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Contents: 1/13 · At a glance
  1. At a glance
  2. Where it is
  3. For and against
  4. What it's like
  5. The name
  6. History
  7. What to see
  8. Did you know?
  9. Everyday life
  10. Renting
  11. Nearby
  12. Questions
  13. Sources
The parish church of Sts Simon and Jude Thaddeus in Markuševec with a tall bell tower, onion cap and clock behind a stone wall with a cross under a timber shelter.The parish church of Sts Simon and Jude Thaddeus in Markuševec with a tall bell tower, onion cap and clock behind a stone wall with a cross under a timber shelter.

Neighbourhood guide · Podsljeme

MarkuševecOld hamlets on the slopes of Medvednica, and a church from 1476

Checked 25 October 2026 · 14 min read

In 2026 the parish of Markuševec celebrated its 950th anniversary, though its own 1976 jubilee booklet says the year 1076 came from a misreading of 1476, the date carved in the keystone of the sanctuary vault.16,9

Markuševec at a glance

  • To the main square by ZET45 min
  • To the centre as the crow flies7.5 km
  • Residents, MO (2021)26,236
  • Area, MO22,695.86 ha

Where Markuševec is

Markuševec is on the lower slopes of Medvednica, east of Gračani and west of Vidovec, with Šestine beyond Gračani.6 Officially it belongs to the Podsljeme city district and is covered by Mjesni odbor Markuševec, one of the district's five local committees (mjesni odbori); the others are Gračani, Mlinovi, Šestine and Vidovec.2,3 Neighbourhoods have no official boundaries, so this guide describes Markuševec through that committee.

According to the 2009 decision on local committees, the committee area reaches the City of Zagreb boundary on Medvednica to the north, borders Gračani to the west, follows the Sitje and Trnava streams towards Vidovec to the east, and meets the Gornja Dubrava and Maksimir districts to the south.4 The same decision says the committee covers part of the settlement of Zagreb, so Markuševec is no longer a settlement of its own; its name survives officially in the cadastral municipality of Markuševec.4

For and against: life in Markuševec

What's going for it

  • Bus 233 runs to the Mihaljevac tram terminus through the night too, with night departures timed to meet night tram 33.33
  • Bus 205 runs towards Dubrava; on weekdays the first leaves Dubrava at 4:05, then roughly every 25 to 30 minutes.32
  • A primary school on Markuševečka cesta 160, and the City's Markuševec nursery, based in Štefanovec.18,29,5
  • The Dom zdravlja Zagreb – Istok health centre has two locations, on Trg sv. Šimuna 7 and in Markuševečka Trnava.30
  • Marked hiking trails start in Markuševec, including the one to Hunjka, 7.3 km and about two and a half hours on foot.35

What to expect

  • There's no permanent library. The Zagreb City Libraries' mobile library stops in Markuševec every other Tuesday from 17:00 to 19:15.31
  • Some streets still have no public sewer. In July 2026, according to the minutes of its meeting, the local council pressed the City over the sewer project for Krsišće, still not carried out, and asked about a sewer and asphalt for the end of Gradečak lijevi.49
  • The main school still teaches in two shifts, and the branch school in Bačun had no classes in the 2025/26 school year.20,28
  • According to a 2025 study by the Institute for Social Research (IDIZ), most homeowners rebuilt on their own after the 2020 earthquake, relying only partly on help from the City and the state.45

What life is like in Markuševec

A view over Markuševec: family houses on the slopes, a church tower among them and forested Medvednica ridges behind.A view over Markuševec: family houses on the slopes, a church tower among them and forested Medvednica ridges behind.
Markuševec on the lower slopes of Medvednica: mostly family houses.

