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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 low awnings of Trešnjevka market beside trees, a few shoppers and tram tracks in the foreground.The low awnings of Trešnjevka market beside trees, a few shoppers and tram tracks in the foreground.

Neighbourhood guide · Trešnjevka – North

TrešnjevkaFrom workers' cottages and Trg U to the Trešnjevka Beauty

Checked 25 October 2026 · 12 min read

Zagreb's town plan of the late 1880s gave its squares letters, and today's Trešnjevački trg was Trg U, a funnel-shaped widening of Tratinska cesta.13,8

Trešnjevka at a glance

  • To the main square by ZET19 min
  • To the centre as the crow flies2.3 km
  • Residents, MO Stara Trešnjevka (2021)46,499
  • Market open since15,171930
Trams nearby

Where Trešnjevka is

Two city districts carry the Trešnjevka name today: Trešnjevka – sjever (north) and Trešnjevka – jug (south).51 This guide covers Stara Trešnjevka, the old core around Trešnjevački trg, Ozaljska and Tratinska, which belongs to Trešnjevka – sjever.16,19,52 That district is bounded by the railway to Ljubljana to the north, Savska cesta to the east, Zagrebačka avenija to the south and Zagrebačka cesta to the west, and since February 2009 it has been divided into ten local committees (mjesni odbori).2,5,3

The only local committee named after the neighbourhood is Stara Trešnjevka, with its seat at Park Stara Trešnjevka 1.4 Its official map shows Trešnjevački trg and Park Zvonimira Milčeca, and names the Nikola Tesla and Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević committees as neighbours.52 The neighbourhood itself has no official boundary. According to the local-history site Mapiranje Trešnjevke, Stara Trešnjevka runs east of Selska cesta, south and west of the railway and north of Zagrebačka avenija, so it is larger than the committee of the same name.19 Neighbouring Remiza, between the Črnomerec stream, Ozaljska and Selska, took its name from ZET's tram depot, according to the same site.21

For and against: life in Trešnjevka

What's going for it

  • Trams 3, 9 and 12 and buses 113, 114, 115 and 116 leave from the Ljubljanica terminus; the tram line along Tratinska and Ozaljska dates from 1935.1,35,37
  • The market on Trešnjevački trg, opened in 1930, trades from 6.30am to 4pm on weekdays.15,17,13
  • The neighbourhood has three primary schools and IX. gimnazija. In 2020 the district had ten secondary schools; only Donji grad and Gornji grad – Medveščak had more.26,25,27,28,6
  • Dom zdravlja Zagreb – Zapad has practices at Park Stara Trešnjevka 3 and Nova cesta 85a, and the Tin Ujević library is at Ulica grada Vukovara 14.34,33
  • Park Stara Trešnjevka has a children's playground and a dog park, and the Trešnjevka Cultural Centre is at Park Stara Trešnjevka 1.44,30

What to expect

  • Tram 3 doesn't run on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays.36
  • Flats in the district are smaller than the Zagreb average: in 2011 the average permanently occupied flat there was 59.2 m², against 69.04 m² for the city.5,6
  • The district is densely populated: in 2011 it had 95.4 residents per hectare, and only Donji grad was denser.6,50
  • Across Trešnjevka – sjever, old single-storey houses are giving way ever faster to larger buildings.5,50 According to the building-trade site Bauštela, a building with 162 flats is going up at Ozaljska 95, next to the Trešnjevka Beauty tower, due for completion at the end of 2027.42

What life is like in Trešnjevka

Trešnjevačka ljepotica: a tall slim residential tower with a dense grid of windows between two plain concrete walls and a glazed top storey.Trešnjevačka ljepotica: a tall slim residential tower with a dense grid of windows between two plain concrete walls and a glazed top storey.
Trešnjevačka ljepotica at Ozaljska 93, a tower from 1967–1969.

Stara Trešnjevka is the old core of the wider Trešnjevka, and the local-history site Mapiranje Trešnjevke calls it its heart.16,19 Trešnjevka began filling up faster in the 1920s, when workers who couldn't afford flats in the centre moved in and built mostly shacks and plank huts.16,15 Between the two world wars it was a large workers' quarter.24,15

The Trešnjevka – sjever district is flat and almost fully built up. Until recently it was dominated by interwar single-storey houses, most of them built without a plan, and these are now giving way ever faster to larger buildings.5,6,50 In 2011 the average household in the district had 2.30 people, against 2.57 for the city.5,6

