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According Lonely Planet's Croatia edition written by Jeanne Oliver, Croatian Top destinations : Dubrovnik, Hvar , Split , Korcula , Brela , Plitvice Lakes , Baska on island Krk , Pula , Rovinj , Samobor , Zagreb, Varazdin, Brac, Cavtat, Trogir, Makarska, Losinj, Orebic, Porec, Rab, Sibenik, Vis, Jelsa, Pula, Ciovo, Istria, Trstenik, Vinisce, Novalja, Omis, Opatija
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Baska Voda, Brac, Cavtat, Ciovo and Trogir, Dubrovnik, Hvar, Istria, Jelsa, Kastel Stafilic, Makarska Riviera, Mali Lošinj, North Dalmatia, Novalja, Omis, Orebic, Peljesac, Porec, Pula, Rab, Rovinj Sibenik, Split, Region, Trogir, Trstenik, Vinisce, Vis, Zagreb
About Varaždin
Varazdin is one of the most important tourist centres of the entire northern Croatia. The variety of cultural and historical offer in the city and its surroundings, as well as the beautiful countryside attract many visitors the whole year round. The urban heart of this Central European Baroque town, which is often compared with Vienna, is very well preserved...
General information
Varazdin is one of the most important tourist centres of the entire northern Croatia. The variety of cultural and historical offer in the city and its surroundings, as well as the beautiful countryside attract many visitors the whole year round. The urban heart of this Central European Baroque town, which is often compared with Vienna, is very well preserved. The old town fortification, the central part of the town, numerous museums, galleries and collections as well as the Varazdin cemetery, protected as a horticultural monument, represent the main tourist attractions. The central museum object of the Town Museum is situated in Stari Grad and distinguished by many exhibits related to the history of the Varazdin region from the pre-historic period up to the present day. The unique collection of more than ten thousand stuffed insects, gathered by Franjo Koscec Esq., accommodated in the Entomological Department in Herzer Palace, deserves a special mention.
Numerous cultural and entertainment events are also important. The most significant are the Varazdin Baroque Evenings - one of the greatest musical events in Croatia. Other important events are the International Festival of Wind Orchestras, the Days of the Book (in October), etc.
One of the landmarks of the town is the Varazdin guard, the so-called "purgari", dressed in their nice blue grenadier uniforms, who stand by the Town Hall during significant ceremonies.
The town offers a variety of sports and recreational facilities, in particular those within the stadium of FC "Varteks", member of the Croatian Premiere Football League.
The Drava river and Varazdin Lake represent a heaven for anglers, with pike-perch, pike, carp, etc. being the main catch. The cuisine of Varazdin is popular and renowned, and the "Varazdin klipici" (bakery product) are the most represented and simplest speciality of the town. Buckwheat porridge, turkey with "mlinci" (kind of pasta), "strukli" (cottage cheese strudel), "zlevka" (traditional folk cake), venison, and the exquisite Varazdin wine and the Varazdin beer, "Knaput", can satisfy even the most demanding taste.
VARAZDIN, a city on the right bank of the Drava river in north-western Croatia, 79 km northeast of Zagreb; elevation 173 m. Economic and cultural centre of the Zagorje and Medimurje regions. Chief occupations include farming, viticulture and livestock breeding. Major manufactures are textiles (Varteks), artificial silk production (umbrellas), leather processing (footwear factory), food processing (fruit and vegetable canning, vegetable oil production), wood and timber, metallurgy (foundry, fittings factory), printing industry and tourism. Varazdin has several cultural institutions: the City Archives (with the documentation from the 13th to the 19th centuries), the Archives of the Cazma Chapter, faculties. It hosts the festival called the Varazdin Baroque Evenings (since 1971). Varazdin lies at the intersection of the main roads Varazdin - Slovenian border - Ptuj - Maribor (M3), Varazdin - Cakovec - Hungarian border - Nagykanizsa (M12), Varazdin - Koprivnica - Osijek (M3) and junction of the railroads Varazdin - Zagreb, Varazdin - Koprivnica, Varazdin - Cakovec - Hungarian border, i.e. Croatian-Slovenian border
History
Heritage
The parish church of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of Varazdin, stands in the middle of Trg Slobode (Freedom Square). Originally a Romanesque building, the church was still in 1672 a Gothic structure with three-naves and the pentagonal sanctuary; the present church with side chapels and the broad sanctuary was constructed during the Baroque restoration between 1753 and 1761, much of which was carried out by M. Mayerhofer according to the designs by I. S. Wagner, and finished by his accomplice A. Poch. The fresco (1771) featuring the 18th-century Varazdin is behind the main altar. The interior furnishing and church items date back to the Baroque period. The belfry from 1494 rises by the church.
The monastery and the church of the nuns order of St. Ursula are on the western side of Ursulin-ska Street. The church of the Nativity of Christ, with a projected front, was built in 1729; the three-storey monastery by the church was finished in 1749, and has a classicist façade. The monastery chapel on the floor has the altar adorned with statues made by the 18th-century Maribor master J. Straub.
