CASTLES OF CROATIA - Old Town Varaždin

OLD TOWN, VARAŽDIN – a medieval and Renaissance fortress and Erdödy Castle In the 11th and 12th centuries, the fortress of county prefects (castrum comitis) was built next to the intersection of three Roman roads. Today's Old Town developed from it. The first mention of the name "Varaždin" was recorded in 1181. There was a settlement that developed as a suburb of the Old Town, which became a free royal town in 1209 – the first royal town in Croatia at the time, 33 years before Zagreb. Since then Varaždin is proprietarily and legally a dual town – a feudal/noble fortress of the Wasserburg type – today's Old Town – and a civil town that was the capital of Croatia from 1756 to 1776. Architectural layers from the medieval era to the last thorough restoration in 1989 can be found in the nine centuries-long history of the Old Town. In the long history of construction, adjusting to military tasks and the needs of everyday life, the Old Town is recognized as a balanced unit of great national value with Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque characteristics. The largest construction works were done in the 16th and 18th centuries – firstly because of the danger posed by the Turks, the medieval feudal town (Wasserburg) was transformed into a Renaissance fortress, followed by a Baroque transformation of the fortress into a castle that is suitable for housing. At the invitation of the owner Ivan Ungnad, the Renaissance construction works from 1544 to 1575 were led by Domenico dell'Allio, an Italian architect and the main fortress architect on the border with the Ottoman Empire. Round towers and tall earthen embankments surrounded by water moats were built which are largely preserved to this day. When the threat from the Turks no longer existed, the Old Town was restored in 1705, as evidenced by the inscription on the facade, and then again in 1776, when the thorough Baroque transformation of Varaždin began after the great fire. Ivan Ungnad, the commander of the border area towards the Ottoman Empire, and Counts of Erdödy take credit for the construction, architectural transformations and preservation of the Old Town. In 1584, Ivan Ungnad's granddaughter married Thomas Erdödy II, a Croatian ban and the commander of the Croatian army in the defense of Sisak in 1593, bringing the Old Town as a dowry. Counts of Erdödy owned it for 340 years up until 1925 when, on the occasion of the thousandth anniversary of the Kingdom of Croatia, the "Varaždin" City Museum was opened in the Old Town. 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the Museum in the Old Town, 450 years since the construction of the Renaissance fortress, 250 years since the end of the Baroque transformation of the Old Town and 1,100 years of the Kingdom of Croatia.