Planned estates went up among the unplanned houses. In 1930 the City built the Istrana i invalida estate west of Selska, 16 buildings with 92 flats, now a protected cultural property.12,9 From 1935 the savings bank Prva hrvatska štedionica built an estate between Ozaljska, Selska, the Samobor railway and Nova cesta to a plan by Zdenko Strižić, with parallel rows of houses, small front gardens and larger ones behind.12,20

Strižić put the service rooms on the street side and the living rooms facing the garden, and ended the quiet lanes in turning loops to keep through traffic out. The estate was never finished: by 1993 two thirds had been built.12 According to Mapiranje Trešnjevke, it was built for the middle class, and in the 1940s and 1950s people called it Mali London, "Little London".20,24

The same site records other nicknames: three 1967–68 towers on Susedgradska were Mali New York, and the whole of Trešnjevka was Mala Moskva, "Little Moscow".24

At the 2011 census the Stara Trešnjevka committee area had 6,803 residents with an average age of 41.1; at the 2021 census it had 6,499.7,4

Where the name Trešnjevka comes from

The name comes from cherries: črešnja is the Kajkavian word for trešnja, cherry. According to the district history on the City's website, Trešnjevka is named after a piece of land called Črešnjevke, north of Berek, where Remiza stands today.1 The market operator Tržnice Zagreb and the City's 2020 competition brief give a second version: 17th-century records mention a place called Pod Črešnjom, "under the cherry tree", and the name grew from that.13,8

Kristian Strukić, a curator at the Zagreb City Museum, told Globus that the name Črešnjevka is already written on a map of Zagreb and its surroundings from 1853–54, and that Trešnjevka appears on maps of 1902 and 1923 for a narrower part of the area.15 A Mr Jagrić told reporters that after the 1923 flood an official commission named the area after the Jagrić family's fine cherry tree. Strukić counts this local story as legend, since the name is on older maps.15

A short history of Trešnjevka

The August Šenoa primary school on Selska cesta: modernist flat roofs, a half-round glazed stair tower and broad steps up to a covered passage.The August Šenoa primary school on Selska cesta: modernist flat roofs, a half-round glazed stair tower and broad steps up to a covered passage.
The August Šenoa primary school at Selska cesta 95, by Ivan Zemljak, 1930–1931.

According to Mapiranje Trešnjevke, in the mid-19th century this was fields, meadows and orchards.19 Change began in 1862 with the Zidani Most – Zagreb – Sisak railway.1,19 The city waterworks on Zagorska ulica were built in 1878, and the town plan of the late 1880s laid out today's Trešnjevka.1,13,8 In 1901 the Samoborček, the narrow-gauge Zagreb – Samobor railway, began running from a station on today's Adžijina ulica.17,23 In 1907 a power station went up on the waterworks grounds; since 1963 it has been a heating plant, which still heats western Zagreb.1,17

The 1923 flood hit most of southern Trešnjevka, and the same year saw the first land parcelling, after which building sped up.17,51 In 1927–28 the City put up ten buildings with 100 temporary flats on Selska cesta.12 The market opened on 23 April 1930, and in 1932 the weekly Glas Trešnjevke was launched, because the city's papers ignored the outskirts.15,17 The tram reached Tratinska and Ozaljska in 1935,1,15 and the parish of St Joseph was founded in 1937.29 According to the City's 2020 competition brief, the whole of Trešnjevka had about 40,000 people in the 1930s.8

From 1953 Trešnjevka was a municipality, and it worked as Općina Trešnjevka again from 1974 until Zagreb's municipalities were abolished on 31 December 1990.1,47 The NAMA department store opened on the square in the early 1960s.17,8 On the night of 25 to 26 October 1964 the Sava flood covered a large part of Trešnjevka; across the city 17 people died and about 40,000 lost their homes.18,15 In 1978 the Trešnjevka community centre, today's Trešnjevka Cultural Centre, was finished, and in 1979 the Samoborček stopped running.17,30,23

In socialist Yugoslavia the square was called Trg oktobarske revolucije (October Revolution Square); in 1990 it was officially named Trešnjevački trg, the name people had used unofficially for years.8,24 From November 2017 to February 2018 the Zagreb City Museum devoted an exhibition, "Trešnjevka – prostor i ljudi" (space and people), to both Trešnjevka districts.48,16 The northern part of the market square was renovated in 2024 for more than €160,000, and in October 2026 the rebuilt Ulica grada Vukovara reopened between Trešnjevački trg and Ulica Florijana Andrašeca.14,43