Across the Podsljeme district only the lower slopes of Medvednica are settled, with forest above.5 Markuševec is a string of old hamlets: the parish lists Bačun, Gornji and Donji Markuševec, Štefanovec, Deščevec, Markuševečka Dubrava, Markuševečka Trnava, Bidrovec and Markuševečki Popovec as its old villages, and Miroševečina and Medveščina as newer settlements.8,9 The committee area covers 45.3% of Podsljeme and is the largest of the district's five committees by both area and population.5,2

In its 2019 analysis of the district, the City wrote that Podsljeme was once strongly rural and that many new buildings have gone up there in recent decades, often without urban order.5 One resident told HRT in 2020 that people in Markuševec had built their own houses 30 to 40 years earlier.44 According to the City's table from the 2011 census, the committee area had 6,302 residents, 2,080 households and 2,594 dwellings, 2,492 of them for permanent living. It had 234 people per km², against 322 across Podsljeme and 1,232 in the city as a whole.5 At the 2021 census it had 6,236 residents.2

Many of the committee area's official street names are hamlet names, such as Sitari, Skuzini, Lukačini, Jordanići, Ročići, Pisuljaki, Kobasići, Vumelje and Bačunski krč. The main streets include Markuševečka cesta, Štefanovec, Bidrovečka cesta, Ulica Vida Ročića and Trg svetog Šimuna.4 In a 2018 study the local council described the square as Markuševec's only open public space and its main meeting point, where five busy roads cross.27

The parish's 1976 booklet counted about 7,000 people, "mostly workers and craftsmen of every kind", and only a few recent newcomers, drawn by the closeness of Zagreb.9 According to a paper by Domagoj Novosel, in the 1960s Markuševec was still of no interest to newcomers, unlike Gračani and Remete nearer the city. Markuševec men were carpenters and masons, and the women sold produce from their gardens in Zagreb, mostly on Trg bana Jelačića, the main square, later at Dolac, and some at Kvaternikov trg.24

Markuševečka Trnava
Home to the chapel of St Vitus.7 The Gorsko zrcalo rock face rises above the hamlet, and traditional pilgrim routes over the mountain to Marija Bistrica start here too.38,26
Sitari
A hamlet whose villagers built their own Sacred Heart chapel in 1906.11,13
Bačun
Home to the building of a branch of OŠ Markuševec, which had no classes in the 2025/26 school year.19,28 In 2006 the Markuševec nursery took over the building here at Markuševečka cesta 38.29
Bidrovec
Bus 205 is named Dubrava – Markuševec – Bidrovec.32 Since 2021 a mobile recycling yard has stood on Bidrovečka cesta by house no. 68; the City's 2024 catalogue gives its hours as Monday to Saturday, 6:30 to 20:00.47
Štefanovec
Seat of the Markuševec nursery (Štefanovec 172). Before 1965 the primary school was here for a time too.5,18
Markuševečki Popovec
The chapel of the Holy Cross was restored in August 2022.7

Where the name Markuševec comes from

For centuries the place was known only as Sveti Šimun (St Simon), after its parish, and the name Markuševec has been in use since the 16th century.1,9,12 Its origin is known only from local tradition, which says that in the 16th century a magnate called Markuscz came here and brought servants and serfs, who were called Markusczevi, and the place name slowly changed.1,9,8

In his edition of the 1334 list of parishes, Josip Buturac notes that the parish was once called Bidraš, and today Markuševec or Sveti Šimun.15 According to the 2021 catalogue of the International Folklore Festival, locals are still known as Šimunčice and Šimunčani, after the parish of St Simon.41

A short history of Markuševec

According to the Archdiocese of Zagreb, in 1221 King Andrew II gave the Zagreb Chapter lands west of the bishop's estate at Čučerje.7 The village is first mentioned as Villa Sancti Simonis in 1328, and in 1334 the church of Sts Simon and Jude "under the hills" appears in a list of parishes.12,9,15 The historian Krunoslav Draganović dates the start of church life here to 1076, though the parish itself notes that some authors deny it.8 The present late-Gothic church was built in 1476 onto parts of an older Romanesque building.14,9

