City of Varaždin

The first written reference to Varaždin was in 1181, when the nearby thermal springs Varaždinske Toplice were mentioned by King Bela III in a legal document.

In 1209 Varaždin was declared a free royal borough by the Croatian-Hungarian King Andrew II which allowed it to develop into the economic and military centre of northern Croatia. Due to the frequent Ottoman raids, the town was structured defensively around the old fortress, thus acquiring the shape of a typical medieval Wasserburg. As early as the 13th century the Knights Hospitaller (in Croatian Ivanovci) came to Varaždin, where they built a church and a monastery.

At the end of the 14th century the Varaždin fortress passed into the hands of the Earls of Celje. Over the following centuries Varaždin had several owners, the most influential being Beatrice Frankopan, Margrave Juraj of Brandenburg, who built the town hall; the last was Baron Ivan Ungnad, who reinforced the existing fortification. When at the end of the 16th century Count Toma Bakač Erdödy became its owner, assuming the hereditary position of Varaždin prefect (župan), the fortress remained in the ownership of his family until 1925.

In 1756, Ban Franjo Nadasdy chose Varaždin as his official residence turning Varaždin into the capital of all of Croatia. It hosted Croatian Sabor and the Royal Croatian Council founded by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.

Reformation and the counter-reformation left a lasting mark on Varaždin. With the arrival of the Jesuits, the school and the convent were founded. Furthermore, a number of churches and monasteries were built in the baroque style. As Varaždin was the seat of many Croatian noblemen in 1756 it became the administrative center of Croatia. However, when the great fire of 1776 destroyed most of the town, administrative institutions moved back to Zagreb.

Due to its advantageous location, the town is easily accessible to many neighbouring countries.

By bus:

Buses are very frequent from Zagreb and take around 90 minutes - check the timetables or the Zagreb Bus Station's website [1] for times. Services into the neighbouring areas are quite frequent, some going over the border into Hungary. Buses also leave from other major Croatian cities almost daily for Varaždin. Online information for buses to Varaždin can be found at the Varaždin Transit website.

International departures (especially for Austria, Germany, Hungary and beyond) often make a stop in the town, and if there is a later bus that day, companies normally honour a 'break of journey' to visit the town for a few hours.

In Varaždin the bus station is on the western side of town, and the railway station is on the eastern side, around 2 km away.

Eurobusways (eurobusways), ☏ +36 702821827, info@eurobusways.com. shuttle bus from Budapest to Varazdin or back, offers 2.5 hrs connection time daily €35. (updated Mar 2020)

By car:

Those travelling from Graz in Austria should proceed to Maribor taking the M3 road to Ptuj from which they can cross into Croatia.

Travellers coming from Nagykanizsa or Budapest should use the A4 motorway once they enter Croatia which connects Varaždin with the Hungarian border.

Travellers from Zagreb can use A4 motorway which will take them to their destination in less than an hour.

By train:

1 Varaždin railway station The most scenic and cheapest (but slowest) way to get to Varaždin from Zagreb is a local train (2hr 20min) stopping at every station between the two cities. The price of a return ticket is €16.30, with discounts for ISIC card holders. The speed of the journey dramatically improved with the addition of a faster (though more expensive) alternative of the high-speed tilting train connection operated by Hrvatske željeznice (Croatian railways).