  1. Late 1880sThe town plan lays out today's Trešnjevka; the square appears as Trg U.13,8
  2. 1901The Zagreb – Samobor railway opens, with its station on Adžijina ulica.17,23
  3. 1923A flood hits southern Trešnjevka; the first land parcelling follows the same year.17,51
  4. 1926HŠK Panonija is founded; three years later it is renamed Trešnjevka.38
  5. 1930The market opens on 23 April.15
  6. 1932OŠ Augusta Šenoe on Selska cesta opens on 28 June.25
  7. 1935The tram runs along Tratinska and Ozaljska; building starts on the Prva hrvatska štedionica estate.1,12
  8. 1937Archbishop Antun Bauer founds the parish of St Joseph.29
  9. 1953Trešnjevka becomes a municipality.1,47
  10. 1964On the night of 25 to 26 October the Sava flood covers a large part of Trešnjevka.18
  11. 1979The Samoborček stops running.17,23
  12. 1990Trg oktobarske revolucije is officially renamed Trešnjevački trg.8
  13. 2024The northern part of the market square is renovated and the fountain works again.14

What to see in Trešnjevka

St Joseph's church on Trakošćanska street: a simple hall with smooth pink walls, an entrance under a canopy and a tall slim bell tower with a cross.St Joseph's church on Trakošćanska street: a simple hall with smooth pink walls, an entrance under a canopy and a tall slim bell tower with a cross.
St Joseph's church: the hall from 1937, the bell tower from 1997.

  • Trešnjevački plac

    The market at Trešnjevački trg 2, run by Tržnice Zagreb.13 It began in 1930 on a 40 × 20 m plot by a bridge beside the Kuniščak stream, which now runs beneath the square.15,22 The 2024 renovation of its northern part brought new paving and roses in the beds, and the fountain works again.14

  • St Joseph's Church

    At Trakošćanska 47. Coadjutor Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac blessed the foundation stone in 1936 before more than 10,000 people. The hall meant as a temporary church, designed by Marijan Haberle, was finished in 1937; the bell tower followed only in 1997.29,8

  • The Prva hrvatska štedionica estate

    Between Ozaljska, Selska, the former Samobor railway and Nova cesta.12 Part of the estate is a protected cultural property (Z-1542); besides Zdenko Strižić, the register lists Drago Galić and Stjepan Planić among its authors.10

  • The OŠ Augusta Šenoe building

    At Selska cesta 95. It was built in 1930–31 to a design by Ivan Zemljak and is a protected cultural property (Z-1059).11

  • Trešnjevačka ljepotica

    A residential and office tower at Ozaljska 93, built in 1967–69 to a design by Slavko Jelinek with Miroslav Pašagić. GP Industrogradnja was both investor and builder, and the tower went up with sliding formwork, an industrial technique adapted here to housing.40,41

  • The old Samobor railway station

    On Adžijina ulica. According to Mapiranje Trešnjevke, passengers used it from 1901 to 1962, when a new building closer to the tram opened. It later became an inn, and in 2022 it was a café with a garden under chestnut trees. In front are a children's playground and a memorial to fallen anti-fascists.23

Did you know?

  • When OŠ Augusta Šenoe opened in 1932, a swimming pool stood in front of what is now its sports hall.25
  • A red sphere, the "cherry" and Trešnjevka's emblem, sits on one of the roofs of the Trešnja theatre at Mošćenička 1, and a ceramic mosaic of cherry-tree crowns covers the façade.32,31
  • According to Mapiranje Trešnjevke, after the Nikola Tesla factory's big 1966 contract with the Soviet post, Nova cesta became Lenjingradska and Krapinska became Moskovska. The only Soviet name left is Šetalište Jurija Gagarina, once Gagarinov put.24,8
  • According to Mapiranje Trešnjevke, the Jelenovac stream runs underground beneath Trakošćanska and joins the Kuniščak at Trešnjevački trg. The Kuniščak was piped in the 1950s into a 4.0 × 2.2 m channel about three metres down, and runs beneath Krapinska and Šetalište Jurija Gagarina.22,8

Everyday life in Trešnjevka

Getting around

  • Trams 3 Ljubljanica – Savišće, 9 Ljubljanica – Borongaj and 12 Ljubljanica – Dubrava. Line 3 runs on working days only.35,36
  • Buses 113 (Jarun), 114 (Prečko), 115 (Špansko – Jankomir) and 116 (Podsused Most) leave from the Ljubljanica terminal.37 According to Glas Trešnjevke, the 114 descends from the 1959 line 59, which ran past the Samobor station and along today's Ozaljska towards the motorway and Špansko.46

