee used to be called "Mile Budak", and the 2011 census lists it as "Oton Župančić".^3,9 According to a column by Miljenko Jergović, the "Mile Budak" name was dropped in 2010 and the committee has had its present name since 2017.⁸ Folnegovićevo naselje is not a separate statistical settlement; it is a local committee within the settlement of Zagreb.^9,4 Neighbourhoods have no official boundaries, so this guide describes Folka through those two committees.

For and against: life in Folnegovićevo naselje

What life is like in Folnegovićevo naselje

Blocks of flats dominate Folka, and the City's civil-protection plan uses that to set it apart from the nearby semi-urban areas, where houses dominate.⁴² There is a lot of open space between the blocks, laid out with playgrounds and football and basketball pitches.² The streets are named after writers and stage artists, among them Marija Jurić Zagorka, Oton Župančić, Milka Trnina and Branko Gavella.^2,6,7

The first buildings were prefabricated. Between 1955 and 1958 the building firm Jugomont put up a large number of two-storey blocks here with its first, light system, Jugomont-L, developed from a patent by Miroslav Helebrant.¹² By the end of 1960 its Ju-60 system had produced 627 flats in Remetinečki gaj and Folnegovićevo naselje together.¹² Bogdan Budimirov, Željko Solar and Dragutin Stilinović developed the Ju-60 and Ju-61 systems. The Ju-61 system produced the "limenke", blocks of five to eight storeys, first in Borongaj and then in Remetinečki gaj, Folnegovićevo naselje, Zapruđe and Utrina.¹² A six-storey slab with 60 flats on Ulica Otona Župančića was designed by Ivo Bartolić in 1959 and built in 1963.¹⁵

At the 2011 census the two committee areas had 4,835 residents and 2,702 dwellings between them; at the 2021 census they had 4,023 residents, about 17% fewer.^9,4,5 The actress Jelena Veljača, who grew up with her brother Ivan in a fourth-floor flat in Folka, has described it as a quiet neighbourhood with a lot of greenery.⁵⁰ The singer Anđa Marić also lived in Folnegovićevo naselje.^51,3

Dani Folke (Folka Days) is the neighbourhood's traditional festival; in 2016 the women's basketball club ŽKK Folka Borovje organised it.^1,37 In September 2025 the Kvartovi kulture programme came to Folka, with free shows on the Gavellina basketball court and in front of the library.⁴⁵ The local committee council held a Dan kulture na Folki (Folka Culture Day) on 23 May 2026, followed by film screenings for children and adults.^48,49 Folnegovićevo naselje belongs to the Catholic parish of the Holy Family, whose church is at Avenija Marina Držića 31 in Sigečica.^38,39

Folnegovićevo naselje

The larger local committee, 39.41 ha, based at Ulica Joze Laurenčića 8b. It had 2,873 residents at the 2021 census. Its streets include Sachsova, Laurenčićeva, Gavellina, Ulica Milke Trnine and Ulica Augusta Cilića.^4,6

"Janko Matko"

The smaller committee in the north-west of the neighbourhood, along Ulica Otona Župančića, 10.91 ha in area and based at Ulica Franje Horvata Kiša 12. It had 1,150 residents at the 2021 census.^5,7

Where the name Folnegovićevo naselje comes from

The estate is named after Fran Folnegović, a 19th-century Croatian politician and writer.^1,2 Folnegović was born in Slanovec near Zagreb on 17 February 1848 and died in Zagreb on 18 July 1903.^10,11 From 1875 to 1895 he was elected to the Croatian Sabor for the Party of Rights, and in 1895 his quarrel with Josip Frank over the party's leadership split it.^10,11 He also edited the magazine Vijenac (1882) and several papers.¹⁰

According to the Croatian Wikipedia, it isn't known why or on whose initiative the estate was named after him.³ Another name, Trstik, never caught on, although it appeared on official maps; some sources use it for the area around the mosque.^2,22 Ulica Frana Folnegovića isn't in Folka. It lies across Slavonska avenija, in the Sigečica committee area of the Trnje district.⁶

A short history of Folnegovićevo naselje

Building began in the second half of the 1950s, as a workers' estate, at a time when new estates were going up all over Zagreb to ease the housing shortage.^1,2 Between 1956 and 1962 the city planning institute drew up partial plans for several new areas, Folnegovićevo naselje among them.¹³ Most of the estate was up by the end of the 1960s. It kept growing southward until the mid-1980s, when the Savica arm of the Sava, which then reached as far as Most mladosti, stopped it.²

Work on the primary school, for children living south of Slavonska and Radnička cesta and east of Držićeva, began in 1962.¹⁶ In the Sava flood the water reached Držićeva on the evening of 26 October 1964 and flooded the estate, and it was decided to cut through Držićeva so the water could drain towards the Sava.¹⁹ The flood also slowed work on the school.¹⁶ The 1965/66 school year began in the building of OŠ Marin Držić because the new one wasn't finished, and the school was named after Miloje Pavlović.^16,17 The first stage, with 15 classrooms and three specialist rooms, was handed over on 1 February 1966, and with the sports hall of 1967/68 the school covered 4,200 m².¹⁶

