Varaždin

Varaždin ( or ; , also known by alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011).

The city is best known for its baroque buildings, music, textile, food and IT industry.

Name

In Hungarian the town is known as ''Varasd'', in Latin as ''Varasdinum'' and in German as ''Warasdin''. The name ''Varaždin'' traces its origin to ''varoš'', a Hungarian loanword from ''város'', meaning ''city''.

Population

The total population of the city is 46,946 and it includes the following settlements:

* Črnec Biškupečki, population 696
* Donji Kućan, population 716
* Gojanec, population 620
* Gornji Kućan, population 1,139
* Hrašćica, population 1,283
* Jalkovec, population 1,309
* Kućan Marof, population 1,388
* Poljana Biškupečka, population 452
*Varaždin, population 38,839
* Zbelava, population 504

Administrative division

The administrative sections of Varaždin are local committees (). These are:

* Centar
* 2nd Local Committee
* 3rd Local Committee
* 4th Local Committee
* 5th Local Committee
* Banfica
* Biškupec
* Hrašćica
* Gojanec
* Jalkovec
* Poljana Biškupečka
* Črnec Biškupečki
* Kućan Marof
* Gornji Kućan
* Donji Kućan
* Zbelava

History

12th-13th centuries

The first written reference to Varaždin, whose historical name is Garestin, was on 20 August 1181, when King Béla III mentioned the nearby thermal springs (Varaždinske Toplice) in a legal document.

Varaždin was declared a free royal borough in 1209 by the Hungarian King Andrew II. The town became the economic and military centre of northern Croatia. Due to Ottoman raids, the town was structured defensively around the old fortress, and acquired the shape of a typical medieval Wasserburg. In the early 13th century, the Knights Hospitaller () came to Varaždin, where they built the church and a monastery. Mid 13th century, the church of St. John belonging to the Hospitallers was taken over by Franciscans, who extended it over several centuries, eventually replacing the medieval structures with early baroque."Varazdin - Historic Nucleus and Old Town (the Castle)"
Tentative list of Croatia for Varaždin to be listed a World heritage site, on ''unesco.org''.

14th-15th centuries

At the end of the 14th century, Varaždin fortress passed to the hands of the Counts of Celje. Over the following centuries Varaždin had several owners, the most influential being Beatrice Frankopan (1480–1510), wife of Margrave Georg of Brandenburg-Ansbach, who built the town hall; her successor was Baron Ivan Ungnad (1493–1564), who reinforced the existing fortification. At the end of the 16th century Count Thomas Erdődy became its owner, assuming the hereditary position of Varaždin prefects (župan), and the fortress remained in the ownership of the Erdődy family until 1925.

16th-17th centuries

The town was the seat of Slavonnian Military Border in late 16th century.Hrvoje Petrić, 2008
"Fire and urban environment in early modern cities and towns of croatian and slavonian kingdom"Review of Croatian History
2008, n° 4, p. 111-130. See p. 112.

; Destructions by fires and fire fighting measures
16th century is also the beginning of fires being recorded; starting with a fire in Varaždin in 1558, although no details are given.Petrić 2008, p. 126.

We know more about the great fire of May 27, 1582, that had such dire effects that the Varaždin population counted time as "prior" and "after the Great fire".Petrić 2008, p. 117. The losses include the parish church, the Franciscan church and a friary (subsequently the Franciscans left Varaždin), the chapels of St. Vid, Michael and Holy Trinity, the homes of the local tollhouse clerks and customs officers. The stronghold was spared but the fire jumped the city walls and ravaged the suburbs close to the river Drava. The citizens asked the king for help and were granted state tax exoneration for the following six years by the Hungarian royal chamber, relieved from tax duty for one year and were assigned free serf labor. Austrian archduke Ernest wrote to Varaždin County officials on July 9, 1582 to provide free lumber for the citizens who had lost their homes in the fire.Petrić 2008, p. 127. That fire prompted authorities, not only in Varaždin but also in other towns, to set up watch posts with guards on lookout for possible fire.Petrić 2008, p. 124.

