Krapina

Krapina (Croatian pronunciation: [krâpina])[2] is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 (2011) and a total municipality population of 12,480 (2011).[1] Krapina is located in the hilly Zagorje region of Croatia, approximately 55 km (34 mi) away from both Zagreb and Varaždin.

For the river, see Krapina (river).
Krapina
Town
Grad Krapina
Town of Krapina
Top: View on Krapina; Bottom: Town center
Flag
Krapina
Location of Krapina in Croatia
Krapina
Krapina (Croatia)
Coordinates: 46.16°N 15.87°E / 46.16; 15.87
Country Croatia
County Krapina-Zagorje
Government
 • MayorZoran Gregurović (HDZ)
 • City Council
17 members
Area
 • Town47.53 km2 (18.35 sq mi)
Elevation
203 m (666 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Town12,479
 • Density260/km2 (680/sq mi)
 • Urban
4,482
Time zoneUTC+1 (Central European Time)
Postal code
HR-49 000
Area code(s)+385 49
Vehicle registrationKR
Websitehttp://www.krapina.hr/

Population

The following settlements comprise the Krapina municipality:[1]

History
Proposed Neandertal jewelry: white-tailed eagle claw with striations at the Neanderthal site of Krapina, Croatia, circa 130,000 BP.[3]

Krapina has been known since 1193. It has always been a favorite site for castles and country houses of Croatian and Hungarian rulers.

In the first half of the 15th century, it was an important center of the Counts of Celje, who additionally fortified the town and expanded the nearby castle. Later, it came in the possession of the Keglević family.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Krapina was a district capital in the Varaždin County of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.

In 1899, on a hill called Hušnjakovo near modern Krapina, the archaeologist and paleontologist Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger found over eight hundred fossil remains belonging to Neanderthals.

The half-cave in Krapina was soon listed among the world`s science localities as a rich fossil finding site, where the largest and richest collection of the Neanderthal man had ever been found. In the sandy deposits of the cave about nine hundred remains of fossilised human bones were found - the fossil remains belonged to several dozen different individuals, of different sex, from 2 to 40 years of age. According to anthropologist Herbert Ullrich, calculating the minimum number of individuals (MNI) for Krapina is very ardous due to the fragmentary and fractured conditions of the bones and incomplete data for the precise stratigraphic location of most fragments. Majority of the Krapina human remains are splited and scattered bones with no associated elements, there are no mandible with matching cranium, no femur with matching tibia, no humerus with matching ulna, etc. Approximative MNI modify significantly: 10 to 75-82 (teeth only), but the most credible minimum published the number of individuals is 23-35.[4][5]

Hypotheses about Neanderthal fossils

Anthropologists have various hypotheses about the Neanderthal remains found in Krapina. The most common of these are cannibalism, secondary burial and burial hypothesis. The hypothesis of cannibalism was first put forward in 1901 by Dragutin Gorjanovich-Kramberger. Given the extreme fragmentation and the occasional burning traces and cranial fragments, Krapina suggested that Neanderthals committed cannibalism. Percussion marks on split tibia fragments, opened marrow channels in humerus, radius, ulna and femur point to marrow extraction. Additionally, breakage patterns and blow marks on skull fragments specify perimortem skull fracturing for removing the brain. In 1985, anthropologist Trinkaus hypothesized that the skulls were broken because of sediment pressure and movement, and the pieces were separated postdepositionally. He attributes the scattered and incoherent parts of the skeleton to the collapse of rocks, the activities of other mammals, man-made activities like the construction of hearths near the buried skeletons and sedimentary settling of the deposits and so on. Another anthropologist, Russell, hypothesized in 1987 that the remains of the Krapina hominid were defleshed in preparation for the secondary burial.[4][5][6][7]

Culture
Krapina Neanderthal Museum

Krapina is home to the yearly Festival kajkavske popevke (The festival of kajkavian song) sung in the local Kajkavian language.[8]

At the site where the Neanderthals remains were discovered there is now a state-of-the-art Neanderthal museum which also includes an extensive section on evolution, making it one of the most interesting evolutionary museums in Europe.[9] It is surrounded by a park with many statues of Neanderthals and the game they hunted, a bear, a moose and a beaver set in the actual locations. There is also a nearby municipality of Krapinske Toplice (Krapina spa) with numerous thermal springs and spa tourist infrastructure. Krapina is also the birthplace of the linguist and language reformer Ljudevit Gaj. His home is now a museum where visitors can learn about his life and work.

Since 1997, franciscan monastery and St. Catherine's church in Krapina are hosts of the Krapinafest, annual contemporary Christian music festival.[10]

References
  1. "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2011 Census: Krapina". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.
  2. "Hrvatski jezični portal". Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  3. Frayer, David W.; Radovčić, Jakov; Sršen, Ankica Oros; Radovčić, Davorka (11 March 2015). "Evidence for Neandertal Jewelry: Modified White-Tailed Eagle Claws at Krapina". PLOS ONE. 10 (3): e0119802. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1019802R. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119802. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4356571. PMID 25760648.
  4. ULLRICH, HERBERT (2005). "Cannibalistic Rites within Mortuary Practices from the Paleolithic to Middle Ages in Europe" (PDF). Anthropologie. 43 (2/3): 249–261. JSTOR 26292739.
  5. W. Frayer, David; Radovčić, Jakov; Radovčić, Davorka (2020). "Krapina and the Case for Neandertal Symbolic Behavior". Current Anthropology. 61 (6): 713–731. doi:10.1086/712088. S2CID 230544843.
  6. W. Frayer, David; Orschiedt, JÖRG; Cook, Jill; Doria Russel, Mary (2006). "Krapina 3: Cut Marks and Ritual Behavior?" (PDF). Periodicum Biologorum. 108: 519–524. ISSN 0031-5362.
  7. Trinkaus, Erik (1985). "Cannibalism and burial at Krapina". Journal of Human Evolution. 14 (2): 203–216. doi:10.1016/S0047-2484(85)80007-5.
  8. Official Website of Kajkavske popevke
  9. "Muzej krapinskih neanadertalaca". Mkn.mhz.hr. 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  10. Official Website of Krapinafest
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