Veliko PoljeA Zagreb settlement of family houses on the Velika Gorica boundary

Veliko Polje at a glance

• To the main square by ZET48 min
• To the centre as the crow flies8.9 km
• Residents (2021)²²2,122
• Growth since 2011²²+27.2%

Where Veliko Polje is

Veliko Polje is on Zagreb's southern edge, on the city boundary with Velika Gorica; the boundary with Zagreb County runs along its eastern side.^1,2 It is about 9 km in a straight line from central Zagreb and about 4.5 km from Velika Gorica.^1,8 In daily life it forms one place with Velika Mlaka, even though the city and county boundary runs between them.^1,8

Officially it belongs to the city district of Novi Zagreb – istok and has its own local committee (mjesni odbor), Veliko Polje, which covers the settlement of Veliko Polje and a small part of the settlement of Odra.^2,1 Here the neighbourhood's name is also an official place name. Veliko Polje is a settlement (naselje) of the City of Zagreb in its own right, and the City's district profile calls Buzin and Veliko Polje self-contained suburban settlements.^4,3,5

For and against: life in Veliko Polje

What life is like in Veliko Polje

The 2019 urban plan describes Veliko Polje as a settlement of mostly detached family houses, with a strip of blocks of flats and residential-commercial buildings along parts of Maslenička and Velikopoljska streets. The ground in the plan area is completely flat, at about 110 metres above sea level.¹ The City's 2011 district profile groups Veliko Polje with Jakuševec, Hrelić and Buzin as the less densely populated part of Novi Zagreb – istok.³

The residential and commercial estate called "Veliko polje" was built between March 2007 and December 2008 for the investor Invest Zadar d.o.o.¹² According to a decision of the State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement, it has 19 buildings with 131 flats and 15 commercial units in five blocks, two to three storeys high plus an attic.¹² In 2024 residents told HRT of 20 buildings and about 130 flats around a central green.¹⁴ It was designed by the architects Mario Pehnec, Alida Janković Tomas and Sabina Petković of the Zagreb firm Idea StudioStudio flat (garsonijera)A flat where living, sleeping and cooking share one room, with a separate bathroom. Often spelled garsonjera.Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 2., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary, who said in 2009 that they had followed the sociologist Rudi Supek's book Grad po mjeri čovjeka ("A city on a human scale").¹³

At the 2021 census the settlement had 2,122 residents in 661 households and 766 dwellings, on 1.24 km².^4,22 Since 2011, when it had 1,668 residents, it has grown by 27.2%.²² According to a study published in 2024 in the journal Društvena istraživanja, Veliko Polje was among the most demographically vital settlements in Croatia in 2021.⁸ In 2017 tportal described the residents as mostly young families, with quite a few returnees from Germany.¹⁶

Where the name Veliko Polje comes from

The sources don't explain where the name Veliko Polje comes from. As a separate statistical settlement it has existed since 1991, when it was formed from uninhabited parts of the settlements of Buzin, Hrašće Turopoljsko, Hrelići and Jakuševec.⁵ According to an article by Nikolina Antonić, the area of the former cadastral municipality of Hrašće Turopoljsko of 1861 now takes in Hrašće and Veliko Polje.⁶

A short history of Veliko Polje

According to the urban plan, the villages of Buzin, Odra and Velika Mlaka have stood in this area for centuries.¹ Veliko Polje is new. In the early 1980s building began on an entirely new settlement, planned as a new residential part of Velika Mlaka, with the public facilities planned in the old village.^7,1,8 According to a report by the Galerija Galženica, a detailed urban plan for the settlement was adopted in 1981.⁹

Work on the Jakuševec – Velika Gorica jug motorway section, which runs past the settlement, began in 2006 but stalled because not all the land had been bought.¹⁰ The 10.9 km toll-free section, with a Veliko Polje junction, opened in November 2015.^10,11 In the meantime the "Veliko polje" residential and commercial estate went up, and on 25 October 2012 the City Assembly named the new streets.^12,15

In May 2017 the list "Volim Veliko Polje" ("I love Veliko Polje") won more than 41% of the vote in the local committee election; tportal described it as the end of 26 years of HDZ control.¹⁶ In November 2017 Mayor Milan Bandić opened a playground, which the City called the first in the settlement, and ZET started bus route 241.^17,18