A fire on April 29, 1586, burned down a number of buildings. The following year, 1587, saw two fires: one on May 10 that burned 23 homes in the Royal street, and one on December 26 that burned only one home. At that time, Varaždin, contrary to some other towns, did not have any organized fire-fighting service.Petrić 2008, p. 114. The next fire recorded, in 1592, brings in the town protocol the description of «pitiful and grieving town of Varaždin»; among the damages are noted that of several public buildings, including the town hall and St. Nicholas church.Petrić 2008, p. 118. Another fire in 1599 destroyed 66 buildings in and around the street of St.Vid.Petrić 2008, p. 115. 1599 also sees the town officials take the first fire fighting measures. This ordnance seems to have had some effect, as the next recorded fire dates from mid-17th century.Petrić 2008, p. 125.

The great fire of 1646, that destroyed more than half the town and damaged many of the remaining buildings, did not deter the town's growth, as better buildings replaced the "ugly town district".Petrić 2008, p. 113.
Sigismund Trautmanstorf_{( de)}, a member of Austria's nobility, reports a fire on May 1, 1648, fuelled by high wind, that destroyed more than a half the town within its walls - several hundred of houses disappeared. The town magistrate asked King Ferdinand III to relieve the town from Royal chamber taxes, due
to the current devastation; the king granted that request and on 27 October 1649 he pardoned the town from paying overdue taxes of 500 Hungarian forint, with the specific reason of «half of Varaždin perishing in the fire of 1 May 1648».Petrić 2008, p. 121.

On Easter Monday of March 27, 1665, an extremely large fire startedPetrić 2008, p. 116. in Brodovski konec suburb (E-N-E of Varaždin) and, due to a strong wind, crossed the town walls and spread all over town.Petrić 2008, p. 116. It destroyed Varaždin churches (parish church, Jesuit church and Franciscan church), spared only eight homes and new stables belonging to Varaždin stronghold's military commander; it also destroyed several towers from the town walls, albeit sparing the one used as main armoury - a lucky escape, as that one held the gunpowder magazine; thus sparing some lives. Beside the inner town buildings, the entire suburb outside the upper gates was also destroyed in the fire, from the east all the way to the stronghold's toll gates; this included part of the main street and Vidovski konec street, toward Biškupec village (about 3 km south of Varaždin); the next day the fire caught Vidovski konec and burned all its buildings down.

St. Florian's chapel was built in Varaždin in 1669, as a votive chapel after the 1665 fire (catholic patron saint St. Florian was believed to protect from fires, thus has many dedicated chapels and churches - such as that in Koprivnica, first mentioned in 1680, or in Križevci after their fire in 1735).Petrić 2008, p. 124.

Fires in the 18th century include that of 1745, set up by soldiers spiteful of their lodgers, which destroyed a number of homes and a brewery.

In 1748 another fire destroyed much of the southern suburbs, including 119 homes and several hundred stables and barns.Petrić 2008, p. 123.

In 1767, the Croatian Royal Council - newly installed in town - gave order to the Varaždin town authorities to uphold restriction on drying flax and hemp fiber on house stoves, on smoking around barns and stables, and on replacing wooden chimneys by brick-built ones, the latter an expensive task: 1768 records show that that concerned most of Varaždin's chimneys, a fire hazard compounded by that the people hardly ever cleaned them. In 1755, Varaždin had only one chimneysweeper, not even paid on a regular basis.Petrić 2008, p. 125. The presence of the country's gouvernment in town somewhat changed the attitude towards fire. For example, upon another fire in 1769, there were records of efficiency in putting out the fire. Members of the town's administration showing up at fire sight were to take charge of the operation, duties were assigned to firefighters and their performance monitored.

A record from 1771 mentions 32 buildings and many stables and barns destroyed by fire.
That year, the Hungarian Chamber representative proposed to the town authorities to help those who lost homes in fire rebuild in bricks and setting up stoves outside their houses - not only in Varaždin town center, but also further in the town outskirts. Thus in 1774, the Hungarian chamber demanded from Varaždin town authorities that burned-down homes of Sračinec village be replaced with raw brick buildings. Moreover, in 1767 the town owned only one water-sprinkling device with a two- to three bucket capacity; in 1772 Queen Maria Theresa issued an ordnance listing necessary equipment that the town's authorities had to purchase for fire-fighting, and by 1773, the town owned most of this equipment. In 1771, Varaždin authorities made fire-fighting compulsory for all citizens.

