| The town of Čakovec, (Hungarian: Csáktornya), Croatia,
(latitude 46.38 N, longitude 16.43
E, altitude 164m) is the seat of Medjimurje (Medjimurska zupanija), located near the Trnava river in a region well known for its vineyards, agriculture, and hunting grounds,
between the rivers Mura and Drava. The population
of the city, without its suburbs, is approximately 17,500, primarily ethnic Croats and
Roman Catholics, with up to 4% Hungarians, Germans, Slovenes and some other minorities.
Communication
The first railroad track was built here in 1860, helping to connect Budapest (Budimpešta) with the ports Rijeka (Fiume) and Trieste (Trst). It was
connected with the railroad with Mursko Sredisce, Lendava in 1889. The road infrastructure is good,
including a new expressway connecting the Hungary border-crossing point Goričan with Zagreb, Karlovac, and the Adriatic Sea. It is connected to local municipalities with an efficient public transportation system.
History
In Roman times, as the geographer Strabo
reported, in the 1st century, this was the site of Aquama (wet town), at the time a marshland, a
military post and legionnaire camp. Its name comes from the count Dimitry Csaky (Dimitrij Čak), who with the beginning of the 13th
century erected the timber fortification later named "Csaky's tower". It was mentioned for the first time in 1328. The place appears in the official books in 1333. The
period of more significant economic and cultural growth of Čakovec is considered to have started in 1547, when Nikola Šubić Zrinski
of Siget became the owner of the area. At that
time, the castle was lavishly decorated, surrounded by a park and sculptures of famous army leaders and monarchs. Duke Juraj Zrinski granted privileges to the inhabitants of the Čakovec fortress and its suburbs on May 29, 1579, which was the starting point for
Čakovec to become a free market town. The date is celebrated as the City Day. In 1738
the city was devastated by an earthquake and in 1741 by a fire. Another earthquake hit in
1880. At the end of the 18th century the owners of the town became counts Festetić, and the town was turned
into a big estate where industry, crafts and trade developed. In 1848, the ban Josip
Jelačić liberated Čakovec from Hungarians and joined it to
Croatia. In 1893 electric power was introduced
to the city.Upon signing the treaty with the Third Reich, (March 25 1941), Kingdom of Yugoslavia became the member of the Axis powers. On April 6, 1941 it was attacked by the same alliance soon to be
conquered and divided. Between 1941 and 1945, Cakovec was under Hungarian occupation.
Today
Čakovec is the economic, traffic, cultural, and legislative center of Medjimurska zupanija. As an administrative center, Čakovec offers the Gymnasium, technical and construction high schools, and the
academy, Teacher Training College.
The economy of the area is based on textiles (Medjimurska trikotaža), footwear (Jelen), food processing
(Vajda, Čakovecki mlinovi, Mesnice Carović and Mesnice Mihalić), and metal plants.
Also important are printing and publishing activities of (Zrinski), building materials and construction, and plastics.
Although modern in architecture, dynamic with a highly developed industry
and a busy hub for communication, business, trade, education within and between the counties/countries, its old core has been
beautifully preserved and renovated. There is a local museum of Međimurje in the
castle, protecting 17,000 valuable items. There are also libraries, advanced media,
theatres, hospitals, and festivities in both sport and culture.
Notable Čak's
External links
|
