Dugo Selo

Dugo Selo lies about 20 kilometres east of Zagreb, yet its defining symbol is not suburban life but Saint Martin. A charter issued by King Andrew II in 1209 mentions Terra Sancti Martini and land granted to the Knights Templar, while the old church on Martin Breg preserves the town’s link with that medieval past. After the 1880 earthquake badly damaged the hilltop church, a new neo-Gothic parish church designed by Herman Bollé was erected in the town centre in 1900. Martin Breg now brings together vineyards, traditional wine huts, a municipal vineyard, a seven-metre wooden statue of Saint Martin and broad views towards the Sava plain, Medvednica, Žumberak and Prigorje. In central Dugo Selo, Count Drašković Park retains fragments of the former estate, including a tower, well and the building now used as the courthouse. The town is also an easy car-free excursion, around 20 minutes from Zagreb by passenger train. Active options include a cycling loop through Prozorje and Martin Breg, a pump track opened in 2022 and the Ciglana fishing lake a few kilometres from the centre.

Dugo Selo’s identity rests on Saint Martin, the vineyards of Martin Breg and a strong rail connection with Zagreb. The municipal area contains eleven settlements across 51 square kilometres, and the hilly northern landscape around Prozorje and Martin Breg contrasts sharply with the flatter urban centre. The 1209 name Terra Sancti Martini links the district with the Knights Templar, while Dugo Selo formally joined the European Via Sancti Martini route on 4 July 2007. Count Drašković Park, its surviving tower and the former manorial building add a secular historical layer to the centre. Annual celebrations such as Martinmas and the Feast of Saint Vincent carry the town’s Martinian and winegrowing traditions into its present-day calendar.