Zaprude - Cool, Edgy, Urban Neighborhood With an Open-Air Rock Festival Waiting For You

Every Zagrebian has their own favourite neighbourhood. For many different reasons, one develops a special bond with a certain area of the city. Some because they fondly remember all the memories from the period when they wre growing up in their favourite neighbourhood, others because they moved there later in life and built a future for themselves like they always imagined. Maybe their favourite bar is in their favourite neighbourhood or a football club, or maybe they just like architecture and nature surrounding that neighbourhood. Either way, there are as many reasons as there are people living in Zagreb.

Image Credit: Paula Bracko 

Zaprude is one of Zagreb’s oldest neighbourhoods in New Zagreb area which began developing across the Sava River after the 1960s. The first thing that pops into people's minds when they think of Zaprude are its famous can-buildings (limenke in Croatian). Yes, you've read it correctly: can, like the one you’d drink your Coke from. These buildings got its name from the fact they were made using prefabricated way of construction, combining concrete blocks on which they placed the formwork which is one of the main characteristics of aluminium sheeting, hence limenke aka canned buildings.

But Zaprude is so much more than that. The area really improved with age and since it’s completely a planned settlement, surrounded with lots of greenery, it gives you that special urban vibe that elite neighbourhoods just don’t have. When this area first became interesting to Zagrebians as a place where they could live, back in the 60s and 70s, many thought that Zaprude was a fancy borough for the chosen ones, mostly because it was populated by politicians, athletes, musicians and the like. With time, that opinion changed and now it is considered one of the most rock ‘n’ roll neighborhoods in the city since lots of memorable musicians started their career there: Croatian bands such as 'Film', 'Pips, Chips & Videoclips' are among them, the same as the band 'Klinske Pomore' which was forerunner of popular 'Psihomodo Pop' band.

 Image Credit: zaprudje.hr

It would be unusual if such urban neighbourhood, which has music, arts and culture integrated into its core DNA, didn’t organise some sort of festival. Thankfully, good people of Zaprude gathered together back in 1971 when Days of Zaprude were organised for the first time. It was a cultural and music festival that became an annual event and a favourite part of each May for anyone living in Zaprude until 1987. That’s when the festival was suspended until the year of 2000 when it was brought back to life under a new name – Zaprude Live (Zaprude Uzivo in Croatian).

Festival as a homage to Zaprude

During the 70s and 80s, Days of Zaprude were a big celebration that would bring together citizens of this particular neighbourhood, but with time, Zagrebians from other parts of the city began their pilgrimage across Sava River so they could participate in the festival as well. Eventually, this town district turned into one of the most prominent rock ‘n’ roll asylums for ambitious kids and teens, dreaming of their amateur rock bands performing in front of big audiences instead of jamming on trash bins in their parents’ garage. Days of Zaprude gave them that opportunity and local rock bands started performing on an improvised stage at the festival. No one cared that it didn’t look like Woodstock – it was about the feeling everyone had during those two warm Spring days each May.

Aside from enjoying rock music outdoors, Zagrebians were also coming to the festival so they could watch movie projections or have a barbeque and spend time with their neighbours while sipping beer on a wooden bench at the park. If you ask generations who were living in Zaprude during those years about Days of Zaprude, you’ll realise all of them remember those times very fondly. Some of them discovered great new bands, others fell in love with local girls they would have never met otherwise. A lot of stories and memories were made in Zaprude during the 70s and 80s.

Image Credit: zaprudje.hr 

Then, after Days of Zaprude stopped occurring in 1987, people were nostalgic and missed it dearly. Yet, time passed and some forgot about it. Luckily, a group of enthusiasts decided that it would be a shame if it turned into an old man’s tale. Obviously, they rebooted it with a modern twist in 2000 and that’s how the festival got its new name – Zaprude Uzivo or Zaprude Live.

If you’re in Zagreb on the 20th and 21st of May this year, I urge you to go. Visit Zaprude and treat yourself to a weekend of good music, warm neighbourly barbeques with cool people who live there and are more than happy to tell you all about the glory days of this friendly festival. Like I said – it ain’t Woodstock. It ain’t Ultra. It’s Zaprude, which makes it much smaller, more intimate, cosier, and more local. You’ll love it, I promise. I should know – I’ve been last year and I can’t wait to go again.

Header Image Credit: Paula Bracko

Author: Paula Bracko