Gradski muzej Varaždin

About the museum

The Gradski muzej Varaždin was founded on the initiative of the Varaždin Museum Society and opened to visitors on 16 November 1925 in the Old Town, a Gothic-Renaissance fortress that is still its main exhibition site today. The first collection consisted of gifts from prominent Varaždin families, and over the years archaeological, historical, cultural-historical, ethnographic, natural history and restoration departments, as well as a gallery, were established.

In the Old Town, renovated between 1983 and 1989, the displays present ten rooms furnished as period salons from the Renaissance and Baroque to the Biedermeier, Historicism and Art Deco. Alongside them are collections of coats of arms and charters, guilds, cold and firearms, and a collection of glass, ceramics and clocks opened in 2007. In the Classicist Herzer Palace the Natural History Department has been housed since 1954, and its display Svijet kukaca was created on the basis of the collection of teacher Franjo Košćec.

The Gallery of Old and Modern Masters, founded in 1939, is housed in the Baroque Sermage Palace. Its first floor alternates between two permanent displays, Old Masters from the 15th to the late 19th century and Croatian Masters of the 20th century, which include Vlaho Bukovac, Ivan Meštrović and Miljenko Stančić, among others.

Highlights

• Ten stylistic rooms in the Old Town, from the Renaissance to Art Deco
• Collection of glass, ceramics and clocks in the Old Town
• Svijet kukaca in the Herzer Palace with around 4,500 exhibits
• Gallery of Old and Modern Masters in the Sermage Palace
• Žitna Madona (Grain Madonna), a 15th-century painting in the collection of Old Masters

Permanent exhibitions

• Kulturnopovijesni odjel u Starom gradu – Ten chronologically arranged stylistic rooms from the Renaissance to Art Deco, collections of weapons, guilds and documents, and a collection of glass, ceramics and clocks.
• Svijet kukaca – Display in the Herzer Palace with around 4,500 exhibits arranged by habitat: forest, meadow, water, and night and underground.
• Galerija starih i suvremenih majstora – In the Sermage Palace, permanent displays of Old Masters from the 15th to the late 19th century and of Croatian Masters of the 20th century alternate.

Founded

1925

Director

Miran Bojanić Morandini

Admission & discounts

Tickets for the permanent displays are sold separately for each display (Old Town, Svijet kukaca, Gallery).

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Since 2008 the Natural History Department in the Herzer Palace has had a section “Percepcija dodirom” (Perception by Touch), adapted for blind and partially sighted visitors.

Kids & families

The family ticket is valid for two adults and children, up to six members in total.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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