Schools and nurseries

  • OŠ kralja Tomislava (Nova cesta 92) has taught since 1928, in a building from 1927–29.26,8
  • OŠ Augusta Šenoe (Selska cesta 95) has also had a branch school, PŠ Pongračevo at Ulica Višnje Stahuljak 2, since October 2021, with about 240 pupils in grades 1 to 4.25
  • OŠ Julija Klovića (Nova cesta 133) was founded in 1962 as OŠ Kate Dumbović and took its current name in 1991.27
  • IX. gimnazija and Druga ekonomska škola share the building at Dobojska 12; the gimnazija has been there since 1962.28,5
  • The Tin Ujević library (Ulica grada Vukovara 14) is named after the poet, whose last address, from 1946, was Selska cesta 116c.33

Parks and sport

  • According to Jutarnji list, Park Stara Trešnjevka became a public park after the last small houses were cleared from the meadow between Ozaljska and Zagrebačka avenija in the 1970s; until Croatian independence it was called Park Veljka Vlahovića.45 It has a children's playground and a dog park, and in November 2024 parents protested about the lack of lighting.44
  • Park Zvonka Špišića is beside Kostelska ulica.49
  • NK Trešnjevka plays at Veprinačka 16, and the Kutija šibica ("matchbox") sports hall is on the same street.38,39

Markets and shops

  • Trešnjevački plac, Trešnjevački trg 2: stalls open from 6.30am to 4pm on weekdays, shorter hours at weekends.13
  • According to the City's 2020 competition brief, the former NAMA department store on the square houses a supermarket.8

Health

  • Dom zdravlja Zagreb – Zapad has practices at Park Stara Trešnjevka 3 and at Nova cesta 85a, and a community nursing office on Nova cesta.34,5

Renting in Trešnjevka

Nearby neighbourhoods

Questions about life in Trešnjevka

Which city district is Trešnjevka in?

Stara Trešnjevka, around Trešnjevački trg, is in the Trešnjevka – sjever district; the neighbouring Trešnjevka – jug district shares the name. The local committee named after the neighbourhood is Stara Trešnjevka, one of ten in the district.19,51,3,4

Which trams go to Trešnjevka?

Trams have run along Tratinska and Ozaljska since 1935. Lines 3, 9 and 12 end at the Ljubljanica terminus, and line 3 runs on working days only.1,35,36

Which primary schools are in Trešnjevka?

OŠ kralja Tomislava and OŠ Julija Klovića on Nova cesta, and OŠ Augusta Šenoe on Selska cesta, with its branch school at Pongračevo.26,27,25

When is Trešnjevački plac open?

The stalls at Trešnjevački trg 2 open from 6.30am to 4pm on weekdays, with shorter hours at weekends. The market has traded there since 1930.13,15,17

How many people live in Trešnjevka?

At the 2021 census the Stara Trešnjevka committee area had 6,499 residents, and the whole Trešnjevka – sjever district 52,974.4,2

Where does the name Trešnjevka come from?

From cherries. According to the City, from a piece of land called Črešnjevke; according to Tržnice Zagreb, from a place called Pod Črešnjom, mentioned in the 17th century.1,13