But this did not spare the town from its next big fire, that of April 25–26, 1776. It started in the Sračinec suburb (west of Varaždin) and, again due to strong wind - and the carelessness of a merchant who had stashed gunpowder in his house, which exploded and added fuel to the fire -, spread to Varaždin. Of the 113 buildings held within its walls, 70 were entirely destroyed and 11 partially destroyed; the northern suburb had held 256 buildings, of which 111 were entirely destroyed; and of the 245 homes in the southern suburb, 135 were destroyed : altogether, from the total of 614 homes, 316 were destroyed - more than half. Most of the nobility fled the town, and with it the country's government so recently installed there. But the commoners (primarily merchants and artisans) remained - and turned their town into one huge building site: by 1780 the number of homes equaled that prior to the fire.

After that fire, the town authorities decreed a public prohibition of wooden houses inside the town walls; even more specifically, brickmade chimneys became compulsory. The authorities ensured that adequate building materials were available. A committee was set up to inspect all chimneys and list down those which were fire hazards. Incentives were set up too, rewarding those citizens who were first to help in fire fighting; in the 18th century, there were public citations for citizens who showed up at fires with fire-fighting sprinkling equipment, as well as those who arrived on site with large amounts of water to put out fire. Later, fire insurance policies were set up with insurance companies.

In spite of all those set-backs, the 17th and 18th centuries saw Varaždin's economy and culture expand ; within that period it grew from around 3,000 inhabitants around the year 1600 to around 5,500 inhabitants by the end of the 18th century.Petrić 2008, p. 112.

; Varaždin capital of Croatia... for a short time
In 1756 or 1766, the Ban Ferenc Nádasdy chose Varaždin as his official residence, and Varaždin became the capital of all of Croatia. It hosted the Croatian Sabor and the Royal Croatian Council founded by Empress Maria Theresa.

The April 1776 fire put an end to that presence in town.Petrić 2008, p. 129.

; Post-capital
The periods of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation had a great influence on Varaždin. With the arrival of the Jesuits, the school ( gymnasium) and the Jesuit house were founded, and churches and other buildings were built in the Baroque style. In the 18th century Varaždin was the seat of many Croatian noblemen, and in 1756 it became the Croatian administrative centre. The fire of 1776 destroyed some 80% of the town, resulting in the administrative institutions moving back to Zagreb.

19th century

Varaždin was the seat of Varaždin County of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia within the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, ruled by the Kingdom of Hungary after the compromise of 1867. The Hungarian stamp, issued in 1881 shows both names.

By the 19th century Varaždin had been completely rebuilt and expanded, with flourishing crafts and trade, and later the manufacture of silk and bricks. The theatre and the music school were founded. From the second half of 19th century, fire fighting was organized and specialized fire-fighting societies were established; the very first fire fighting volunteers in Croato-Slavonnian Kingdom was organized in Varaždin in 1864.

20th century

In the 20th century Varaždin developed into the industrial centre of northwestern Croatia. The textile manufacturer ''Tivar'' was founded in 1918. A silk factory was started in 1929, the one which would later start the sportswear brand YASSA.

The DVD "Varteks" was founded in 1935. It was Varaždin's main fire department until the foundation of DVD "Zdravstvo" on 21 December 1981.

Under the leadership of professor Krešimir Filić, the town developed a city library, a city museum, a gallery, reopened its music school, and had a mountaineering society started.

Soon after the start of World War II in Yugoslavia, on 12 July 1941, Varaždin was declared ''Judenfrei'' by the Ustaše, becoming the first city in Croatia to earn this dubious distinction.

The former village of Biškupec, whose population was tracked as a separate settlement between 1857 and 1948, when it reached 635 inhabitants, was integrated into the city of Varaždin since the 1953 census.

