Varaždin is a charming little town in the North of Croatia proverbially called ‘’Little Wiena’’ due to its baroque architecture and rich cultural heritage.
Every September the people of Varaždin celebrate this with the manifestation ‘’Varaždin Baroque Evenings’’. The goal of the festival is to present ‘’the richest and the most extensively preserved’’ cultural heritage.
Although ‘’Varaždin Baroque Evenings’’ are mainly a festival of classical music, the program showcases architectural, literary, horticultural, visual and educational heritage. This years edition of the festival will be held from the 18th of September till the 1th of October.
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This truly is a first class cultural event. The first three day festival was held in 1971. Since then the festival was growing in numbers, gathering top European authors, musicians and ensembles in a wonderful historic setting of Varaždin. Some of the events are held in other nearby towns and ‘’Varaždin Baroque Evenings’’ have been known to make guest appearances in neighboring countries.
In the last 45 years, the festival started by a handful of music enthusiasts established itself as unique and internationally recognized cultural event. Every year the festival is produced with the help of a partnering country. Some of the countries that have partnered the festival in the past were Israel, Germany, Russia, and Austria…
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This year the partnering country is France. The ongoing festival of French culture in Croatia, Rendez Vous will hold some of its events during the festival. This year’s edition of the festival will include domestic and foreign performers of baroque music: choirs, soloists, conductors and other.
Along with wonderful music, one of the biggest assets of the festivals are the fantastic venues the town of Varaždin has to offer. The concerts will be held at wondefull venues like the churches of St, Nicholas and St. Florian, the Varazdin Cathedral, Palace Sermage and the Knights Hall in the Trakošćan Castle.
A world class cultural event in a true hidden gem. Is there a better reason to visit Varaždin this September?
Photo Credit: Varaždin Baroque Evenings