Koprivnica-Križevci County ( hr, Koprivničko-križevačka županija ; hu, Kapronca-Kőrös megye) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in Northern Croatia. Its hyphenated name comes from two entities: the two of its largest cities,

Koprivnica Koprivnica () is a city in Northern Croatia, located 70 kilometers northeast of Zagreb. It is the capital and the largest city of the Koprivnica-Križevci county. In 2011, the city's administrative area of 90.94 km2 had a total po ...

and Križevci; Koprivnica is the official capital of the county. The county also includes a third town,

Đurđevac Đurđevac is a town in the Koprivnica-Križevci County in Croatia. According to the 2011 census, there are a total of 8,264 inhabitants in the municipality, in the following settlements: * Budrovac, population 373 * Čepelovac, population ...

, but its population is much smaller than the main two (8,862 in 2001). The Koprivnica-Križevci County borders on the

Međimurje County Međimurje County (; hr, Međimurska županija ; hu, Muraköz megye) is a triangle-shaped county in the northernmost part of Croatia, roughly corresponding to the historical and geographical region of Međimurje. Despite being the smallest C ...

in the north,

Varaždin County Varaždin County ( hr, Varaždinska županija) is a county in Northern Croatia. It is named after its county seat, the city of Varaždin. Geography The county contains the city of Varaždin, the towns of: Ivanec, Ludbreg, Lepoglava, Novi Maro ...

in the northwest,

Zagreb County Zagreb County ( hr, Zagrebačka županija) is a county in Northern Croatia. It surrounds, but does not contain, the nation's capital Zagreb, which is a separate territorial unit. For that reason, the county is often nicknamed "Zagreb ring" ( hr, ...

in the southwest,

Bjelovar-Bilogora County Bjelovar-Bilogora County (; hr, Bjelovarsko-bilogorska županija ) is a county in central Croatia. The central town of Bjelovar was first mentioned in 1413, and it only gained importance when a new fort was built in 1756 to defend against the ...

in the south,

Virovitica-Podravina County Virovitica-Podravina County (; hr, Virovitičko-podravska županija ; hu, Verőce-Drávamente megye) is a northern Slavonian county in Croatia. Its county seat is in Virovitica and it includes the area around the Drava river, hence the name ' ...

in the southeast and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

in the east.

History

was first mentioned in 1272 in a document by prince

Ladislaus IV of Hungary Ladislaus IV ( hu, IV. (Kun) László, hr, Ladislav IV. Kumanac, sk, Ladislav IV. Kumánsky; 5 August 1262 – 10 July 1290), also known as Ladislaus the Cuman, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1272 to 1290. His mother, Elizabeth, wa ...

and was declared a free royal town by king Ludovic I in 1356. It has flourished as a trading place and a military fortress since that time. The military aspect set it back when it was included in the

Croatian Military Frontier The Croatian Military Frontier ( hr, Vojna krajina or ') was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during Austria-Hungary. History Founded in the late 1 ...

in the 16th century during the wars with the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

. After

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

's decree of 1765, however, it resumed life as a peaceful little merchant town. Koprivnica developed significantly in the 20th century with the advent of the Podravka food industry, and is known worldwide for its

Vegeta ( ), also referred as is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appears in chapter #204 "Sayonara, Son Goku", published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine on November 7, 1988, seeking t ...

spice. Križevci, on the other hand, as a smaller city and second mentioned in the county name, may seem like an underdog to its neighbour Koprivnica. Its first mention was from 1193 by

Béla III Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar ...

but it was divided into two parts which developed at different rates. After centuries of division, empress

united the Lower and Upper Križevac into Križevci in 1752. The town was also hit by the wars with the Turks, but it regained importance in 1871 when the railway was built through it on the way from

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...

. Modern Križevci is oriented towards entrepreneurship, while preserving its eight beautiful

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

es (one of which is a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

), built mostly in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Administrative division

Koprivnica-Križevci county is divided into: * City of

(county seat) * Town of Križevci * Town of

* Municipality of Drnje * Municipality of

Đelekovec Đelekovec is a municipality and a village in northern Croatia, located north of Koprivnica, near the river Drava. The population of village Đelekovec is 1,192, and the municipality also includes the nearby village of Imbriovec with 341 residents. ...

* Municipality of Ferdinandovac * Municipality of Gola * Municipality of Gornja Rijeka * Municipality of Hlebine * Municipality of Kalinovac * Municipality of Kalnik * Municipality of Kloštar Podravski * Municipality of Koprivnički Bregi * Municipality of Koprivnički Ivanec * Municipality of Legrad * Municipality of

Molve Molve (in Hungarian ''Molna'') is a municipality in the Koprivnica–Križevci County in Croatia. According to the 2011 census, there are 2,189 inhabitants in the area. History In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Molve was part of ...

* Municipality of

Novigrad Podravski Novigrad Podravski is a municipality in the Koprivnica-Križevci County in Croatia. According to the 2011 census, there are 2,872 inhabitants in the area, with Croats forming a majority at 94.5%. History In the late 19th century and early 20th c ...

* Municipality of Novo Virje * Municipality of Peteranec * Municipality of Podravske Sesvete * Municipality of

Rasinja Rasinja is a settlement and an eponymous municipality in northern Croatia in Koprivnica–Križevci County, located halfway between Koprivnica and Ludbreg. Population The municipality's total population is 3,267 (2011 census), in the follo ...

* Municipality of Sokolovac * Municipality of Sveti Ivan Žabno * Municipality of

Sveti Petar Orehovec Sveti Petar Orehovec is a municipality in the Koprivnica-Križevci County in Croatia. According to the 2011 census, there are 4,583 inhabitants in the area. The municipality was formed in 1993. History In the late 19th century and early 20th cen ...

* Municipality of

Virje Virje is a municipality in the Koprivnica–Križevci County in Croatia. According to the 2001 census, there are 5,197 inhabitants in the area, with Croats forming an absolute majority. St. Martin of Tours is the patron saint of this municipalit ...

Demographics

Koprivnica-Križevci County Population Pyramid Census 2011 ENG

As of the 2011 census, the county had 115,584 residents. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

is 71 people per km².

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koprivnica-Krizevci County Counties of Croatia