North of the monastery of St. Ursula there is the most distinguished historic building of Varazdin, recently named Stari Grad (the Old Town). The centre of feudal administration for centuries, excluded from the free royal town of Varazdin. It served for residential and defence purposes, and since 1925 it accommodates the collections of the Town Museum of Varazdin. It was built between the 14th and the 19th centuries. The oldest preserved parts include two Gothic towers, erected on earlier fundaments. The fragments of the monumental pointed arch of the former main entrance and the stone reliefs with motifs of fish bladder and rose can still be seen. The mediaeval fortress was reconstructed in the 1560s into a modern Renaissance fortress, surrounded by embankments and moat, to enable defence against the Ottoman Turks. The works were carried out by Italian builders from the surroundings of Como according to the design and under the supervision of the master Domenico dell'Allio. The fortress resembled a castle with two large courtyards and three-storey corridors. A double window was cut into the southern wall of the former main tower. Two smaller inner halls were built during the 18th century. In the restoration of 1989 the winding stairway from the first floor to the alcove of the main tower (according to the original form) was reconstructed.
Sermage Palace, a two-storey corner building in Rococo style from 1759 rises at the southern end of Miljenko Stancic Square. The front façade is ornamented with medallions, the stone portal and a balcony. The representative hall with a stone lantern attached to the Baroque galleries facing the courtyard was built in the second half of the 18th century. Today the palace accommodates the Gallery of Old and New Masters. Lisak Tower on Ban Jelacic Square is a massive, two-storey building from the 16th century, the only remaining part of the former town walls.
The Town Hall, the most significant historical building in Varazdin, is on the northern side of Tomislav Square. A part of it is probably a Romanesque building with the visible Gothic arch of the former entrance in the tower; reconstructed in the 16th century under the supervision of the Varazdin builder Juraj Fleischman. Its present aspect dates back to the 1793 reconstruction carried out by the most renowned Varazdin masons and stone carvers in the 18th century, M. Taxner and F. Lossert, who finished the façade in 1793 in late Baroque and classicist forms by erecting a tower rising above the roof. The carved portal with the balcony and the town coat of arms below the tower were made by the stone carver L. Vieter in 1792.
Draskovic Palace is on the eastern side of Tomislav Square. The axis of the main front has a mid-18th century stone portal featuring the coat of arms of the Draskovic family. The construction of the present palace and the Rococo façade date back probably to the second half of the 18th century, under the owner at that time, the Croatian viceroy (ban) Franjo Nadásdy. The added southern wing of the building hosted the sessions of the Croatian Diet (Sabor) from 1756 to 1776.
The former Jesuit monastery and the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary are opposite the Town Hall. The church was originally a Jesuit church, then Pauline, and today it is the cathedral of the Varazdin Diocese. Built between 1642 and 1646; the bell tower from 1676 was erected by Peter Julijan from Ptuj. The portal of the church featuring the coat of arms of the Draskovic family was constructed in 1656. The present form of the façade dates from the 18th century. The chapel of St. Francis Xavier was adorned in 1710 with stucco work by A. J. Quadrio. The present main altar is a large retable with the attic from 1737, many figures and the painting of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The altars of St. Ignatius of Loyola from 1742 and St. Francis Xavier from 1743, the statues made by the Varazdin sculptor Ivan Adam Rosemberger, are very fine examples. The choir stalls from the Lepoglava church with the paintings featuring scenes from the lives of Pauline saints, made by I. Ranger in 1737, are situated along the wide walls of the sanctuary. The vault of the church sacristy was painted with frescos in 1772 by the Varazdin painter B. Grueber. The Loreto chapel with the tomb of the Draskovic family, built before 1659, is near the church. The three-storey Jesuit monastery by the church was built by Jakob Schmerleib between 1679 and 1691. The corridors are adorned with stucco from the 18th century featuring scenes from the Old Testament, probably a work by A. J. Quadrio.
The building of the old Varazdin grammar school, today the Bishop's Ordinariate, is to the east of the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The building was partly built in 1651 and expanded in the 19th century. South of the church and the monastery is the monumental building of the former Jesuit seminary, known also as Zakmardi Palace. It was built at the expense of the royal protonotary Ivan Zakmardi Dijankovecki and intended to accommodate poor students of the Varazdin grammar school. It was constructed by the Varazdin builders Jakob and Blaz Jancic between 1668 and 1672. Where Tomislav Square meets Franjevacki Square, on the northern side, there is the house of the Ritz family, one of the oldest urban houses in Varazdin. Reconstructed in the 19th century and restored in 1988 to its original Renaissance style with the arcaded porch in the ground floor; the stone lintel of the small gate has carved initials of the names and the inscription of the year 1540.
