Medvednica

Medvednica (pronounced [mɛ̌dʋɛdnit͡sa]) is a mountain in central Croatia, just north of Zagreb and marking the southern border of the historic region of Zagorje. The highest peak, at 1,035 metres (3,396 ft) is Sljeme. Most of the area of Medvednica is a nature park (park prirode), a type of preservation lesser than a national park. The area of the park is 228.26 square kilometres (88.1 sq mi) and about 63% is covered with forest.

The name Medvednica could be translated as "bear mountain", there being other toponyms on the mountain using the kajkavian dialect term medved (standard Croatian "medvjed" = bear), notably Medvedgrad, a medieval castle on its southwestern edges.

Sljeme ([sʎɛ̂mɛ]) (Sleme in Kajkavian dialect) means summit, and is a name often used to refer to the entire mountain.

The climate of the Medvednica mountain is typical for Central European mountain ranges. The average annual precipitation is around 1300 mm (cf. 840 mm at Zagreb–Grič), which provides for an abundance of rich spring wells. There is a snow cover for approximately for 100 days in a year, the thickest being in February. The skiing slopes are also covered with artificial snow when necessary. There is much more sunshine during the winter on Medvednica than in Zagreb or Zagorje, so it is not surprising that winter is the most visited season on the Medvednica mountain.

Medvednica, in comparison to the surrounding lowland area, behaves as an "island" in its climate characteristics, with more precipitation, lower temperatures, and higher duration and quantity of snow cover. Medvednica area is located in a temperature zone where air temperature decreases for 0.5 °C for every 100 metres of elevation. Based on the annual rate of precipitation, Medvednica is characterised as having a continental precipitation regime with maximum precipitation during the warm part of the year (April to September).

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