Zagreb's trams marked 135 years of service in November 2026, and the anniversary is a reminder that the city's famous blue vehicles are more than transport — they're rolling history. The network, now run as ZET, has carried Zagreb through empires, war, strikes and a full technological overhaul, and it remains the easiest way for visitors to get around the Croatian capital.

The story starts with horses. In 1891, three short lines opened around the centre, linking Ilica to Maksimir, the Sava Bridge and the Western Railway Station. The cars, built in Graz, averaged a leisurely 7.5 km/h. Locals nicknamed them "konjka", but also "filoksera" — after the vineyard-destroying phylloxera louse — because track-laying crews had torn up half the city centre. Sound familiar to anyone who has watched modern tram works?

Electrification arrived in August 1910, and the signature blue livery only came in 1923; the trams were originally yellow. The network's beloved nicknames rolled on: the M-24 (now retired to Christmas tram duty), the heavy M-201 "Bik" or Bull, which ran until June 2024 on line 9, and the Czech-built Tatra "Čeh" and "Katica" models. A milestone came in November 1979, when the tram finally crossed the Sava into New Zagreb via the Bridge of Youth.

Today the fleet is dominated by Zagreb-made Končar vehicles, which have logged over 140 million kilometres in three decades. The newest TMK 2300 trams entered service in February 2025, with forty on order — though recent years haven't been entirely smooth, with a multi-day drivers' strike grinding the city's traffic to a halt and used German trams imported from Augsburg to plug timetable gaps.

For travellers, all this matters practically: Zagreb and Osijek are the only Croatian cities with trams, and in Zagreb the network is genuinely excellent for sightseeing. Lines converge on Jelačić Square, putting you steps from the upper town, the cathedral and the market halls. A single cheap ticket covers the whole network, and riding the vintage M-24 in winter doubles as a festive experience.

Whether you're a rail nerd or just someone who'd rather not figure out Zagreb's parking, 135 years of blue trams is worth a nod — and a ride.