Do you know where the largest tumulus in Europe, the fossil volcano and the oldest spa are?

Varaždin County is the end of preserved nature and rich cultural heritage that will delight every visitor with diversity and offer him an unforgettable experience. One of the smallest counties in Croatia is truly unique because it hides many interesting things that can only be found here.

The only fossil volcano in Croatia

Arriving in Lepoglava, you can see the only preserved fossil volcano formed about 22 million years ago, and also the only known site of semi-precious agate stone in Croatia. Learn more about the geological origin of the earth and get acquainted with the valuable mineral treasures of this area.

Gaveznica – Kameni vrh is also an archaeological site, and at the very top of the former hill, the remains of a prehistoric settlement from the Late Bronze Age were found.

gaveznica, excursion varazdin
Gaveznica – volcanic chimney, photo source: Public Institution Nature of Varaždin County

The largest tumulus in Europe

Tumulus Heap in Jalžabet, at 75 meters wide and eight meters high, it is one of the largest prehistoric tombs in Central Europe. It dates back to the Early Iron Age (6th or 7th century BC), and archaeologists believe that a wealthy prince was buried in this tomb.

The oldest thermal spa in Croatia

Varaždinske Toplice are the oldest thermal spa in Croatia with a thousand-year tradition of using medicinal thermo-mineral water. The Jasi, an ancient Pannonian tribe, used the benefits of this gentle and rich region, and the Romans built a spa around the spring and named the city around it Aquae Iasae. 

Roman excavations, Varaždinske Toplice, excursion Varaždin
Roman excavations, source: archives of the Tourist Board of the city of Varaždinske Toplice

Fossil remains of a woolly rhinoceros

Not far LudbregIn 1982, fossil remains of an extinct species of rhinoceros were found – ice age woolly rhinoceros, estimated to be around 20.000 years old. It is the best preserved and only one of its kind in situ find found in Croatia.

Erika, woolly rhinoceros, Varaždin City Museum
Erika, woolly rhinoceros, source: Varaždin City Museum archives

The find is named after Mrs. Erika Ivančić, who alerted the Museum to the bones visible in the profile of the dirt road. Immediately after that tip, in March 1983, experts from the Varaždin City Museum and the Croatian Museum of Natural History excavated the remains of an Ice Age woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis).

woolly rhinoceros, ludbreg, erika, varaždin city museum
Photo source: Varaždin City Museum archives

The woolly rhinoceros is an extinct species of rhinoceros that lived in Europe and northern Asia during the Middle and Late Pleistocene, from 550.000 to 12.000 years ago. It belongs to the Eurasian rhinoceros family (Dicerorhininae), of which only the Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) still exists today. Along with the woolly mammoth, it is one of the characteristic animals of ice age landscapes.

The longest sarma

Sarma, Vegetable soup
Source: Zeljarijada Facebook page

Dedicated to cabbage, an indigenous product of the Vidovec region that has been grown in the area since ancient times, a traditional event is held in Vidovec every September - Vegetable FestivalIn addition to the folklore festival, entertainment and cultural events, Zeljarijada is unthinkable without sarma. In fact, it is the longest sarma in the world, which breaks its own record every year. At the last Zeljarijada, as many as 11.000 sarma were distributed.

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