August the 10th, 2025 – A Zagreb lake around 15 minutes from the heart of the city is set to be transformed into a new swimming and recreation area for adults and kids alike.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, a procedure for excluding part of Lake Čiče from the exploitation area has been initiated, which would finally create the conditions for legal swimming and beach development on that part of the lake. This would enable the safe and quality use of this natural resource, in accordance with the long-standing wishes of many.
As part of the initial phase of the project to transform this Zagreb lake into a recreation area, the area around it was mowed and cleared of vegetation to enable geodetic surveys. This data is necessary for the creation of a technical basis that will serve as a starting point for the creation of project documentation and the further planning of spatial development, as reported by Prigorski.hr.
“Lake Čiče has enormous potential, not only as a natural resource but also as a recreational space. Our goal is to finally have a well-maintained and safe swimming area with plenty of accompanying facilities in cooperation with the competent ministry, the concessionaire, associations and others. It will become a modern, functional and nice looking space that will be used for swimming, sport and spending time in nature,” emphasised Mayor Krešimir Ačkar.
Since 2012, the Urban Development Plan of the ŠRC Jezero Novo Čiče has been in force in the area of Lake Čiče, which clearly defines the purpose of individual locations. Among them is the location planned for a swimming area in the area of “Čič Beach”, which until recently was located within the exploitation field “Novo Čiče”, managed by the company HIDREL d.o.o. Despite decades of gravel mining in the area, people from Velika Gorica have been using the location for swimming for many years, although this was not formally permitted. Concrete steps are now being taken to change this and have this Zagreb lake turned into a proper recreation area for all.
A conceptual design for the development of the future so-called “Čič Beach”, has also been developed. The green infrastructure development project includes the construction of numerous facilities such as beach volleyball, a street workout zone, a basketball court, a summer bar with a terrace, a children’s playground, a promenade, outdoor showers, changing cabins, a lifeguard tower, a dog beach and much more.