Meetings between the local committee and the City in 2018 set out the need for a school, a nursery, sports grounds, a market and a square, and a new urban plan grew out of them.¹ On 17 December 2018 the City Assembly decided to draw up the plan, and on 11 December 2019 it adopted the urban development plan (UPU) Veliko Polje, covering about 11 hectares.^1,21 The plan provides for a school, a nursery, a sports area, a park, a square and market stalls; none of it has been built yet.^21,1,28,29

1. 1861The area of today's Veliko Polje is part of the cadastral municipality of Hrašće Turopoljsko.⁶
2. Early 1980sBuilding begins on an entirely new settlement.^7,1
3. 1981A detailed urban plan for the settlement of Veliko Polje is adopted.⁹
4. 1991The statistical settlement of Veliko Polje is formed from uninhabited parts of Buzin, Hrašće Turopoljsko, Hrelići and Jakuševec.⁵
5. 2006Work begins on the Jakuševec – Velika Gorica jug motorway.¹⁰
6. 2007–2008A residential and commercial estate with 131 flats is built.¹²
7. 2012The City Assembly names the new streets after places on the Adriatic and in Dalmatia.¹⁵
8. 2015In November the motorway section with the Veliko Polje junction opens.^10,11
9. 2017The "Volim Veliko Polje" list wins the local committee election; bus 241 starts running.^16,17,18
10. 2019The City Assembly adopts the UPU Veliko Polje, with a school, a nursery and a square.^21,1
11. 2021The census counts 2,122 residents, 27.2% more than in 2011.²²
12. 2024Almost 600 residents sign against building on the estate's central green.¹⁴
13. 2026The new nursery is at the design and permit stage; parents ask the City for a timetable for the school and nursery.^28,29

What to see in Veliko Polje

• The estate's central park

  The buildings of the 2008 estate surround a central green with a small utility building.¹⁴ In 2009 Vjesnik described it as a park with a playground and a pavilion for the local community.¹³ In February 2024 residents collected almost 600 signatures against building on it, and Deputy Mayor Luka Korlaet said the City would consider buying the plot.¹⁴

• The Betinska Street playground

  In 2024 the City budgeted and spent €31,005 on improving the playground on Betinska ulica.³²

• The Buzin archaeological site

  A site from late antiquity and the middle ages, right next to the south-west edge of the urban plan area. The 2019 plan lists it as under preventive protection, as P-2995.¹

• Chapel of St Barbara

  In neighbouring Velika Mlaka, outside Veliko Polje. It was built in 1642 of oak beams and is painted all over inside; the Zagreb Archdiocese calls it the "Turopoljska ljepotica", the beauty of Turopolje.³³

• Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

  The new church of the Velika Mlaka parish, to which Veliko Polje's streets belong. Building began on 12 September 2016, the first Mass was said at Christmas 2017, and the church is still being finished.^33,34

Did you know?

• 1Veliko Polje's water doesn't come from Zagreb's water company, ViO. A 2023 government regulation puts the settlement in service area 12, run by VG Vodoopskrba d.o.o. of Velika Gorica.^23,4
• 2The new streets are named after places on the Adriatic and in Dalmatia: Maslenica, Tkon, Tribunj, Betina, Novalja, Sabunike, Bibinje, Uskoplje in Konavle and Gradac in the municipality of Ružić.^15,2
• 3According to tportal, it started when a 16-year-old asked why the settlement had no playground and his father answered "Pitaj Bandića!" ("Ask Bandić!", the then mayor). The neighbours' initiative that grew out of it won the 2017 local committee election.¹⁶

Everyday life in Veliko Polje

Renting in Veliko Polje

Nearby neighbourhoods

• JakuševecNeighbourhood guide
• DugaveNeighbourhood guide
• SloboštinaNeighbourhood guide
• TravnoNeighbourhood guide
• UtrineNeighbourhood guide
• SopotNeighbourhood guide

• Compare districts: New Zagreb – East and New Zagreb – West
• Compare districts: New Zagreb – East and Peščenica – Žitnjak
• Compare districts: New Zagreb – East and Trnje
• All Zagreb neighbourhood guides

Questions about life in Veliko Polje