Varaždin is first named, as Garestin, in a charter of Béla III of 1181 that confirmed the Zagreb chapter's spa estate (Varaždinske Toplice).
In 1200 it is a royal castle, the seat of the county's ispán, with a settlement growing up beside it at a crossing of the great roads from Styria, Zala and Zagreb. It is not yet a privileged town: Andrew II gives the townsmen their first liberties in 1209 (a judge of their own choosing, free bequest, freedom to move), confirmed by Béla IV in 1220. It governs no land of its own.
Who holds it
- Name
- The king, through the ispán of Varaždin (not named)
- Title
- Lord of the place
- Confidence
- medium
Hrvatska enciklopedija (Varaždin).
Lord in 1200
The king, through the ispán of Varaždin county (Varaždin county)
How things stand that morning
Royal county castle under Emeric's ispán.
Charter
None in 1200; first royal privileges 1209 (later).
Council
None recorded.
Communities
Not recorded.
Fairs and markets
Not recorded.
Militia
Not recorded.
Walls and castle
The royal castle (the later Stari grad stands on its site).
Trade and crafts
Crossroads trade at the Drava crossing toward Styria and Hungary.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1209 (later)Andrew, by then king, grants Varaždin its first privileges.
- October 1203 (later)The brothers' armies meet at Varaždin and Emeric takes Andrew prisoner.Depends on: A new rising by Andrew. Stopped by: Peace holding.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: First mention 1181 and the 1209 privileges are firm.
Primary sources for Croatia and Dalmatia
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- History of the bishops of Salona and Split, by Thomas the Archdeacon, Thomas of Split (about 1266). Written two generations later by a Split churchman born about 1200. Read online
- History of the doges of Venice (about 1229, with a continuation). The earliest surviving Venetian narrative close to the events. Read online
- The Deeds of the Hungarians, by the Anonymous Notary of King Béla, Anonymus (P. magister) (about 1200 to 1210, the date disputed). Not a record of events but a picture of the kingdom's nobility and geography as a courtier of about 1200 wished to see it: the clans and their lands, the castles and counties, the Vlachs, Cumans and other peoples of the Carpathian basin, all projected back onto the conquest. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
- Charters of the kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia, volume 2, 1101 to 1200 (documents of 1101 to 1200, edited 1904). The Croatian and Dalmatian charters to 1200: the acts of Duke Andrew as lord of Croatia and Dalmatia (1197 to 1204), the Hungarian kings' grants, the Templars and the bishops of Zagreb, Split, Zadar and Trogir, the communal statutes of the coastal towns, and the papal letters of 1200 to Emeric about Ban Kulin of Bosnia and heresy. Read online
- Hungarian royal charters: Fejér's Codex diplomaticus and Szentpétery's critical calendar of the Árpád kings (documents of the 11th to 13th centuries; Fejér published 1829 to 1844, Szentpétery vol. 1 in 1923). The documentary base for Hungary in 1200: King Emeric's grants to Pannonhalma, the bishops, the Templars and Hospitallers, Duke Andrew's acts in Croatia and Dalmatia, and the papal letters of 1200 to Emeric about his brother's rebellion and about heresy in Bosnia. Read online
- Documents on the older commercial and political history of the Republic of Venice, part 1, 814 to 1205 (documents of 814 to 1205, edited 1856). Venice's treaties and privileges in full text. Read online
Sources and studies
- Varaždin (Hrvatska enciklopedija)
- Emeric, King of Hungary (English Wikipedia; citing Érszegi and Solymosi 1981, Berend et al. 2013, Fine 1994)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.