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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
Domovinski Bridge over the Sava by Žitnjak, with tall paired pylons and fans of stay cables above a grassy bank.Domovinski Bridge over the Sava by Žitnjak, with tall paired pylons and fans of stay cables above a grassy bank.

Neighbourhood guide · Peščenica – Žitnjak

ŽitnjakA village of family houses and vegetable plots beside a big industrial zone

Checked 25 October 2026 · 10 min read

In 1892 the City Assembly decided that the city's drainage canal would flow into the Sava "by the village of Žitnjak"; today that canal is the northern boundary of the Žitnjak local committee area and ends at the wastewater treatment plant.1,3,17

Žitnjak at a glance

  • To the main square by ZET48 min
  • To the centre as the crow flies7.4 km
  • Residents (2021)22,478
  • Dwellings (2011)4978

Where Žitnjak is

Žitnjak is in the city district of Peščenica – Žitnjak. Neighbourhoods have no official boundaries, so this guide describes the Žitnjak local committee area (mjesni odbor), one of the district's 16, based at Žitnjak 61.2,3 It is bounded by the Glavni odvodni kanal (the main drainage canal) to the north, the boundary of Ivanja Reka to the east, the city boundary to the south, and Domovinski most, Radnička cesta and the railway to the west.3 Its streets are I.–IV. Struge, Žitnjak, Žitnjak Bogdani, Žitnjak Kovačići and Žitnjak Martinci, plus parts of Čulinečka, Radnička and Žitnjačka cesta.3

In a wider sense the City calls three quarters of the district Žitnjak, everything between Slavonska avenija and the Sava,5 and the industrial zone built after the Second World War is named after it too.10,7 Neighbouring Petruševec, Resnik, Kozari Bok, Kozari putevi, Savica – Šanci and Ferenščica are separate local committee areas.2,3

For and against: life in Žitnjak

What's going for it

  • Family houses with lawns, vegetable beds and greenhouses; according to the City, most long-time residents still grow vegetables.17,5
  • A new Dom zdravlja Zagreb – Istok clinic at Žitnjak 59, opened in 2021, with two family-medicine surgeries and community nursing.22,20
  • A branch of the Zrno nursery for 120 children, opened in September 2024; the City announced it as "a new nursery in Žitnjak".23
  • Atelijeri Žitnjak in the old school: exhibitions, film screenings and workshops for children and adults.16,17
  • Since 2018 the rebuilt Radnička cesta has run through to Domovinski most, the bridge over the Sava.29,30

What to expect

  • There's no library in the area: the district library is at Zapoljska ulica 1.27 A sports pitch and outdoor gym are so far only on the committee's wish list for 2027.33
  • Despite its name, OŠ Žitnjak isn't in the area: since 2000 it has been in a new building in neighbouring Petruševec.8,10
  • The central wastewater treatment plant, with digesters about 35 metres tall, is inside the area, and JANAF's Terminal Žitnjak has 35 tanks for oil products.31,17,32
  • The City plans a waste management centre (CGO) of about 16.91 ha. A 2025 environmental impact study puts it inside the treatment plant's grounds, within the Žitnjak local committee area, 378 m from the nearest homes; the City's 2020 district leaflet calls it the CGO in Resnik.31,5
  • In April 2026 the local committee council asked for a public water main in part of Žitnjak Kovačići, so if you rent a house, ask how it gets its water.33

What life is like in Žitnjak

A walk text written for Atelijeri Žitnjak in 2023 describes Žitnjak as a mix of town and village, "a village the city came to". Houses are still surrounded by lawns, copses, vegetable beds and family-farm greenhouses, and a few hundred metres from Radnička cesta the horizon looks like a Slavonian wheat field.17 According to the City, most long-time residents grow vegetables.5

There aren't many homes. At the 2011 census the area had 2,813 people on 6.62 km², in 846 households and 978 dwellings, 975 of them for permanent living.4 By the 2021 census the population had fallen to 2,478.2 The City writes that there was a lot of unauthorised building in the old villages, because Zagreb's largest industrial zone was put here while housing construction was banned.1 Almanah Žitnjak 2022 records old wooden houses with "sjenice", covered bays where carts loaded with grain were parked; according to the same source, old walnut and apple trees mark the old Žitnjak families.18