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Sources

  1. Grad Zagreb, Gradska četvrt Trešnjevka – sjever: Iz povijesti · checked 25 October 2026
  2. Grad Zagreb, Gradska četvrt Trešnjevka – sjever · checked 25 October 2026
  3. Grad Zagreb, Mjesni odbori četvrti Trešnjevka – sjever · checked 25 October 2026
  4. Grad Zagreb, 10. Mjesni odbor Stara Trešnjevka · checked 25 October 2026
  5. Grad Zagreb, analiza gradske četvrti Trešnjevka – sjever (2019.) · checked 25 October 2026
  6. Grad Zagreb, Statističke analize gradskih četvrti 2020.: Trešnjevka – sjever · checked 25 October 2026
  7. Grad Zagreb, Prostorna analiza: prostor središta Trešnjevke (2019.) · checked 25 October 2026
  8. Grad Zagreb, Program javnog natječaja: prostor središta Trešnjevke (2020.) · checked 25 October 2026
  9. Registar kulturnih dobara RH, Z-1550, Mali stanovi za invalide i izbjeglice iz Istre · checked 25 October 2026
  10. Registar kulturnih dobara RH, Z-1542, Dio naselja Prva hrvatska štedionica · checked 25 October 2026
  11. Registar kulturnih dobara RH, Z-1059, Zgrada OŠ „August Šenoa” · checked 25 October 2026
  12. Darja Radović Mahečić, „Socijalno stanovanje međuratnog Zagreba”, Radovi IPU 17/2 (1993.) · checked 25 October 2026
  13. Tržnice Zagreb, Tržnica Trešnjevka · checked 25 October 2026
  14. Tržnice Zagreb, obnova sjevernog dijela tržnog trga (2024.) · checked 25 October 2026
  15. Globus, „Kako je nekad izgledala Trešnjevka” (2017., razgovor s Kristianom Strukićem) · checked 25 October 2026
  16. Vijenac 623, „Trešnjevačka balada u Muzeju grada” (2018.) · checked 25 October 2026
  17. Muzej susjedstva Trešnjevka, Kronologija · checked 25 October 2026
  18. Muzej susjedstva Trešnjevka, Ostrovička ulica nakon poplave · checked 25 October 2026
  19. Mapiranje Trešnjevke, Stara Trešnjevka · checked 25 October 2026
  20. Mapiranje Trešnjevke, Naselje Prve hrvatske štedionice (2013.) · checked 25 October 2026
  21. Mapiranje Trešnjevke, Remiza (Vurovčica) · checked 25 October 2026
  22. Mapiranje Trešnjevke, Potoci Trešnjevke (2013.) · checked 25 October 2026
  23. Mapiranje Trešnjevke, Samoborski kolodvor, stari (2013.) · checked 25 October 2026
  24. Mapiranje Trešnjevke, Mali Pariz, Mali London, Mali New York, Mala Moskva (2025.) · checked 25 October 2026
  25. OŠ Augusta Šenoe, Povijest škole · checked 25 October 2026
  26. OŠ kralja Tomislava, Povijest · checked 25 October 2026
  27. OŠ Julija Klovića · checked 25 October 2026
  28. IX. gimnazija, O školi · checked 25 October 2026
  29. Župa sv. Josipa, O župi · checked 25 October 2026
  30. Centar za kulturu Trešnjevka, O nama · checked 25 October 2026
  31. Gradsko kazalište Trešnja, Povijest · checked 25 October 2026
  32. Open House Zagreb, Kazalište Trešnja · checked 25 October 2026
  33. Knjižnice grada Zagreba, 65 godina Knjižnice Tina Ujevića · checked 25 October 2026
  34. Dom zdravlja Zagreb – Zapad, Lokacije · checked 25 October 2026
  35. ZET, dnevne tramvajske linije · checked 25 October 2026
  36. ZET, vozni red tramvajske linije 3 · checked 25 October 2026
  37. ZET, terminal Ljubljanica · checked 25 October 2026
  38. Zagrebački nogometni savez, NK Trešnjevka · checked 25 October 2026
  39. Kutija šibica, Povijest glavnog turnira · checked 25 October 2026
  40. Arhitektura Zagreba, Ozaljska 93 · checked 25 October 2026
  41. Slobodne veze, „Trešnjevačka ljepotica” (2017.) · checked 25 October 2026
  42. Bauštela, gradilište na Ozaljskoj 95 (2026.) · checked 25 October 2026
  43. Jutarnji list, otvoren rekonstruirani dio Vukovarske (6. 10. 2026.) · checked 25 October 2026
  44. Index.hr, prosvjed zbog rasvjete u Parku Stara Trešnjevka (2024.) · checked 25 October 2026
  45. Jutarnji list, zagrebački parkovi 2024. (Park Stara Trešnjevka) · checked 25 October 2026
  46. Glas Trešnjevke 52–53, „Trešnjevačke autobusne linije od početaka do osamostaljenja Hrvatske” · checked 25 October 2026
  47. Državni arhiv u Zagrebu, HR-DAZG-909 Narodni odbor općine Trešnjevka · checked 25 October 2026
  48. Muzej grada Zagreba, izložba „Trešnjevka – prostor i ljudi” · checked 25 October 2026
  49. CeKaTe, Dan šansone u Parku Zvonka Špišića (2024.) · checked 25 October 2026
  50. Grad Zagreb, Potresni rizik: pilot projekt Trešnjevka – sjever · checked 25 October 2026
  51. Trešnjevka, hr.wikipedia · checked 25 October 2026
  52. Grad Zagreb, karta mjesnog odbora Stara Trešnjevka (PDF) · checked 25 October 2026
  53. Grad Zagreb, Izvješće o tržištu nekretnina za 2025. godinu (pogl. 5)

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