According to Glas Koncila, a defensive wall went up around the church in the 16th century because of the Ottoman threat.12 The bell tower was built in 1702 and raised in 1760, and in 1743–1745 the church was remodelled in the Baroque style.9,10,14 Today's cemetery was founded in 1826.17 According to the State Archives in Zagreb, a one-class school opened in September 1859.21 From 1868 until his death in 1900 the parish priest was Ivan Nepomuk Jagić, a politician and agricultural writer, and brother of the linguist Vatroslav Jagić.22,23 The earthquake of 9 November 1880 badly damaged the church, and in 1883 it was repaired to a design by Hermann Bollé, gaining a north aisle and a new neo-Gothic sacristy on the south side.10,14,12

Between the world wars Markuševec was a separate municipality.24,42 In 1923 the teacher Andrija Širola and local villagers founded the Prigorec singing society.18,39 After 1945 Markuševec had a local people's committee, it was joined to Zagreb in the early 1950s, and in 1952 a peripheral municipality of Markuševec was formed, which went to the Maksimir municipality three years later.1,24,26 From 1948 to 1964 the main public transport was a narrow-gauge line from Dubrava.24,25 According to Novosel, running water could not reach Markuševec before 1962, when residents dug the trenches for the pipes themselves. The streets were asphalted only in the 1970s.24

According to the culture ministry's conservation yearbook and HRT, the magnitude 5.5 earthquake that struck Zagreb at 6:24 on 22 March 2020 had its epicentre at Markuševec.14,44 It badly damaged the parish church, the parish house and the chapels, and Mass moved to a prefabricated building near the church.7,10 Repairs uncovered late-Gothic paintings on the sanctuary vault, restored in 2023; the ministry calls them the third significant find of late-Gothic wall paintings in Zagreb. In autumn 2021 investigations also found a forgotten, filled-in crypt under the south aisle.14,10 The structural repair of the church was finished in 2024.10 On 7 June 2026 Archbishop Dražen Kutleša led the Mass for the parish's 950th anniversary.16

  1. 1328The village is first mentioned as Villa Sancti Simonis.12,9
  2. 1334The church of Sts Simon and Jude appears in a list of parishes.15,9
  3. 1476The late-Gothic church is built onto parts of a Romanesque one.14,9
  4. 1743–1745The church is remodelled in the Baroque style, with a vault and larger windows.10,14
  5. 1826Today's cemetery is founded.17
  6. 1859According to the State Archives, a one-class primary school opens.21
  7. 1868Ivan Nepomuk Jagić becomes parish priest and stays until his death in 1900.22
  8. 1883The church, damaged in the 1880 earthquake, is repaired to a design by Hermann Bollé.10,14
  9. 1923Andrija Širola and local villagers found the Prigorec singing society.18,39
  10. 1948–1964A narrow-gauge line from Dubrava is the main public transport for Markuševec and Vidovec.24,25
  11. 1965The primary school moves to Markuševečka cesta 160.18
  12. 2009The Markuševec local committee is set up, one of five in Podsljeme.1,4
  13. 2020The 22 March earthquake has its epicentre at Markuševec; the church and chapels are badly damaged.14,44,7
  14. 2026The hall on Trg svetog Šimuna is rebuilt, and the parish marks its 950th anniversary.46,16

What to see in Markuševec

The chapel of Our Lady of the Angels in Markuševec with a Baroque gable, the parish church tower behind and a stone retaining wall beside the road.The chapel of Our Lady of the Angels in Markuševec with a Baroque gable, the parish church tower behind and a stone retaining wall beside the road.
The chapel of Our Lady of the Angels, built in masonry in the early 1750s where a wooden chapel for pilgrims to Remete stood.

