The site
Ivanić-Grad is located forty kilometres east of Zagreb and has around 14,000 inhabitants. It is part of the Zagreb County and geographically belongs to the Western Moslavina. The railway line built in 1899 has boosted modernization of wider area around Ivanić-Grad.
Therefore, the industrial heritage of the city can be traced throughout the 20th century. In the first half of the 20th century, the industry consisted mostly of mills, sawdust, alcoholic beverage and brick factories. Thanks to the electric power plant, Ivanić-Grad had electric power already in 1913. Rich deposits of oil and natural gas, discovered in the period after World War II in the fields and forest areas of the rural hinterland of the historic settlements of Križ, Kloštar Ivanić and Ivanić-Grad were one of the main reasons for significant changes in the economic and social structure of the population. In addition to the oil industry, Ivanić-Grad has other industries which started to develop such as: Ivasim (chemical industry), Ivasim electronika (computer manufacturing), Antilop (production of protective clothing), TMPK (metal products and constructions factory), Ivakarton (paper production cartons of paper and cardboard packaging), Ivanićplast (production of plastic items), Croatia (battery factory), DIP (wood processing industry).
The basis of its economy is nowadays apart of the oil, gas and chemical industry and metal processing also agriculture and livestock. Much of the industrial heritage is not documented or valorised.
The project
The International workshop "Mapping and documentation of industrial heritage in Ivanić-Grad" consisted of material research in archives, identification of relevant industrial heritage monuments, photographic documentation production and creation of a website as a final product.
The aim was to make industrial heritage more visible and accessible by providing based on research coherent information about these monuments as well as to contribute to its valorisation through photo documentation and website. In addition, in order to involve the local population and make use of their knowledge, interviews with people who worked in these companies have been conducted to get a more comprehensive overview of how the industry has influenced everyday life in Ivanić-Grad and to use the process of storytelling to raise awareness.
Given that the industrial heritage in Ivanić-Grad had not been documented before, the main objective of this projectwass to provide a systematic overview of industry development and to contribute to the awareness of the local community about the importance of preserving industrial heritage. The results of the workshop are the basis for the future work towards its sustainable management.
The project has been is organised by Culture Hub Croatia and the Friends of Heritage Association (Amici Hereditatis) Ivanić-Grad, in partnership with European Heritage Volunteers.