In the Croatian War of Independence, 1991, Varaždin suffered directly for only for a few days, because the huge Yugoslav People's Army base quickly surrendered after the Siege of Varaždin Barracks, resulting in a minimal number of casualties, and providing weapons (worth $600m) for the Croatian army.

Monuments and sights

Varaždin represents the best preserved and richest urban complex in continental Croatia. It aims for a Unesco listing as a World Heritage Site.

The Old Town (fortress) is an example of medieval defensive buildings. Construction began in the 14th century, and in the following century the rounded towers, typical of Gothic architecture in Croatia, were added. Today it houses th
Town Museum
The fortress was depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 5 kuna banknote, issued in 1993 and 2001.
The Old and Contemporary Masters Gallery
is located in the Sermage Palace, built in the rococo style in 1750.

In 1523, Margrave Georg of Brandenburg built the town hall in late baroque style, with the Varaždin coat of arms at the foot of the tower, and it has continued in its function until the present day. There is a guard-changing ceremony every Saturday.

Varaždin's Cathedral, a former Jesuit church, was built in 1647, and is distinguished by its baroque entrance, eighteenth-century altar, and paintings.

There are many baroque and rococo palaces and houses in the town. Worth particular mention is Varaždin's Croatian National Theatre, built in 1873 and designed by the Viennese architects Herman Helmer and Ferdinand Fellner.

A baroque music festival has been held annually in Varaždin since 1971, and attracts some of the finest musicians and their fans from Croatia and the world. Recommended to visitors is also the historical street festival ''Špancir fest'' every August.

The city features its old city guard, named Purgari, in various city ceremonies as well as the weekly ceremony of the 'change of the guards' in front of the city hall. Additionally, Varaždin police officers patrol on bicycles in the warmer months.

The Old Town (Stari Grad)

The Old Town keep is one of the biggest monuments in the city of Varaždin and one of its biggest tourist attractions. It is located in the north-western section of the city core. Today the keep houses the Varaždin City Museum.

The keep is first mentioned in the 12th century and it is believed to be the center of Varaždin county life. The keep underwent numerous ownership changes and reconstructions over the centuries. The Old Town was featured on the now defunct 5 Kuna bill.

Churches and monasteries

Baroque palaces

Varaždin cemetery

The cemetery dates back to 1773 and it was long time an ordinary place until 1905, when Herman Haller had an idea to make it more park-like with large trees and alleys for citizens to stroll through. The reconstruction of the cemetery was done between 1905 and 1947, and its current landscape and architecture dates from these works, It is now a protected cultural and natural park.

Festivals

* Špancirfest
* Varaždin Baroque Evenings
*International Children and Youth Animation Film Festival VAFI, since 2010

In 2023 Varaždin is the first croatian city to become a UNESCO Creative City in the field of music.

Museums

*THE OLD TOWN (STARI GRAD) Museum houses the Cultural and Historic Collection. The Old Town Museum has been a part of the Varaždin City Museum organization since 1925. Today is features: over 400 pieces from the glass, ceramics and clocks collection, 10 rooms furnished in chronological period style (renaissance, baroque, rococo, Empire, Biedermeier, historicism and art deco), a chapel and sacristy, and 2 rooms dedicated to two prominent men from Varaždin, Vatroslav Jagić and Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski.
*THE HERZER PALACE houses the Entomological Collection focusing on The World of Insects. There are over 4500 exhibits which clearly show the biology of bugs through several topics:In the forest, Near the forest and on the meadow, In the water and near the water, At night and underground.
*THE SERMAGE PALACE houses the Gallery of Old and Contemporary Masters Art Gallery. It is home to over 5300 works of art separated in 10 collections with works ranging from the 15th to the 20th century.

Geography

The total area is (2001). The urban city settlement is .

The centre of Varaždin County is located near the Drava River, at .

Climate

Varaždin has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification ''Dfb'') bordering on a maritime climate (''Cfb'').

Since records began in 1949, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station at an elevation of was , on 8 August 2013. The coldest temperature was , on 16 February 1956.