  • Church of Sts Simon and Jude Thaddeus

    At Markuševečka cesta 203, on a slight rise above the main road, surrounded by a park. The complex, protected as cultural property since 2003, is the church, the chapel of Our Lady of the Angels, the parish house and an outbuilding, and part of the stone churchyard wall dates from 1754.14,10,7 According to the parish, the bell tower is more than 33 m tall and ends in an onion dome.10,9 Inside are a pulpit of 1755 from the Branjug workshop, a gilded tabernacle of 1709 and an organ built in 1884 by Mijo Heferer.14,10,12 Tradition says the heavy wooden door of the Gothic entrance came from Medvedgrad.14,9

  • Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels

    By the road below the church. According to the 1976 booklet, a wooden chapel for pilgrims on their way to Remete is mentioned here in 1736, and the present masonry chapel dates from the early 1750s, with a wrought-iron grille of 1754 and wall paintings of 1778.9

  • Sacred Heart chapel in Sitari

    Villagers finished it on 8 July 1906, and it was blessed on 22 September 1907. The stone statue of the Sacred Heart with two angels was bought for 56 crowns from Antun Scholc's workshop in Zagreb, and the teacher Andrija Širola gave a hundred bricks.11,13

  • Trg svetog Šimuna and Hrvatski dom

    The local council sits in Hrvatski dom at no. 5.2 In February 2026 the City finished rebuilding the hall on the square into a multipurpose space with movable seating, for residents' meetings, children's shows and folk-ensemble rehearsals.46

  • Markuševec cemetery

    Locals call it Groblje kod Skuzina. According to Gradska groblja, it covers about 1.8 ha with about 2,500 grave plots and serves Bidrovec, Deščevec, Gornji Markuševec, Markuševečka Dubrava, Markuševečka Trnava, Popovec and Štefanovec, among others.17 The parish priest Ivan Nepomuk Jagić is buried here.23

  • Gorsko zrcalo

    A sheer rock face above Markuševečka Trnava, 20 to 30 metres high, used for climbing practice. It's about a 45-minute walk from the bus 205 stop by the chapel in Gornja Trnava. Nearby is the Milan shelter, named after the alpinist Milan Matovina, who died in 1978.38,37

Did you know?

  • The 16th meridian passes between Gračani and Markuševec.6
  • According to the Ethnographic Museum's report, objects from Markuševec were among the first the museum bought, as early as 1920.43
  • From the first International Folklore Festival in 1966, Prigorec carried the festival's and the City of Zagreb's flag at the head of the opening parade.40,41
  • In 1908 a Catholic magazine described the walk from Zagreb, along Vlaška and past Maksimir, to the church of St Simon as "two good hours".11
  • The 1976 booklet calls a late-Gothic Virgin and Child the parish's greatest treasure. It is known as Marija Vinska (Mary of the Vine) because she holds a bunch of grapes, and art historians dated it to about 1470–1480.9

Everyday life in Markuševec

Getting around

  • Bus 205 Dubrava – Markuševec – Bidrovec (timetable from 13 September 2026). On weekdays the first bus leaves Dubrava at 4:05, then roughly every 25 to 30 minutes.32
  • Bus 233 Mihaljevac – Markuševec runs to the Mihaljevac tram terminus all night; its night departures meet night tram 33.33
  • By car, according to ZGportal (2015), Markuševec is reached from three directions: via Gračani from Mihaljevac, via Granešina and Markuševečka Trnava, or from the Dubrava tram terminus past the Dubrava hospital.50

Schools and nurseries

  • OŠ Markuševec (Markuševečka cesta 160) has a branch school in Vidovec. The 2026/27 school year began on 7 September with a morning shift at 8:00 and an afternoon shift at 13:15.18,19,20
  • The Bačun branch school had no classes in 2025/26, and the 2025 changes to the city's master plan (GUP) switch its site from school use to general public and social use.28,48
  • The City's Markuševec nursery was founded on 13 July 2006 for eight groups, taking over the Bačun and Bidrovec buildings from the Bukovac nursery.29 Its central building is at Štefanovec 172, and it also uses a branch at Brežovanka 2A.5,49
  • The Zagreb City Libraries' mobile library stops in Markuševec every other Tuesday from 17:00 to 19:15 (autumn 2026 timetable).31

