Varaždin County (; ) was an administrative subdivision (''

županija A ''županija'' (singular; plural ''županije'') is a Croatian term for administrative subdivisions. The etymology is the South Slavic term '' Župa'', which means parish in Croatian. The similar Slovene term župnija is used to mean that. Th ...

'') of the

Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (; or ; ) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was created in 1868 by merging the kingdoms of Kingdom of Croatia (Habs ...

. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the

Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River), were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire existence (30 March 1867 – 16 ...

(

Transleithania The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River), were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire existence (30 March 1867 – 16 ...

), the Hungarian part of the dual

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. Its territory is now in northern

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. The capital of the county was

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, 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, ...

(Croatian, in Hungarian: ''Varasd'').

Geography

Varaždin County shared borders with the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n land

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

, the Hungarian county of Zala, and the Croatian-Slavonian county of Bjelovar-Križevci and

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. It comprised the towns and market towns of Ivanec, Jalžabet, Lepoglava,

Ludbreg Ludbreg is a town in Croatia, located halfway between Varaždin and Koprivnica near the river Drava. It has 3,603 inhabitants, and a total of 8,478 in the entire municipality (census 2011). History For centuries Ludbreg has been a popular plac ...

, Prelog,

Čakovec Čakovec (; ; ; ) is a city in Northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital, and close to the borders with Slovenia and Hungary. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmo ...

, Klanjec,

Krapina Krapina (; ) is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 (2011) and a total municipality population of 12,480 (2011). Krapina is located in the hilly Zagorje region of Croatia ...

, Novi Marof and

Varaždinske Toplice Varaždinske Toplice (; or ; Kajkavian: ) is a small town in northern Croatia's Varaždin County. The town has been well known throughout the centuries for its hot springs as well as a medical center. In Ancient Rome it was known as Aquae Iasae. ...

. The river

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

formed its northern border after Međimurje became part of Hungarian Zala County in 1720. Its area was 2521 km² around 1910.

History

The territory of Varaždin County was part of the Kingdom of Croatia when it entered a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1102, and with it became part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

in 1526. After 1607, the position of the county's was hereditary, given to the

Erdődy The House of Erdődy de Monyorókerék et Monoszló (also House of Erdödy) is the name of an old Hungarian people, Hungarian-Croats, Croatian noble family with possessions in Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croati ...

noble family. Until the 18th century it was part of the

Varaždin Generalate The Varaždin Generalate (, ), also known as the (" Slavic Border") in German, was a province of the Military Frontier of the Habsburg monarchy (later the Austrian Empire and briefly Austria-Hungary), that existed between 1531 and the 19th century. ...

of the

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...

. In 1850, following the

revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, Varaždin County gained Međimurje from the Hungarian

Zala County Zala (, ; ; ) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''vármegye'') in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia (Koprivnica–Križevci County, Koprivnica–Križevci and Me� ...

(except for the area around

Legrad Legrad () is a village and a municipality in northern Croatia, located north of Koprivnica and east of Ludbreg in the Koprivnica–Križevci County. In the 2011 census, there were a total of 2,241 inhabitants in the municipality, in the followi ...

, which went to Križevci County). It was divided into four (political) districts ():Gesetz vom 12. Juni 1850, RGBl. 245/1850: * Warasdin * Klanjec *

* Csakaturn (Čakovec) In 1854, as part of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

's absolutism, it was restructured again, absorbing much of Križevci County. The 1850 districts were replaced with a different system (still referred to as but functionally different).Gesetz vom 3. Juni 1854, RGBl. 136/1854: The cities of Kreutz (Križevci), Kopreinitz (Koprivnica) and Warasdin/Varasdin (Varaždin) themselves were city-districts () separate from the districts listed above (which were ). Its territory was restored to its pre-1850 state in 1860. In 1871 the

of the

was integrated into Croatia-Slavonia. As a result the territory of the surrounding counties was altered; Varaždin County gained some territory from both

and Križevci Counties. In 1886 its territory was altered again, with some returned to Zagreb and some more gained from Križevci (which became part of

Bjelovar-Križevci County The Bjelovar-Križevci County (; ) was a historic administrative subdivision of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (Transleithania), the Hungarian part of th ...

in the same reform). This configuration would remain in place until the county's dissolution. In 1918 Croatia-Slavonia ''de facto'' seceded from Austria-Hungary as part of the

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( / ; ) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (Prečani (Serbs), Prečani) residing in what were the southernmost parts of th ...

, which joined the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

(later renamed to Yugoslavia) soon after. This was recognised in the 1920

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

. The county was formally abolished in 1922 when the

Vidovdan Constitution The Vidovdan Constitution was the first constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was approved by the Constitutional Assembly on 28 June 1921 despite the opposition boycotting the vote. The Constitution is named after the feast ...

came into force. Since 1991, when Croatia became independent from

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, the county is part of the

Republic of Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Mont ...

Demographics

In 1900, the county had a population of 279,448 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Croatian: 270,897 (96.9%) * Serbian: 2,464 (0.9%) *

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: 1,654 (0.6%) * Hungarian: 1,061 (0.4%) * Slovak: 126 (0.0%) * Ruthenian: 4 (0.0%) * Romanian: 1 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 3,241 (1.2%) According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: *

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

: 275,111 (98.5%) *

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

: 2,502 (0.9%) *

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

: 1,612 (0.6%) *

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

: 161 (0.0%) *

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

: 31 (0.0%) *

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

: 26 (0.0%) * Unitarian: 0 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 5 (0.0%) In 1910, the county had a population of 307,010 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Croatian: 300,033 (97.7%) * Serbian: 2,384 (0.8%) *

: 1,172 (0.4%) * Hungarian: 1,095 (0.4%) * Slovak: 41 (0.0%) * Ruthenian: 0 (0.0%) * Romanian: 2 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 2,283 (0.7%) According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: *

: 303,038 (98.7%) *

: 2,409 (0.8%) *

: 1,341 (0.4%) *

: 114 (0.0%) *

: 42 (0.0%) *

: 61 (0.0%) * Unitarian: 0 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 5 (0.0%)

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Varasd county were:

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varazdin County (Former) 1920 disestablishments Former counties of Croatia Counties in the Kingdom of Hungary States and territories established in the 12th century

Geography

History

Demographics

Subdivisions

See also

Notes