CHARM OF TUROPOLJE AND VUKOMERICKE GORICE Southeast of Zagreb, on the hills of Vukomericke gorice and the Turopolje lowlands from the River Sava to the northeast and the Kupa to the southwest covering up the area of 566 square kilometres, stretches the region of Velika Gorica. The population of about 70.000 inhabitants resides in the town of Velika Gorica, municipality of Pokupsko, Orle and Kravarsko. The economy of the region is based on wood processing industry, food industry, construction, leather processing and graphic industries and last but not least land cultivation.

Many cultural and historic monuments whose traces can be found as far back as prehistoric times characterize this region. Unique feature of Turopolje are wooden chapels and aristocratic kurijas (traditional wooden country houses) often referred to as Turopolje beauties. Vicinity of Vukomericke gorice, and the rivers Lomnica, Sava and Odra add to the versatility of the Turopolje region. The area is rich in oak, one of the main natural resources. Oak is the reason why these famous wooden sacral and temporal buildings were built. Not far from Velika Gorica you can see the old ‘Turkish’ common oak, which is a protected monument of nature.

VELIKA GORICA is only 16 km away from Zagreb, it is in a way retained as broader Zagreb area. In the immediate vicinity of the village of Pleso is the Zagreb airport. The main road and railway line connecting Zagreb and Sisak pass through Velika Gorica. Some 33.000 inhabitants live there. Not far from the town is an intersection of major highways, which all gives Velika Gorica an extremely good position.

Valuable archaeological sites have been located in Velika Gorica and its environs. These date back to prehistoric times (burial grounds), ancient times (graves from the period of early Roman emperors) and early Middle Ages (different artefacts, china that was used in Carolinian cultural circle).

ANDAUTONIA - ROMAN HERITAGE Šcitarjevo, a settlement 8 km northwest of Velika Gorica, is the home of many valuable and important archaeological sites. This is where Andautonia, the seat of an Illyrian tribe and a Roman municipality, used to be. The town was built in the shape of an irregular hexagon. Archaeologists found the remains of Roman buildings, thermal complex, roads, wall paintings, plastering featuring herbal decorations. They also found tools, tableware, glassware, jewellery, money from the period between the 1st and 4th centuries. Altar dedicated to the god of the River Sava was also found, along with reliefs. A relief featuring Nemesis might lead to a conclusion that Gladiator games were once held most probably in an amphitheatre made of wood. Stone monuments were found scattered around farmyards. The traces of ancient Roman times were found in Donja Lomnica as well (5 km west of Velika Gorica): the remains of a Roman road and a grave from the 2nd century. In Buševac, 10 km southeast of Velika Gorica the remains of ancient Roman road were also found.

ARISTOCRATIC TUROPOLJE MUNICIPALITY In Velika Gorica region you’ll be able to see valuable monuments from later periods. In the town centre for example you can visit the so-called Turopolje grad. It is in fact a one-storey building square-shaped with a porch facing the park. It was built somewhere around the year 1765. This used to be the seat of ‘Aristocratic Turopolje Municipality’. In the upstairs hall decorated with stucco and fresco ornaments the assembly meetings used to be held. Today this building is the house of the Museum of Turopolje that was established in 1960. The Museum has archaeological, ethnographic, cultural and historic collections. The parish church of the Annunciation built between 1686 and 1990 was restored in 1893 by architect H. Bollé in classicist style. The church furniture is from that period, too.

In Šcitarjevo you should also see the church of St. Martin that was first mentioned in 1334. The church was reconstructed in the first half of the 18th century. It is a single-nave church with sacristy adjacent to a round-shaped shrine, steeple next to the main facade and a side chapel representing the older part of the church. Around the church is a fence that was built in 1772. Inside the church one can see partly preserved Baroque artefacts: statues, monstrance (1765), two reliquaries, bells from 1630 and 1761 respectively.

The attraction of Donja Lomnica is a Modic-Bedekovic wooden one-storey kurija from 1806.The kurija is a beautiful example of the original secular country architecture that used to be built by the members of lower aristocracy.