Parks and sport

  • About 90% of the Podsljeme district lies inside Medvednica Nature Park, and the streams running down its slopes include the Vidovec, Bidrovec, Trnava, Deščevec, Mrzljak, Štefanovec and Klinovec.5 The park's plan lists the meadows above Markuševec among its open meadows.26
  • HPD Sveti Šimun maintains the trails Markuševec – Hunjka (7.3 km, about 2:30 h), Markuševec – above Donji Mrzljak (4.8 km) and Markuševec – Jordanići (1.8 km). The Croatian Mountaineering Association named it the best mountain-hut manager in 2011.35,36
  • The Nature Park's "Šimunska ruta" cycle route starts in the centre of Markuševec, where you can park, and climbs past the cemetery to the Markuševec gravel road. Strava data show it is one of the gravel tracks cyclists use most on Medvednica.37
  • NK Prigorje Markuševec, founded in 1975, plays at Markuševečka cesta 160. Its 2019 profile gives about 230 players, and it won the 2. ZNL league in 2009/10 and 2015/16.34
  • HKUD Prigorec has about 150 members in a mixed choir and folklore, tambura and sewing sections. It marked its centenary on 14 January 2024 with a concert at Lisinski with more than 200 performers.39,40
  • The local council supports Šimunski cajti, a village festival held in early summer 2026, and Markuševec has a volunteer fire brigade, DVD Markuševec.49

Health

  • Dom zdravlja Zagreb – Istok has locations on Trg sv. Šimuna 7 and in Markuševečka Trnava, on Ulica Vida Ročića.30

Renting in Markuševec

Nearby neighbourhoods

Questions about life in Markuševec

Which city district is Markuševec in?

Podsljeme. The neighbourhood is covered by one local committee, Markuševec, which takes in part of the settlement of Zagreb.2,3,4

How do you get from Markuševec into town?

Take bus 205 to Dubrava or bus 233 to the Mihaljevac tram terminus. Line 233 also runs at night, timed to meet night tram 33.32,33

Is there a school and a nursery in Markuševec?

Yes. OŠ Markuševec is at Markuševečka cesta 160 and teaches in two shifts, and the City's Markuševec nursery is based in Štefanovec.18,20,29,5

Was Markuševec hit by the 2020 earthquake?

According to the culture ministry's yearbook and HRT, the epicentre of the 22 March 2020 earthquake was at Markuševec. The parish church, the parish house and the chapels were badly damaged, and according to IDIZ most homeowners rebuilt on their own.14,44,7,45

Is there a library in Markuševec?

Not a permanent one. The Zagreb City Libraries' mobile library stops every other Tuesday from 17:00 to 19:15.31

Where does the name Markuševec come from?

The place was called Sveti Šimun, and the name Markuševec has been in use since the 16th century. Local tradition traces it to a magnate called Markuscz, whose people were known as Markusczevi.1,9,12