In 2012 the St Vitus parish wrote that many factories had closed, Chromos among them, while Labud, INA-OKI and INA maziva (lubricants) were still working.10 According to the 2023 walk text, newer plants have joined the old ones, among them the Pulfer brewery, a screw factory and a robotics company, along with a film Studio 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.17

Where the name Žitnjak comes from

The name is linked to grain (žito). The Zagrebački leksikon, as cited on English Wikipedia, says Žitnjak was named after the wheat fields that used to be there.7 ZGportal is more careful: no document explains the name, though people very probably sowed grain on the field. According to the same source, Žitnjak was first the name of a field near Petruševec.6

Žitnjak is also called "the belly of Zagreb" (trbuh grada Zagreba). The City uses the phrase, and a 2022 local-history text explains it by the farmers who made up most of the village and sent grain, fruit and vegetables into town.5,18

A short history of Žitnjak

The villages on Žitnjak are much older than the urban estates of Peščenica.1 Vinko Sabljar's 1866 gazetteer counts 10 houses and 177 people in Žitnjak.1 On 28 December 1892 the City Assembly decided to build a drainage canal running east from the state railway station and flowing into the Sava by the village of Žitnjak, and in 1900, under Mayor Adolf Mošinsky, it annexed Žitnjak to Zagreb.1,6

According to the State Archives in Zagreb, in 1910 the city government decided to build one public school for the villages of Žitnjak, Petruševec and Vukomerec.9 It opened on 1 October 1911; according to the school's own history, 35 children enrolled in the first year and the first teacher was Stjepan Canki.8,9 According to the City, in the late 1940s Žitnjak was a separate settlement within the inner city area, with its own local people's committee.1

After the war this part of the city became an industrial zone.10,7 The TPK steam-boiler factory moved to Žitnjak in 1948 with 213 workers,13 and Prvomajska moved into a new factory there in 1950; at its peak the company made up to 3,500 machine tools a year.12 From 1958 the paper mill moved its works to the industrial zone at Radnička cesta 173.14 According to Jutarnji list, the architect Zlatko Neumann designed its buildings, and in November 2022 diggers were finishing their demolition.15

In 1958 the school moved into a prefabricated building, in 1959 it was named after Đuro Đaković, and since 1991 it has been OŠ Žitnjak. In 2000 its new building opened in Petruševec, with 630 pupils in 25 classes.8,10 In 2003 the City gave the old school at Žitnjak 53 to artists as 13 Studio 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.16 Since 2001 Petruševec and Žitnjak have formed the parish of St Vitus, and in 2016 Žitnjak Bogdani moved to it from the Resnik parish.10,11

  1. 1866Sabljar's gazetteer counts 10 houses and 177 people in Žitnjak.1
  2. 1892The City Assembly decides to build a drainage canal flowing into the Sava by the village of Žitnjak.1,6
  3. 1900Žitnjak is annexed to Zagreb.1,6
  4. 1911The Žitnjak – Petruševec public school opens.8,9
  5. 1948The TPK boiler factory moves to Žitnjak with 213 workers.13
  6. 1950Prvomajska moves into a new factory on Žitnjak.12
  7. 1958The school moves into a prefabricated building, and the paper mill starts moving its works to Radnička cesta.8,14
  8. 2000OŠ Žitnjak moves to a new building in Petruševec.8,10
  9. 2003The old school at Žitnjak 53 becomes 13 artists' studios.16
  10. 2007Domovinski most opens.30
  11. 2009The Žitnjak local committee is set up.1,3
  12. 2018The last rebuilt section of Radnička cesta, towards Domovinski most, opens.29
  13. 2021A new clinic opens at Žitnjak 59.22
  14. 2024The Zrno nursery branch, "in Žitnjak" according to the City, and Poliklinika SUVAG's early-intervention centre at Žitnjak 59 open.23,21

What to see in Žitnjak

The central wastewater treatment plant at Žitnjak with a straight access road, low plant buildings and cone-shaped digesters on the right.The central wastewater treatment plant at Žitnjak with a straight access road, low plant buildings and cone-shaped digesters on the right.
The digesters of the central wastewater treatment plant.

