LučkoAn old village by the motorway, with a church from 1772 and parachutists in its gardens

Lučko at a glance

• To the main square by ZET59 min
• To the centre as the crow flies9.3 km
• Residents, MO (2021)²3,351
• Parish first recorded⁸1331

Where Lučko is

Lučko lies about 10 km south-west of central Zagreb, beside the Zagreb–Karlovac motorway, the Zagreb bypass and the old road to Karlovac.⁶ Officially it belongs to the city district of Novi Zagreb – zapad and is covered by the Lučko local committee (mjesni odbor), based at Unčanska ulica 2.^2,3 The committee area takes in the settlement of Lučko and parts of the settlements of Hrvatski Leskovac and Zagreb. In the north its boundary crosses the Sava dike, and it includes the Lučko motorway interchange.³ Neighbourhoods have no official boundaries, so this guide describes Lučko through that committee.

Lučko is also one of the City of Zagreb's 68 official settlements, with 2,987 residents at the 2021 census.⁴ In 1991 the settlement was made smaller when part of it was joined to the settlement of Zagreb, so older censuses can't be compared directly with recent ones.⁵ To the west it borders the Ježdovec local committee, home to the sport airfield named after Lučko.^3,6

For and against: life in Lučko

What life is like in Lučko

According to the City's explanation of the decision to draw up the Lučko – Starča urban plan, the settlement grew along the old Karlovačka cesta, which is lined with business zones and mixed residential and commercial buildings. The plan area allows detached and low-rise housing.⁷ At the 2011 census the settlement had 927 private households and 1,076 dwellings on 2.58 km².⁵⁰ The Croatian Encyclopaedia lists construction, metalworking and food among its industries.⁶

The main street, Puškarićeva, is named after Franjo Puškarić, the driving force in bringing the local young people together around football.^20,19 The school, the stadium and the KUD Sijač folk ensemble are all on it.^43,19,46 Lučko is also home to the headquarters of the Antiteroristička jedinica Lučko, a police counter-terrorism unit founded on 7 September 1990.^22,23

Lučko has waited more than two decades for a sewer network. In April 2023 the residents' initiative "Moje Lučko" announced a protest over the delay.^31,30 In May 2024 the City decided to pay for emptying collection tanks for homes without a connection, and in 2026 work began on the Lučko–Ježdovec network. The €12.8 million project provides for 31 km of sewers and 10 pumping stations for about 1,400 households, and by 30 July 2026 about 900 households had applied for a connection.³⁰

Where the name Lučko comes from

The name Lučko points to the place's old role as a luka, meaning a crossing over the Sava.^1,23 According to the district's history, the crossing was still in use in the 18th century, when Kaptol and Gradec disputed the right to collect its toll; the Sabor (the Croatian diet) gave that right to Kaptol.¹

The name Stupnik still clings to Lučko: the parish is called Stupnik – Lučko, the Loreto chapel stands in the cadastral municipality of Stupnik, and the first school opened in 1857 as the Niža pučka škola Stupnik.^8,11,17 According to the State Archives in Zagreb, in the 19th century Lučko, Blato, Botinec and Remetinec made up the tax municipality of Blato, within the administrative municipality of Stupnik.¹⁸

A short history of Lučko

The parish, now Stupnik – Lučko, first appears in written records in 1331, with a church of St George the Martyr.⁸ A stone pillar of the Virgin and Child was raised beside that church in 1701, and between 1745 and 1749 Mihael Majdačić, a Karlovac citizen born in Stupnik, and the parishioners built the chapel of Our Lady of Loreto around it.^10,9 Today's parish church of St John of Nepomuk was built from 1768 on the site of the old St George's and blessed on 30 August 1772.^8,10

In 1851 the parish priest Josip Sačić proposed a school for about 2,000 people in six villages, and teaching began in 1857. The first teacher, Đuro Oljevac, stayed for seven years. A new school building was finished in 1893 and gained a first floor in 1905.¹⁷ In 1916 the municipality of Stupnik, to which Lučko belonged, moved from the Samobor district to the Zagreb district.¹⁸ The school kept teaching through the Second World War, although German SS troops occupied its rooms for a time.¹⁷

The German air force began building the airfield in Ježdovec in 1943. On 1 April 1947 it opened to civilian traffic as Zagreb's airport, replacing the damaged field at Borongaj.^14,13,15,6 In its first year it handled 1,430 flights and about 11,000 passengers.^14,13 Passenger traffic moved to Pleso in 1962, and the airfield turned to sport flying and pilot training.^13,15

Around 1950 Lučko had its own people's committee, and in 1955 the whole of today's Novi Zagreb – zapad district joined the municipality of Remetinec, which by 1957 belonged to the city's inner area.¹ Work on the Sava–Odra relief canal, part of the flood defences built after the great flood of 1964, began near Lučko in 1969.²⁷ On 29 December 1972 the first 39.3 km of the Zagreb–Karlovac motorway opened together with the Lučko interchange, with the ceremony held at today's Lučko toll plaza.^24,25 During the Homeland War, on 6 October 1991, the Yugoslav air force attacked Lučko and the barracks of the Croatian National Guard's aviation group.²⁶ Until 1994 Lučko was one of the 15 local communities (mjesne zajednice) in the area of today's district.¹

