In Varaždin: a photo album

September 1, 2020

We experienced our first rain of the tour yesterday afternoon, and are still experiencing it this morning. It’s due to pass by late morning, but for now we have a morning to sleep in a bit longer and relax until the streets dry out a bit.

A good time to finally get around to posting some photos of the city that I’ve been collecting for the last few days.

Let’s explore the historic center of Varazdin and it’s remarkable collection of baroque churches, palaces and public buildings. At its heart, it’s a roughly four block by four block square, almost completely pedestrianized. Here, we’re entering it from the southwest, only about a block from our apartment.

On the left is the 17th century Franciscan Church of Saint John the Baptist.

In front of the Church of Saint John the Baptist is this statue of Grgur Ninski, a smaller scale version of the famous one in the Diocletian Palace in Split. Note that his bronze big toe is shiny from the countless people that walk by and rub it for luck.

Another view of Saint John the Baptist Church.

Looking north up one of the side streets, we see the Ursuline Church. It’s Sunday afternoon, the shops are all closed, and the streets are virtually empty except for folks sitting around in cafes and bars.

It’s a bit busier around sundown, when the day has cooled down; but it’s never been at all congested.

This is Tomislava Square. At the far end is the city hall.

The town hall was established in 1543, but it’s modern appearance, including the dominating clock tower, were constructed when it was restored after the great fire of 1776.

One of the fine buildings that line Tomaslava Square.

Looking south, with the town hall clock tower rising above the rooftops.

Sermage Palace is a striking building, but one hard to photograph because the square opposite is dominated by a street side cafe.

Ahead is the parish Church of Saint Nicolas, another of the defining highlights of the city skyline.

The Saint Nicolas Church, built in 1762, is named for the patron saint of the town.

Saint Nicolas Church casts its shadow on Skolska Street.

Another view of Saint Nicolas Church, and a city government building.

A Romani family wheeling down toward town hall. Romani are the largest ethnic minority in the region.

Most of the old city is well maintained, but you find a few battered walls and windows here and there.

This and the following photos are from outside the Pritratki Gallery. Pritratki specialized in creating works of art out of ordiary objects.

The remaining photos are all from the oddly named Old Town (Stari Grad). Odd, because it’s just outside the area we’ve been looking at above that I’d think of as the old town, and mostly consists of the castle and the earthen walls surrounding it. We walked around it after dinner on Saturday night when the sun was going down, so the photos are all a bit dark. We should make it back there again before we go.

The earthen works around the castle make a nice spot to watch the sun go down.

The Church of Saint Floriana. It’s too bad we weren’t here about fifteen minutes earlier.

Saint Laurence Chapel is illuminated by a rotating colored light display.

Left to right: the town hall, the moon, the cathedral, and the Franciscan Church.

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