ŠpanskoFrom a village of market gardens to a neighbourhood of poets' streets

Špansko at a glance

• To the main square by ZET39 min
• To the centre as the crow flies6.3 km
• Residents (2021)^3,424,848
• Mostly built²1980s

Where Špansko is

Špansko is in the west of Zagreb, between Zagrebačka avenija to the south, Oranice to the east, Malešnica to the north and Jankomir to the west.¹ Officially it belongs to the city district of Stenjevec and is covered by two of its six local committees (mjesni odbori), Špansko – sjever and Špansko – jug, divided by Ulica Antuna Šoljana.^2,3,4 Neighbourhoods have no official boundaries, so this guide describes Špansko through those two committees.

Prečko begins south of the avenue. According to the local-history site Nepoznati Zagreb, both sides were once the same fields. When the motorway that is now Zagrebačka avenija was built in the late 1940s and early 1950s, everything north of it came to be known as Špansko and everything south of it as Prečko.¹⁸ The parish in Prečko was once called Novo Špansko, "New Špansko".¹¹

For and against: life in Špansko

What life is like in Špansko

Špansko is a neighbourhood of large blocks of flats. The Stenjevec district changed radically in the 1980s, when big housing estates went up quickly in Malešnica and Špansko.^2,1 The population had been growing before that: it rose tenfold in the 1960s, and by 1971 Špansko had 5,472 residents.² The detailed plan for the Kotarnica – Sjeverno Špansko estate was drawn up in 1976 by the architect Miroslav Kollenz.¹⁶

Most streets are named after Croatian poets and prose writers, from Juraj Baraković and Dobriša Cesarić to Drago Gervais, Gustav Krklec and Antun Šoljan, which is why the weekly Glas Koncila called Špansko "Zagreb's district of Croatian poets" in 2017.^1,15 In the newer part the names recall the Homeland War: the promenades of the 101st and 150th brigades and the Park of Croatian Volunteers of the Homeland War.¹

Traces of the village survive too. Three streets keep old family names: Maršanići, Martinci and Svilkovići.¹ The local-history site Nepoznati Zagreb places the old village core around the junction of today's Maršanići and Martinci streets.¹⁸ In 2017 Glas Koncila's reporters found winding lanes behind the big blocks, and a few family houses with gardens and tall trees.¹⁵

The newest part, Špansko – Oranice, stands on the site of a former army barracks and was built under the state-subsidised POS housing programme, starting in 2004.^17,14 Its five- and six-storey blocks are laid out on a regular grid, with a square, parks, a nursery, a school and underground garages, and a row of office buildings shields them from Zagrebačka avenija.¹⁷ The first residents moved in in 2005, and the estate has about 1,500 flats.¹⁷

The priest of Blessed Ivan Merz parish said in 2021 that young families had moved into the new estate in large numbers,¹⁴ and a member of the Our Lady of Sorrows parish council said in 2017 that most parishioners were newcomers and few were locals by birth.¹⁵ The Stenjevec district as a whole had the youngest population of any Zagreb district in 2011, with an average age of 38.³⁷

Špansko – sjever

The local committee north of Ulica Antuna Šoljana. It is based at Trg Ivana Kukuljevića 9 and had 11,124 residents at the 2021 census.³

Špansko – jug

The local committee south of Šoljanova. It is based at Ulica Josipa Strganca 4 and had 13,724 residents at the 2021 census.⁴

Špansko – Oranice

The youngest part, north of Zagrebačka avenija on the site of a former barracks; building began in 2004.¹⁷

Where the name Špansko comes from

No written explanation of the name survives, and even the local school says its origin is hard to pin down.^1,6 It is most often linked to the word špan (from the Hungarian ispán), an old term for the steward or overseer of an estate. The Croatian language portal lists Špansko among the place names derived from it.^1,5 On that theory, the land and the village belonged to the Zagreb bishop's špan.^1,6

A second, less likely theory says the Habsburgs brought Spanish soldiers here in the 16th century, and that their camps stood on this stretch of the Sava.^1,6 According to a 2015 history of the Our Lady of Sorrows parish, the area appears in records from the mid-13th century as Lonka, in 1346 as Lonka Superior and in 1598 as Lwka Špani, which in time became today's name.¹

A short history of Špansko

In the mid-19th century the area of today's Stenjevec district had just two villages: Stenjevec with 84 people and Špansko with 111.^2,15 Families who lived from market gardening settled in the southern part of the district and supplied western Zagreb with vegetables.^2,1 By 1931 Špansko had 384 people.²

After the Second World War the village had its own local people's committee, and in 1950 it was attached to Zagreb's Trešnjevka rajon.³⁶ From 1952 it belonged to the municipality of Vrapče, and from 1955 to the municipality of Susedgrad, which existed until the end of 1990.² The population grew fast from the 1960s, and the big blocks went up in the 1980s, along with a new school, a church and two libraries.^2,8,12,24,25