Nine kilometres west of Velika Gorica is a Baroque castle Lukavec. This square-shaped castle features the inner ward with arcades and four prismal towers on each corner. Above the entrance with a Baroque portal and coat of arms from 1752 there is a high tower. Under the tower there was a chapel of St Lucy in which assembly meetings of the Turopolje aristocracy used to be held. The castle is surrounded by a ditch and has embrasures. In front of the castle there used be a town made of wooden houses first mentioned in the 15th century.

In Vukovina, 4 km southeast of Velika Gorica there is a late Baroque-Classicist parish church of St Mary. This is a single nave church, the dome with lantern is above the nave while the apse of the shrine is oval. Adjacent to the shrine is sacristy. The steeple was built later. The church furniture originates from the period when the church was reconstructed i.e. around 1805 and some objects are from the baroque period, chalice for example. In the neighbouring Stari Cic don’t miss the wooden parish kurija from 1831. A single nave wooden kurija called Alapic, with rococo details, features a high hipped roof.

WOODEN BEAUTIES Turopolje is widely known for its wooden architecture. Temporal and sacral wooden buildings have the same features, the same elements and materials used, and the same rustic manner of processing applied. The only difference is that church builders had more opportunity to show their artistic abilities when decorating.

One of the distinct features of wooden churches of Turopolje, especially those built earlier, are the entrance halls that were sometimes painted. Walls and ceilings were decorated sometimes even the choir. Each of these churches also had a small tower above the entrance hall. The floor was usually made of brick, somewhere oak was used. The inventory was mostly Baroque, and sometimes a bit rustic.

A wooden chapel of St. Barbara in Velika Mlaka is the most attractive and certainly the most representative example of wooden church architecture in Croatia. The chapel was built in 1642 and reconstructed several times. The present look was given to the chapel in 1867 when a steeple was added to it, which was thoroughly restored between 1972 and 1977. This chapel is single nave with trilaterally shaped shrine next to sacristy. The chapel is richly decorated. Wooden panelling is painted with ornaments, flowers in vases and pictures of saints. Among the latter the most interesting, from iconographic point of view, is St Kummernisse with a donor M. Basarovic (1759). Several masters participated in the painting of the chapel, which lasted from 1710 to 1759. The oldest layer from 1699 was destroyed. The wing altar of St Barbara (1679) features the scenes from the Saint’s life and those from the Passion of Christ. The altars of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Snow from 1701 and of the Lord’s Assumption from 1759 are to be mentioned also. The bell from 1642 is the work of C. Seisser from Graz.

Wooden chapel of the Holy Apostles in Buševac was made in 1768. The interior of the chapel is pained with figures and ornaments. It features altars, chalices and mass vestments from the periods between the 17th and 19th centuries. In Pleso near the Zagreb airport is the chapel of the Wounded Christ that was built in 1758 by the widow of Ladislav Plepelic, local nobleman. Local masters restored the chapel and today people come to admire its facade decoration.

The chapel of St Anthony of Padua in Gustelnica was first mentioned in 1678, and throughout centuries it was to be restored, repaired and even built all over again. Today’s chapel was built in 1888 where previous chapels stood. Construction of the chapel of St Rocco on Cvetkovic hill started in 1867, but the chapel was completed in 1888.

TRADITION OF BUILDING IN WOOD The size of wooden churches in Turopolje ranges from 4 x 2 m in Gustelnica to some 18 x 6 m in Velika Mlaka. Even though the tradition of using wood as the main building material has gone well into the 20th c. only five sacral objects have been preserved. These are: the chapels in Buševac, Gustelnica, Pleso, Velika Mlaka and one on Cvetkovic hill. Another six churches and chapels are located in the neighbourhood but considered to be in the area that is outside the Turopolje region border what makes up the total of 11 preserved wooden sacral objects.

THE BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT IN BUILDING Wooden churches and chapels have stood as signs of unique value of Turopolje ever since early Middle Ages. Moreover in the 17th century when Turkish attacks were common, it was customary to rebuild in wood even those churches that originally were made of other materials.

These wooden churches and chapels are the biggest achievement of folk Baroque architecture in north Croatia.