This mountain has three names; it depends on whom you ask for it. All three are hard to pronounce for a foreigner. Let’s stick with the first—Ivančica. Maybe it comes from the flower oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), but it is also possible that it is the feminine form of the name Ivanec (a city in its foothills).
But there is also a local legend about a girl in love with an elven prince; the girl’s name belongs to the flower. The legend is easy to believe because the scenes along the way to the summit are genuinely fairytale-like. You can assume that magical forest creatures gather here at dusk, sit on tree roots, swing on branches, frolic in puddles, sing, dance, and laugh.
Anyway, Ivančica is the highest mountain in Hrvatski Zagorje. The northern slope that descends into the valley of the Bednja River has a distinctly mountainous character; it is steep and weakly branched. It is about 30 km long and up to 9 km wide. It stretches eastward and is a natural chain mountain with the highest peak at 1060 meters.
The mountain range above 300 meters in height is mainly covered by beech forest. In the lower parts, remnants of the original forests of Kitaliga oak and common hornbeam remain. Despite its tame appearance, the mountain has large slopes, bare rocks, and even alpine features.
We are frequent visitors to this beautiful place, and indeed, we’ll come again.