The earthquakes of 22 March and 29 December 2020 cracked the walls and vaults of the parish church and the chapel.⁸ In 2024 the Ministry of Culture approved €86,739 for structural repairs to the chapel.¹² In March 2026 demolition began of an old building known as "Stari mlin" or "Paloma", part of whose north wall had collapsed in a storm in July 2023; the plot is planned as a green space with benches and trees.⁴⁷ On 9 May 2026 the book "Lučko – povijest i običaji" (Lučko: history and customs) was presented at Dom Sijač.⁴⁹

1. 1331The parish and the church of St George first appear in written records.⁸
2. 1745–1749The chapel of Our Lady of Loreto is built around a stone pillar from 1701.^10,9
3. 1772The parish church of St John of Nepomuk is blessed.⁸
4. 1857Teaching begins at the Niža pučka škola Stupnik.¹⁷
5. 1931The football club known since 1962 as NK Lučko is founded.^19,20,21
6. 1943The German air force begins building the airfield in neighbouring Ježdovec.^14,15,6
7. 1947Lučko airfield opens to civilian traffic on 1 April.^13,15
8. 1962Passenger traffic moves to Pleso.^13,15
9. 1969Work on the Sava–Odra relief canal begins near Lučko.²⁷
10. 1972The first stretch of the motorway to Karlovac opens, with the Lučko interchange.^24,25
11. 1990The Antiteroristička jedinica Lučko police unit is founded.²²
12. 2011/12NK Lučko plays one season in the top division, the 1. HNL.^19,20,23
13. 2021The health centre at Lučko 2a opens.³²
14. 2026Work begins on the Lučko–Ježdovec sewer network.³⁰

What to see in Lučko

• Church of St John of Nepomuk

  The parish church at Sijačevo šetalište 2, built from 1768 to 1772 on the site of the older church of St George. It is a protected cultural property (Z-713).^8,11

• Chapel of Our Lady of Loreto

  In the Lučko cemetery, beside the parish church. It was built in 1745–1749 around a 1701 stone pillar of the Virgin and Child, which was built into the high altar.^8,10,9 According to Glas Koncila, it gained its nave and façade bell tower in 1850, and on 8 December 2019 it was blessed again and returned to worship after 50 years.⁹ It is a protected cultural property (Z-699).¹¹

• Stadion Lučko

  At Ulica Franje Puškarića 122, home of NK Lučko. It was built in 2008 and 2009 and, according to the club, has 1,430 covered seats.^19,20

• The Lučko gymnastics hall

  The 1,200 m² hall at SRC Lučko opened on 28 March 2019 with a display by Tin Srbić, Petra Ribarić and Tina Zelčić. It is home to the Zagreb Gymnastics Association and its clubs.^37,38 It was privately owned and leased by the City from 2018, until the City bought it in March 2024 for €4.5 million.³⁸

• The "Avion nade" mural

  A work by the painter Igor Taritaš on the OŠ Lučko building, presented on 23 and 24 May 2026. It shows pupils drawing the building where schooling in Stupnik began in 1857, and a pupil throwing a paper plane as a sign of hope.^44,45

• KUD Sijač Lučko

  A folk-arts society at Puškarićeva 87, with folklore and music sections and a brass band "with a long tradition", in the words of the City's decision. It received the Medal of the City of Zagreb on 29 May 2013.⁴⁶

• The "Lučko Rivijera" lakes

  Five artificial lakes near Lučko, in former gravel pits in woodland by the western bypass, not far from Jankomir and Blato. The largest is nicknamed "Ontario". In 2021 Jutarnji list found anglers, campers and swimmers there, while the angling club that holds the concession warned that swimming is forbidden.⁴⁸

Did you know?

• 1In 2015 residents told Večernji list that parachutists from the airfield in Ježdovec regularly miss the landing meadow and come down in their gardens, and that they collect stray jumpers at least once a month. Their joke: "House for sale, parachutist included!"¹⁶
• 2An early team photo of the football club shows ten players. Asked about the eleventh, the club jokes that he took the picture.²⁰
• 3According to the club, Franjo Puškarić, after whom the main street is named, died fighting with the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War.²⁰
• 4According to a paper published in 2023 by the Institute of Art History, all twelve sculptures on the chapel's high altar were stolen late in the 20th century. Four bishops' statues turned up in a private Zagreb collection in 2003, and then their trail went cold again.¹⁰

Everyday life in Lučko

Renting in Lučko

Nearby neighbourhoods

• BlatoNeighbourhood guide
• PrečkoNeighbourhood guide
• BotinecNeighbourhood guide
• VrbaniNeighbourhood guide
• JarunNeighbourhood guide
• BrezovicaNeighbourhood guide

• Compare districts: New Zagreb – West and Brezovica
• Compare districts: New Zagreb – West and New Zagreb – East
• Compare districts: New Zagreb – West and Podsused – Vrapče
• All Zagreb neighbourhood guides

Questions about life in Lučko