During the Homeland War Špansko had a settlement for displaced Croats, most of them from Vukovar; one Vukovar family lived there in workers' barracks for eleven years.^1,43 In the first term of 1991/92 between 150 and 300 displaced pupils attended OŠ Ante Kovačića, which then had 1,215 pupils in three shifts.⁸

In 1992 the Karting centar Zagreb was built on part of the former barracks.^19,18 Its concession ran out on 1 January 2015 and the land went back to the City; Jutarnji list reported at the time that a pool would be built there.²⁰ Špansko's pool opened in 2026,²⁹ and in the last few years the neighbourhood has also gained a roof over its market, a shopping centre and a new nursery.^27,35,9

1. 13th c.The area appears in records as Lonka.¹
2. 1857Špansko is a village of 111 people.²
3. 1950Špansko is attached to Zagreb's Trešnjevka rajon.³⁶
4. 1958The football club NK Špansko is founded.^22,44
5. 1965The school now called OŠ Tituša Brezovačkog opens with four classes.⁷
6. 1971Špansko has 5,472 residents, ten times as many as at the start of the decade.²
7. 1975The parish of Our Lady of Sorrows is founded; Mass is said in a family house bought and adapted for worship.^11,12
8. 1984The new building of OŠ Špansko – sjever, now OŠ Ante Kovačića, opens.⁸
9. 1989–1990The Špansko – sjever and Špansko – jug libraries open.^24,25
10. 1990The church of Our Lady of Sorrows is consecrated.¹²
11. 1992The Karting centar Zagreb is built on part of the former barracks.^19,18
12. 2005The first residents move into Špansko – Oranice.¹⁷
13. 2007OŠ Špansko Oranice opens.¹⁰
14. 2024Blessed Ivan Merz parish gets a building for worship after almost four years of open-air Mass.^13,14
15. 2026The pool on Ulica Drage Stipca and the nursery on Ulica Marije Radić open.^29,9,45

What to see in Špansko

• Trg Ivana Kukuljevića

  The main square, with the Špansko – sjever library and the community nursing service of Dom zdravlja Zagreb – Zapad.^46,47 It had no drainage and often flooded until the City rebuilt it in 2019, relaying more than 9,000 m² of paving and 4,500 m² of green space and adding two playgrounds.³⁰ The neighbourhood's first Advent fair was held here in December 2022.⁴²

• Church of Our Lady of Sorrows

  At Ulica Jurja Barakovića 20. Building began in 1981 to a design by the engineer Valdemar Balley, and the church was consecrated in 1990. It was declared a permanent memorial of the 1984 National Eucharistic Congress.^11,12

• Tržnica Špansko

  The market at Ulica Dobriše Cesarića 71, run by Tržnice Zagreb. A 1,320 m² roof over the selling area was finished in December 2020.^26,27

• Špansko pool

  At Ulica Drage Stipca 1, opened on 9 September 2026. It has a 34 × 25 m main pool, a 25 × 12.5 m teaching pool, a sauna, a gym and stands for 300.²⁹

• The Vrapčak footpath

  A footpath along the Vrapčak stream, on the northern edge of Špansko – Oranice.^17,18

• The POS skatepark

  On Ulica Miroslava Milića. It hosts the yearly Shpaolin SkejtFest; the third was on 26 September 2026.³⁹

• 101st Brigade fountain

  On Trg 101. brigade in Špansko – Oranice, unveiled on 16 September 2011, 20 years after the brigade first went into combat.⁴¹

• A collection on a school's walls

  OŠ Tituša Brezovačkog keeps a small ethnographic collection on its walls, gathered by pupils and teachers: clay bowls and pots, oil lamps, wooden wheels, iron locks and spinning wheels.⁶

Did you know?

• 1For years a G-2 Galeb military jet stood on the Špansko karting track. In February 2009 a private company took it away to restore it to flying condition.²¹
• 2More than 50,000 children went through the karting school in Špansko.^19,20
• 3From May 2020 to March 2024 the parish of Blessed Ivan Merz held Sunday Mass in the open air, on an empty plot beside Zagrebačka avenija, in all weather.^13,14
• 4In 1986/87 OŠ Ante Kovačića opened a computer room with seven Orao computers.⁸
• 5Branko Strupar, later a Belgium international, started his career at NK Špansko.^23,22

Everyday life in Špansko

Renting in Špansko

Nearby neighbourhoods

• MalešnicaNeighbourhood guide
• PrečkoNeighbourhood guide
• StenjevecNeighbourhood guide
• VrapčeNeighbourhood guide
• RudešNeighbourhood guide
• VrbaniNeighbourhood guide

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

Questions about life in Špansko