Roman & ancientCentral Croatia

Krapina Neanderthal Site: the hill of the first Zagorje residents

The Krapina Neanderthal Site, also called Hušnjakovo brdo, is a Palaeolithic site on the western edge of the town of Krapina in Hrvatsko Zagorje. A cave in a sandstone bluff above the Krapinica river collapsed long ago and left a rich layer of fossils, stone tools and animal bones. A modern museum beside the hill tells the story, making it an unusual hidden gem in northern Croatia.

A sand-digging hill above a quiet Zagorje town gave up the largest known haul of human skeletal remains from any Upper Pleistocene site. The bones belong to Neanderthals who lived here roughly 130,000 years ago.

WhereWestern edge of the town of Krapina, Hrvatsko Zagorje, about 45 km north of Zagreb

TypePalaeolithic archaeological site with a Neanderthal museum

Best forPrehistory fans, families, anyone curious about early humans

Getting thereBy road from Zagreb, about 45 km to the north; the hill lies on the western side of Krapina

The history of the Krapina Neanderthal site

The story starts with sand. Local people dug sand from Hušnjak Hill for building and came across bones that looked unusual. The Croatian geologist and palaeontologist Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger, then at the natural history museum in Zagreb, began to study the finds in 1899. He excavated here until 1905 and published two monographs, the first scientific accounts of the Neanderthals found at Krapina.

The site is a collapsed cave in a sandstone bluff overlooking the Krapinica river. Its deposits were later dated by ESR and U-series methods to about 120,000–130,000 years ago. Excavators recovered the remains of more than twenty Neanderthals, adults and children, together with animal bones such as those of cave bear, wolf, elk, rhinoceros and wild cattle. Traces of hearths show that these people knew fire. Krapina is the largest known recovery of human skeletal remains from any Upper Pleistocene site.

Gorjanović-Kramberger proposed in 1901 that the broken and scattered bones pointed to cannibalism. The idea was taken up by later researchers, but others explained the damage by collapsing rock, burial practices or the removal of flesh before a second burial. Some marks on the bones may even be symbolic. Experts still debate the question, and the site remains central to research into how Neanderthals lived.

A first local museum opened in 1952 and showed the history of the whole area. In 1970 a Museum of Evolution was set up on the hill, with reconstructions of a Neanderthal family beside a fire and of the animals they knew. The idea of a dedicated museum was first raised in 1999, work began in 2002, and the new Krapina Neanderthal Museum opened on 27 February 2010.

Curiosities about the Krapina Neanderthal site

The discovery began by accident: workers digging sand on the hill found fragments of bone.
About 1,191 stone tools were found over a century of research, and side-scrapers make up more than half of them.
Remains of 11 individuals show injuries that healed during their lifetime, which would hardly have been possible without the care of the group.
One skull, known as Krapina 3, belonged to a woman of about twenty and bears 42 deliberate cuts on the forehead, which researchers read as a sign of ritual behaviour.
The museum is built into a small hill with a mostly glass front, and a large screen in its oval concrete atrium plays documentary films about the Krapina Neanderthals.
The cave is long gone: it collapsed, and later deposits left by the Krapinica river buried it.

Tours near Krapina Neanderthal Site

Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:

Private experience of Rastoke and Plitvice Lakes from Zagreb

★ 5 (143 reviews) · 10 h

See details ›

2 hour Private Walking Tour of Zagreb

★ 5 (64 reviews) · 2 h

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Baroque Varaždin and Trakošćan Castle Private Tour from Zagreb

★ 5 (58 reviews) · 9 h

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Authentic Croatian Food & Heritage Walk in a Small Group

★ 5 (46 reviews) · 3 h

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Visiting the Krapina Neanderthal site

The Krapina Neanderthal Museum stands at the foot of Hušnjak Hill and presents the finds, reconstructions and the story of the excavations. Check the current opening hours before you go.
The museum entrance opens into a large oval atrium, from which a circular passage leads to the upper floor, with exhibits placed in the open space and along the painted walls.
On the hill itself, open-air reconstructions of a Neanderthal family by the fire and of animals were set up in the 20th century; the sources do not say what is currently on show.
Krapina combines well with other sites in Hrvatsko Zagorje, such as Trakošćan Castle (about 12 km) and Veliki Tabor Castle (about 16 km).

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.

Map: where Krapina Neanderthal Site is

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors

Photos of Krapina Neanderthal Site

Questions

What is the Krapina Neanderthal Site?

It is a Palaeolithic site on Hušnjak Hill in the western part of Krapina, where a collapsed cave yielded Neanderthal remains, stone tools and animal bones about 130,000 years old.

Who discovered the Krapina Neanderthals?

Local people first found bones while digging sand. The geologist and palaeontologist Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger studied the site and excavated it from 1899 to 1905.

How old are the Krapina finds?

Dating with ESR and U-series methods places them at about 120,000–130,000 years ago.

Is there a museum at Krapina?

Yes. The Krapina Neanderthal Museum opened on 27 February 2010 and was built into a small hill beside the site.

Were the Krapina Neanderthals cannibals?

Gorjanović-Kramberger suggested it in 1901, but later scholars offered other explanations such as burial rites or secondary burial, and the question is still discussed.

How far is Krapina from Zagreb?

The site lies about 45 km north of Zagreb, in Hrvatsko Zagorje.