The most beautiful Rococo building in Varazdin - Patacic Palace - is on the left side of Franjevacki Square; it was commissioned by the Varazdin nobleman Franjo Patacic in 1764. It is a three-storey building with a bow window. The main front has the richly adorned portal in Rococo style, with columns bearing the attic ornamented with wavy tendrils and vases. The monumental palace of the Varazdin County leans on the palace from the west. The two-storey building with the lavishly ornamented stone portal and the balcony as well as with the trefoil gable over the roof was built by the Varazdin builder Jakob Erber. It was damaged in the great fire of 1776, and reconstructed in 1779. Opposite the palace is the three-storey angular Patacic-Buzan Palace. The central axis of the building has the stone portal with pilasters and the profiled wavy attic with late Baroque vases, built around 1785. The Franciscan church of St. John the Baptist, a building first mentioned in the documents of the 13th century and reconstructed in Baroque style, is on the northern side of Franjevacki Square; rebuilt in Baroque style in 1650 (by Peter Rabb from Graz) and consecrated in 1657. The five-storey tower was erected in 1641; the portal dates back to 1655. The side niches accommodate stone statues of St. Francis Assisi and St. Anthony of Padua, made by the Varazdin sculptor I. J. Altenbach in the mid-17th century. A. J. Quadrio ornamented the chapels of St. Joseph (end of 17th c.), St. Anthony of Padua and Our Lady Skapularska (1717) with the valuable stucco work. The main altar was built between 1698 and 1702 according to the design by Kristof Zettle and polychromed by the Zagreb painter Joakim Schmidt. The statues were probably made by the Maribor sculptor F. K. Reiss. The side altars date from the period between 1725 and 1748, and much of the work on them was done by the Varazdin sculptor Ivan Adam Rosemberger. The mannerist pulpit with the figures of Christ and the apostles dates back to 1670. The three-storey monastery with a square cloister assumed its present form in 1678, part of it being subsequently expanded. The so-called Franciscan Pharmacy is ornamented with frescos by I. Ranger from 1750 featuring the Blessed Virgin Mary with allegorical figures of the known continents and natural elements. Herzer Palace (1721-1795) rises near the site of the Franciscan church, on the northern end of the square. This two-storey building with the monumental portal still displaying Baroque features is the most harmonious early classicist palace of Varazdin. The palace has permanent holdings of the Entomological Department of the Varazdin Town Museum.
There are several important churches and palaces on the outskirts of the former historical centre. The votive church of St. Florian, built in 1738 and reconstructed on several occasions, is situated along the northern wall of the fortification system. The portico with angel statues, possibly a work by the famous Styrian sculptor J. Straub, is in front of the main entrance. The interior of the church has quality furnishings; the big tabernacle of the main altar was made by Matija Saurer in 1740; his work are also the wooden stalls with Rococo ornamentation from the first half of the 18th century. The church holds the most valuable Varazdin painting, a representation of the big fire of 1776. The church of the Holy Trinity, built in 1705, is on the western side of Kapucinski Square. The altars and the furniture were made by the Varazdin master Pic in the first half of the 19th century. Behind the altar is the large painting featuring the Holy Trinity (around 1700). There is a two-storey monastery with a cloister by the church, with the library holding a valuable incunabula collection. To the south, on Vidovski Square, is the church of St. Vitus. First mentioned before the 14th century. The present building and the bell tower date back to 1780. The church has Baroque furnishings. The big main altar is from 1760. Further south, in Zagrebacka Street, is the chapel of St. Roch, built before 1690, a one-nave building with a trefoil sanctuary and the vault decorated with valuable -early Baroque mural paintings.
On the western outskirts of the city, along the road to Ptuj, there is the votive church of Sts. Fabian and Sebastian. It was built in 1681 as a smaller one-nave building. The pews in the church are the work by the Varazdin carpenter Matija Saurer.
Two important palaces of the noble families lie on the outer edges of the former historical centre, outside the walls. The big ErdÂdy Palace is on Kapucinski Square, north of the monastery. This two-storey building in Rococo style was built in the mid-18th century. The main front has three projections, and the central front has a stone portal with composite capitols and the wavy attic.
North of Stari Grad (the Old Town) is one of the most beautiful Varazdin buildings, Keglevic Palace. It was first mentioned in 1700. This two-storey building with the high roof has the stone portal with a stone balcony rising over it. Between 1774 and 1775 it was reconstructed in Rococo style by the famous Varazdin builder Jakob Erber.
Varazdin cemetery represents a valuable monument of park architecture, made after the idea of Hermann Haller and landscaped after 1905 as a park with maintained, cut plants following the Baroque model. The cemetery has several artistically formed tombs with architecture and ornamentation from the Biedermeier, historicist, Art Nouveau and more recent styles. The most famous among them are the tombs of the Buric, Harbuval-Chamare and Bauer families, as well as the tombs of the families Jagic and Leitner with statues made by I. Rendic and R. Franges-Mihanovic.