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Sources

  1. Grad Zagreb, Gradska četvrt Podsljeme: Iz povijesti · checked 25 October 2026
  2. Grad Zagreb, 2. Mjesni odbor Markuševec · checked 25 October 2026
  3. Grad Zagreb, Gradska četvrt Podsljeme: Mjesni odbori · checked 25 October 2026
  4. Službeni glasnik Grada Zagreba 7/2009, Odluka o osnivanju mjesnih odbora · checked 25 October 2026
  5. Grad Zagreb, 15 Podsljeme: prostorna i statistička analiza (2019.) · checked 25 October 2026
  6. Markuševec, hr.wikipedia · checked 25 October 2026
  7. Zagrebačka nadbiskupija, župa sv. Šimuna i Jude Tadeja, Markuševec · checked 25 October 2026
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  9. Župa Markuševec, spomenica za 900. obljetnicu (1976.) · checked 25 October 2026
  10. Župa Markuševec, Uz blagdan posvete crkve i završetak konstruktivne obnove (2024.) · checked 25 October 2026
  11. Župa Markuševec, Od propela do Kapelice Srca Isusova (Sitari, 2007.) · checked 25 October 2026
  12. Glas Koncila, Župna crkva sv. Šimuna i Jude Tadeja u Markuševcu (2017.) · checked 25 October 2026
  13. Glas Koncila, Selo Sitari i štovanje Srca Isusova (2017.) · checked 25 October 2026
  14. Ministarstvo kulture i medija, Godišnjak zaštite spomenika kulture Hrvatske 48 (2024.) · checked 25 October 2026
  15. Josip Buturac, Popis župa Zagrebačke biskupije 1334. i 1501. godine · checked 25 October 2026
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  21. Državni arhiv u Zagrebu, fond HR-DAZG-185 Državna mješovita pučka škola Markuševac · checked 25 October 2026
  22. Hrvatski biografski leksikon, Jagić, Ivan Nepomuk · checked 25 October 2026
  23. Biočić i Antolović, Ivan Nepomuk Jagić, Crkva u svijetu 59/1 (2024.) · checked 25 October 2026
  24. Domagoj Novosel, Urbanizacija sjeverne periferije Zagreba 1960. – 1970. (2021.) · checked 25 October 2026
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  27. Društvo arhitekata Zagreba, Zagreb za mene (2018.) · checked 25 October 2026
  28. Program javnih potreba u osnovnoškolskom obrazovanju Grada Zagreba za 2026. · checked 25 October 2026
  29. Službeni glasnik Grada Zagreba 12/2006, Odluka o osnivanju Dječjeg vrtića Markuševec · checked 25 October 2026
  30. Dom zdravlja Zagreb – Istok, Lokacije · checked 25 October 2026
  31. Knjižnice grada Zagreba, raspored bibliobusnih stajališta 2026. · checked 25 October 2026
  32. ZET, vozni red linije 205 · checked 25 October 2026
  33. ZET, vozni red linije 233 · checked 25 October 2026
  34. Zagrebački nogometni savez, NK Prigorje Markuševec (2019.) · checked 25 October 2026
  35. Hrvatski planinarski savez, Plan uređenja planinarskih putova 2024. i 2025. · checked 25 October 2026
  36. Hrvatski planinarski savez, priznanja: HPD Sveti Šimun · checked 25 October 2026
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  38. Medvednica.com, Gornja Trnava – Mađarev brijeg – Hunjka · checked 25 October 2026
  39. Zagrebačka folklorna zajednica, HKUD Prigorec Markuševec · checked 25 October 2026
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  41. Međunarodna smotra folklora, katalog 55. smotre (2021.) · checked 25 October 2026
  42. Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku, HKUD Prigorec Markuševec 1923.–2023. · checked 25 October 2026
  43. Etnografski muzej Zagreb, Izvješće o radu 2023. · checked 25 October 2026
  44. HRT Vijesti, Život u Markuševcu nakon potresa (2020.) · checked 25 October 2026
  45. IDIZ, Obnova od potresa u Markuševcu i Čučerju (2025.) · checked 25 October 2026
  46. Grad Zagreb, Dovršena obnova dvorane u Markuševcu (2026.) · checked 25 October 2026
  47. Grad Zagreb, Reciklažna dvorišta: katalog lokacija (2024.) · checked 25 October 2026
  48. Grad Zagreb, Izmjene i dopune GUP-a 2025., obrazloženje · checked 25 October 2026
  49. Vijeće MO Markuševec, zapisnik 14. sjednice (6. 7. 2026.) · checked 25 October 2026
  50. ZGportal, Markuševec (2015.) · checked 25 October 2026
  51. Grad Zagreb, Izvješće o tržištu nekretnina za 2025. godinu (pogl. 5)

We wrote this from the sources above, checked on the date shown; every figure in the text links to its source. Rent figures are computed live from the listings.

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