Pokupsko

Pokupsko stands on the left bank of the Kupa, 145 metres above sea level and 34 kilometres south-west of Velika Gorica. The river, the nearby Vukomeričke gorice hills and a chain of scattered hamlets shape the settlement more strongly than any conventional urban centre. Rising above the houses is the Baroque parish Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built between 1736 and 1739 and consecrated in 1740. Its quatrefoil plan, onion-domed bell tower, stucco work and Baroque furnishings make it Pokupsko’s principal cultural landmark. The church was shelled in 1991 and damaged again by the 2020 earthquake, linking its story to the more recent ordeals of the Kupa region. A bathing spot lies beside the river, while cycling routes connect Pokupsko with the Vukomeričke gorice hills and chapels in neighbouring villages. The settlement is 51 kilometres south of Zagreb on the road towards Glina, and public transport centres on bus route 372 from Velika Gorica. Pokupsko therefore combines a distinctive river landscape, important Baroque heritage and quiet cycling roads in southern Zagreb County.

Pokupsko belongs to the Kupa region and developed on the river’s left bank, between the floodplain and the Vukomeričke gorice hills. Its position at 145 metres and the holiday cottages beside the Kupa give the settlement the rhythm of a riverside retreat rather than a town. The defining landmark is the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Baroque quatrefoil building erected between 1736 and 1739 at the initiative of Bishop Juraj Branjug. The name Pokwpia appears in written sources in 1507, while the parish was established in the mid-17th century. Shell damage sustained in 1991 and the effects of the 2020 earthquake are now inseparable from the more recent history of both the church and Pokupsko.