Economy and tourism

Varaždin is one of the few Croatian cities whose industry did not directly suffer from the war in 1991. Besides textile giant Varteks (Varaždin Textile), it also has nationally important food (''Vindija''), metal, and construction industries. The Information Technology and financial and banking sector as are well developed. Further economic development has been encouraged with the creation of a free investment zone.

Today Varaždin is a tourist destination for the summer holidays. The city has numerous areas of interests ranging from cultural areas (reflected by many museums, galleries and theaters in the area), shopping centers in the downtown core, various sports and recreation facilities, also a rich history in cuisine. The close of the tourist season is marked by two annual festivals. The annual ŠpancirFest begins at the end of August and ends in September (lasts for 10 days). At this time the city welcomes artists, street performers, musicians and vendors for what is called "the street walking festival".

The city also hosts the Varaždin Baroque Evenings festival, first held in 1971. The festival honours baroque music and culture, both of which hold a special place in Varaždin's identity.

Varaždin was also the host of the Radar Festival, which hosted concerts at the end of summer. It has hosted artists like Bob Dylan, Carlos Santana, The Animals, Manic Street Preachers, Solomon Burke and others.

Geothermal potential

In October 2023, the state-owned energy company, Bukotermal, announced the discovery of an underground lake of superheated water at an average , with the potential to support a 16 MW geothermal power plant near the towns of Lunjkovec and Kutnjak.Croatia wants to turn this superhot underground lake into a 16MW geothermal power plant - Countries across the EU are ramping up efforts to harness the Earth's heat
Siôn Geschwindt, TNW, 2023-10-11

Transportation

Apart from A4 highway that runs between Zagreb and Goričan (Hungarian border), there are three state roads that reach the area of Varaždin: D2, D3 and D35. The town is fully encircled by the Varaždin bypass. Varaždin is also a hub for bus transportation company "AP Varaždin" which offers significant number of county (local), inter-county and inter-city services, also offering international lines.

Varaždin's railway station is one of the largest and most important train stations in northern Croatia. It represents the intersection of three Croatian railway corridors that are used for both passenger and freight traffic - it lies on R201 railway (Zaprešić - Čakovec) and also represents the terminus for one local line ( L201 connecting Golubovec) and one regional line ( R202 connecting Dalj via Koprivnica, Virovitica and Osijek). All of the rail corridors that start, end or pass through Varaždin are single-tracked and non-electrified.

Sport

Varaždin is home to a number of professional and semi-professional sports clubs. Varaždin Arena, located near the Drava River, was one of the hosts of the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship held in Croatia, as well as one of the hosts of the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship held in Croatia, Denmark and Norway.
*Football: NK Varaždin (1931–2015), NK Varteks (2011), NK Varaždin (2012)
*Handball: RK Varteks Di Caprio, RK Koka
*Basketball: KK Varaždin, KK Varteks
*Volleyball: OK Varaždin
*Tennis: TK Varaždin, TK Varteks
*Baseball BK Vindija Varaždin
*Ice hockey: " KHL Varaždin"
*Wrestling: "Vindija"
*Water polo: "Coning"
*Badminton: "BK KAJ"
* Bicycling: "BD Sloga"
*Track and field: "TK Marathon 95"
*Mountaineering: "Ravna Gora"

In mountaineering, the local chapter of the HPS is ''HPD "Ravna Gora"'', which had 175 members in 1936 under the Krešimir Filić presidency. At the time, it had a ski and a photography section. Membership fell to 138 in 1937, and to 136 in 1938.

Education

Schools

Varaždin has seven elementary schools, 10 high schools (2 public gymnasiums, 2 private gymnasiums, trade schools, and other specialized high schools for various paths).
Varaždin 2 faculties (Faculty of Organization and Information Technology and Geotechnical faculty) that are part of the University of Zagreb and the University North.

Universities

There are 2 public universities currently operating in the city of Varaždin: Varaždin and Koprivnica took part in establishing the University North, a public national university that operates in both cities since 2015. University of Zagreb is present in the city with 2 displaced faculties from Zagreb itself.

Notable people

This list contains some of the notable people who were either born in Varaždin, lived in the city for a longer time or were in some significant way related to it.
* Ivan Belostenec – linguist, lexicographer
*Zvonko Bezjak

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