  • Atelijeri Žitnjak and Galerija AŽ

    Artists work in 13 studios in the old school at Žitnjak 53. Their association was founded in 2004 and the gallery in 2005; the programme runs to exhibitions, performances, film screenings, workshops for children and adults, and international residencies.16,17

  • Glavni odvodni kanal

    The canal the City Assembly decided on in 1892 is now the area's northern boundary and ends at the wastewater treatment plant.1,3,17

  • Central wastewater treatment plant

    The plant is inside the Žitnjak local committee area, and its biogas digesters, about 35 metres tall, stand out over everything around them.31,17

  • JANAF Terminal Žitnjak

    An oil-products terminal; according to tportal in 2026, it has 35 tanks for products, three for additives and six for biofuel.32

  • Domovinski most

    The bridge over the Sava at the area's south-west corner, opened on 5 May 2007. It was built as part of the central wastewater treatment project, and Novi Zagreb's sewage crosses the Sava on it.3,30,29

Did you know?

  • On 10 September 2022 the artist Željko Beljan finished a hand-knotted macramé net for a football goal on the old school pitch behind Atelijeri Žitnjak, and left it there for people to play with.19
  • In 2008 the studios' member Zoran Pavelić gave them the subtitle "Centar periferije" (Centre of the Periphery). According to the 2023 walk text, Boris Greiner later added a plaque by the door: "Škola za neprofitabilne djelatnosti" (School for Unprofitable Activities).17,19
  • According to the State Archives' guide, early in 1912 a school garden for practical lessons was laid out beside the school.9

Everyday life in Žitnjak

Getting around

  • Bus 217 runs Kvaternikov trg – Struge – Petruševečko naselje; some journeys go only as far as Struge.24
  • Bus 107 runs Jankomir – Žitnjak and bus 222 Remetinec – Žitnjak; the 222 doesn't run on Sundays and holidays. Some journeys on both lines end at the Radnička stop.25,26
  • According to the 2023 walk text, buses 217 and 290, which start at Kvatrić, call at the Petruševec stop on Radnička cesta.17
  • Radnička cesta was rebuilt in stages from 2004; the last section, towards Domovinski most, opened on 31 October 2018.29

Schools and nurseries

  • Since 2000 OŠ Žitnjak has been in a new building in neighbouring Petruševec, which opened with 630 pupils in 25 classes.8,10
  • In September 2024 the City opened what its announcement calls "a new nursery in Žitnjak": a 1,700 m² branch of the Zrno nursery, with three infant and three pre-school groups for 120 children in all. The City spent €4.2 million on it.23
  • There's no library in the area. The district library, Knjižnica S. S. Kranjčevića, is at Zapoljska ulica 1 and opens 8:00–20:00 on weekdays and 8:00–14:00 on Saturdays.27

Parks and sport

  • A children's playground at Žitnjak 61, next to the local committee's seat. For 2027 the committee has proposed rebuilding it, a sports pitch and outdoor gym on Žitnjak Bogdani, and asphalting II. Struge.33
  • The Savica lakes, in the same city district, have been protected as a significant landscape of 79.54 ha since 27 July 1991.28

Health

  • Dom zdravlja Zagreb – Istok at Žitnjak 59: a new 400 m² clinic, opened on 7 May 2021 on the site of the demolished old one, with two family-medicine surgeries and community nursing.20,22
  • At the same address Poliklinika SUVAG has offered early intervention since 4 November 2024: speech-language and psychological assessment and therapy for children, and counselling for parents.21

Renting in Žitnjak

Nearby neighbourhoods

Questions about life in Žitnjak

Which city district is Žitnjak in?

Peščenica – Žitnjak. The Žitnjak local committee is based at Žitnjak 61, and in a wider sense the City calls three quarters of the district Žitnjak, everything between Slavonska avenija and the Sava.2,3,5

How many people live in Žitnjak?

At the 2021 census the local committee area had 2,478 residents, down from 2,813 in 2011.2,4

Is there a library or a playground in Žitnjak?

There's no library in the area; the district library is at Zapoljska ulica 1.27 There's a children's playground at Žitnjak 61, and the committee has proposed a sports pitch and outdoor gym for 2027.33

Where are the school and the nursery?

