The name of the settlement is derived from the patron saint of the parish church, which is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Marija is a Croatian form of the name Mary, while Gorica means "hill" (and particularly wine-growing hills). The church was founded in the 16th century as a Franciscan monastery, and its first patron saint had been Saint Peter. The change of patronage happened in the second half of the 17th century, when a statue of the Virgin from the church altar became famous for its supposed healing powers.[3]
Fossilized teeth of the extinct proboscidDeinotherium (also depicted on the municipal coat of arms) have been found in Marija Gorica.[4]
One of the most prolific writers of Croatian Realism, Ante Kovačić was born in the neighboring village of Bila Gorica, and started his schooling in the elementary school in Marija Gorica. The school had been built in the 19th century, in the center of the village, across from the Church of Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.[5] The elementary school was later named Osnovna škola Ante Kovačića in his honor.[6] The mayor is Marica Jančić, who was born in Žlebec Gorički.
One of the events during the last weeks of the World War II, when many armies were retreating towards Austria and Germany, happened on April 24, 1945 in the neighboring village of Hrastina, 43 people were murdered. Although the event was only recently sufficiently explored, in 1977 a monument was erected for the remembrance of these people.[7] According to these information, 43 German SintiRoma and other members of a traveling circus were murdered by Ustase soldiers during the Hrastina Massacre.[8]
^Vojak, Danijel. 2022. Osvrt na prvu komemoraciju romskim (sintskim) žrtvama ustaških jedinica u Mariji Gorici. Časopis za suvremenu povijest 2. 507-511.
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