In October 1973 the "Oton Župančić" children's centre was built at Sachsova 5; since 12 April 1985 it has been the Milana Sachsa nursery.³⁰ The detailed plan for Folnegovićevo naselje was drawn up in 1976 and came into force on 31 October 1978.²⁰

A 17,938 m² plot for the mosque was obtained in 1977, the foundation stone was laid on 11 September 1981 and building began on 14 December that year. Financing problems and a roof fire in 1984 held back the opening until 6 September 1987.^22,23 The old local community office became a library station in 1988, and on 8 November 1991 the Ivana Brlić Mažuranić library opened there.²⁷ The school was renamed OŠ Mile Budaka on 21 June 1991, OŠ Peščenica on 6 April 1994, and took its present name, OŠ Lovre pl. Matačića, on 29 April 1994.^16,17

1. 1955–1958Jugomont builds two-storey prefab blocks with its Jugomont-L system.¹²
2. 1959The Civil Engineering Institute of Croatia starts building its premises here.¹⁴
3. 1962Work on the primary school begins.¹⁶
4. 1963Ivo Bartolić's six-storey slab with 60 flats on Ulica Otona Župančića is built.¹⁵
5. 1964The Sava floods the estate; Držićeva is cut open to let the water drain.¹⁹
6. 1966On 1 February pupils get the first stage of the new school building.¹⁶
7. 1973The "Oton Župančić" children's centre, today the Milana Sachsa nursery, is built at Sachsova 5.³⁰
8. 1978The detailed plan for Folnegovićevo naselje comes into force.²⁰
9. 1979The tram crosses the Sava along Držićeva, over Most mladosti to Sopot.²¹
10. 1987The mosque on the estate's eastern edge opens.^22,23
11. 1991The Ivana Brlić Mažuranić library opens.²⁷
12. 1994The school takes the name OŠ Lovre pl. Matačića.^16,17
13. 2008The Jasmin nursery, a branch of the Milana Sachsa nursery, opens in the Islamic Centre.³¹
14. 2021A rebuilt playground opens between Dubravka Dujšina, Janka Rakuše and Milke Trnine streets.⁴⁴

What to see in Folnegovićevo naselje

• Mosque and Islamic Centre

  On Folka's eastern edge, towards Borovje, and officially in the Savica – Šanci committee area (Gavellina 40, Prilaz Safvet-bega Bašagića 1).^6,25,26 It was designed by the Sarajevo architects Džemal Čelić and Mirza Gološ. The minaret is 51 m high, and the complex of about 10,000 m² holds a prayer hall, a medresa, a library, social rooms, offices and flats.^24,25,26 According to the portal bnzh.hr, almost 70,000 people gathered at the peak of the opening ceremony, held from 3 to 6 September 1987.²² A memorial to Bosniak defenders of the Homeland War stands here too.⁵²

• OŠ Lovre pl. Matačića

  Zlatko Neumann designed the school building at Ulica Joze Laurenčića 1.^18,16 According to the school newspaper Lovorko, from 1978 pupils of grades 6 to 8 ran a savings bank called Pčelica in the dining room, and the school had a weather station whose readings were taken on Saturdays.¹⁷

• Ivana Brlić Mažuranić library

  At Laurenčićeva 8. It has 241.40 m² on two levels and 30 reading places, and it hosts the Folka Go tournament.^27,28,29

• SRC Folka

  Sports and recreation grounds on Ulica Augusta Cilića, with a basketball court, benches, a barbecue spot and a dog park.⁴³ In May 2026 the local committee council reported talks with the deputy mayor about a project for a Folka sports and recreation centre.⁴⁹

• Sachsova ulica

  The Croatian Geological Survey is at Sachsova 2, and the main building of the Milana Sachsa nursery at Sachsova 5.^41,6,30 According to AmCham Croatia, number 1 holds the seat and bottling plant of Coca-Cola HBC Hrvatska.⁴⁰

• IGH institute

  The Civil Engineering Institute of Croatia began building its premises here in 1959 and is still in Folnegovićevo naselje. It later added a large hall for static and dynamic testing of building elements.¹⁴

Did you know?

• 1Jugomont's Ju-61 blocks got the nickname "limenke" (tin cans) because the parapets on their façades were clad in sheet metal.¹²
• 2The primary school was called OŠ Peščenica for only 23 days, from 6 to 29 April 1994.^16,3
• 3On 26 September 2026 the Ivana Brlić Mažuranić library held the 87th Folka Go tournament, in memory of Mato Taušan, who had learned Go in that same library more than twenty years earlier. Entry was free, and beginners were taught the rules.²⁹

Everyday life in Folnegovićevo naselje

Renting in Folnegovićevo naselje

Nearby neighbourhoods

• SavicaNeighbourhood guide
• SigečicaNeighbourhood guide
• KanalNeighbourhood guide
• FerenščicaNeighbourhood guide
• ZapruđeNeighbourhood guide
• TrnjeNeighbourhood guide

• Compare districts: Peščenica – Žitnjak and Donja Dubrava
• Compare districts: Peščenica – Žitnjak and Lower Town
• Compare districts: Peščenica – Žitnjak and Maksimir
• All Zagreb neighbourhood guides

Questions about life in Folnegovićevo naselje