Since 2000 OŠ Žitnjak has been in a new building in neighbouring Petruševec.8,10 A branch of the Zrno nursery, for 120 children, opened in September 2024; the City announced it as "a new nursery in Žitnjak".23

How do I get to Žitnjak by public transport?

By bus: the 217 runs from Kvaternikov trg to Struge and Petruševečko naselje, the 107 from Jankomir, and the 222 from Remetinec, except on Sundays and holidays.24,25,26

Where does the name Žitnjak come from?

Most likely from grain (žito): the Zagrebački leksikon says it was named after the wheat fields that used to be there, while ZGportal notes that no document explains the name.7,6

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Sources

  1. Grad Zagreb, Gradska četvrt Peščenica – Žitnjak: Iz povijesti · checked 25 October 2026
  2. Grad Zagreb, 16. Mjesni odbor Žitnjak · checked 25 October 2026
  3. Službeni glasnik Grada Zagreba 7/2009 (osnivanje mjesnih odbora) · checked 25 October 2026
  4. Grad Zagreb, Popis 2011.: stanovnici, kućanstva i stanovi po mjesnim odborima · checked 25 October 2026
  5. Grad Zagreb, Statističke analize gradskih četvrti 2020.: Peščenica – Žitnjak · checked 25 October 2026
  6. ZGportal, Žitnjak · checked 25 October 2026
  7. Peščenica – Žitnjak, en.wikipedia (prema Zagrebačkom leksikonu) · checked 25 October 2026
  8. OŠ Žitnjak, O školi · checked 25 October 2026
  9. Državni arhiv u Zagrebu, fond HR-DAZG-211 Državna mješovita pučka škola Žitnjak · checked 25 October 2026
  10. Župa sv. Vida Petruševec, O župi (2012.) · checked 25 October 2026
  11. Zagrebačka nadbiskupija, župa Zagreb – Petruševec · checked 25 October 2026
  12. Hrvatska tehnička enciklopedija, Prvomajska · checked 25 October 2026
  13. Hrvatska tehnička enciklopedija, TPK – Kotlogradnja Zagreb · checked 25 October 2026
  14. Hrvatska tehnička enciklopedija, PAN – Tvornica papira Zagreb · checked 25 October 2026
  15. Jutarnji list, o rušenju Tvornice papira Žitnjak (2022.) · checked 25 October 2026
  16. Grad Zagreb, kultura.zagreb.hr: Atelijeri Žitnjak · checked 25 October 2026
  17. Atelijeri Žitnjak, „Žitnica umjetnosti na rubu grada” (2023.) · checked 25 October 2026
  18. Almanah Žitnjak 2022 (Atelijeri Žitnjak, 2023.) · checked 25 October 2026
  19. Culturenet, Željko Beljan: Tri kornera penal (2022.) · checked 25 October 2026
  20. Dom zdravlja Zagreb – Istok, Lokacije · checked 25 October 2026
  21. Grad Zagreb, Otvorena nova ambulanta Poliklinike SUVAG na Žitnjaku · checked 25 October 2026
  22. Večernji list, Otvorena nova ambulanta na Žitnjaku (2021.) · checked 25 October 2026
  23. Grad Zagreb, Otvoren novi dječji vrtić na Žitnjaku · checked 25 October 2026
  24. ZET, vozni red linije 217 · checked 25 October 2026
  25. ZET, vozni red linije 107 · checked 25 October 2026
  26. ZET, vozni red linije 222 · checked 25 October 2026
  27. Knjižnice grada Zagreba, Knjižnica S. S. Kranjčevića · checked 25 October 2026
  28. JU Priroda Grada Zagreba, Zaštićena područja · checked 25 October 2026
  29. Grad Zagreb, Radnička cesta puštena u promet (2018.) · checked 25 October 2026
  30. Ministarstvo mora, prometa i infrastrukture, otvorenje Domovinskog mosta (2007.) · checked 25 October 2026
  31. Studija o utjecaju na okoliš za CGO Zagreb, ne-tehnički sažetak (2025.) · checked 25 October 2026
  32. tportal, Austrijska ministrica posjetila JANAF (2026.) · checked 25 October 2026
  33. Vijeće MO Žitnjak, zapisnik 11. sjednice (28. 4. 2026.) · checked 25 October 2026
  34. 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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