Landmarks

SANCTUARY OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST

Ludbreg is a unique eucharistic sanctuary in Croatia, and there aren't many in the world founded by a written decree by a Holy Father himself. Pope Leo X published a Bull on April 14, 1513, in which he recognized and confirmed the miraculous appearance of the Holy Blood of Christ in the chapel of the medieval fortress of Ludbreg (castrum Ludbreg).

The miracle took place in 1411, when a priest celebrating Mass in the chapel doubted the truth of transubstantiation. The Papal Bull explains how he was so shocked by the miracle that he hid what has happened from everyone. However, God didn’t want such a famous miracle and the confirmation of the Catholic faith to stay hidden any longer, as can be expected. So, when the priest fell into his death bed, he confessed to what has happened, and displayed the chalice with the liquid naturally and visibly colored as blood to be forever kept in the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Ludbreg. Since then, many miracle cures happened around the holy relic.

The relic is currently kept in a beautiful baroque monstrance, made in 1721 in Augsburg goldsmith school, a gift by the Countess Eleonora Batthyany Strattmann.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross in which the miracle happened is currently within the Castle Batthyany in Ludbreg. The chapel is painted with the images related to the miracle of the appearance of the Holy Blood of Christ.

In the Batthyany castle, a monument of culture of the first category has been the location of the Restoration centre Ludbreg, which is developing to become one of the most important restoration centres in Europe.

The Croatian Parliament vowed in 1739 that a chapel would be built in Ludbreg to celebrate the Holy Blood of Christ, which they called the “greatest treasure of the Croatian kingdom”. The chapel was only built in 1993, after the Croatian people were finally independent and a democratic Croatia was established.

BATTHYANY (BAČANI) CASTLE

The Old Town of Ludbreg consists of a square-shaped castle and two outbuildings. Around the castle you can still see glipmses of a defence moat, to which the water came from the Bednja river. The castle has a ground floor plus three additional floors, first of which is significantly higher.

The earliest evidence of the existence of a fort dates back to 1320. During the Turkish campaigns, it was transformed into a renaissance castle. When the Batthyany family arrived, they renovated the Castle in the baroque style. At that time, the Castle and the outhouses were fully utilized. In the early 19th century, the Castle is used less frequently, so it starts to deteriorate. It was reshaped on several occasions, to serve different purposes.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross is located in the Castle, which is a location each tourist must visit. In addition to the chapel, a restoration workshop – Ludbreg Restoration Centre is also housed there now.

Within the Chapel of the Holy Cross, the archival material is permanently exhibited (the Book of the miracle, the Bull by Pope Leo X, the conclusions by the Croatian Parliament, etc.), as well a collection of religious art (church attire and books, liturgical vessels, paintings, sculptures, etc.)

THE MOST HOLY TRINITY PARISH CHURCH

The Most Holy Trinity Church is the oldest religious building in the town. It is first mentioned in 1334, with the baroque enclosure wall, and frescos painted by Mirko Rački. The Relic of the Most Holy Blood of Christ has been kept in this church since the 18th century.

The vial of the Christ's blood is currently kept in a monstrance made in 1721 in Augsburg goldsmith school, a gift by the Countess Eleonora Batthyany Strattmann.

THE CENTRE OF THE WORLD

Ludbreg is exactly where the Centre of the World is, the town of miracles and legends, that will captivate each visitor with the combination of religious, scientific, professional and artistic material, interesting stories, distinct humour and unconditional hospitality.

GRANDMA'S HOUSE AND GRANDPA'S YARD

The members of the 'Women from the Centre of the World' Association decorated the house in the late 19th- and early 20th-century style. The house is just a portion of a rich preserved ethnographic heritage of the area, with a loom, an exhibition of period objects, agricultural tools and machines to work the land and in the yard, as well as an interesting workshop and a souvenir shop.

WINE ROAD OF LUDBREG

The wine road of Ludbreg can be found in the vineyards above the town. The production of wines has been revived in the area during the 1990s. It was in that period that the Exhibitions of young wines were first organized in Ludbreg. The varieties are mostly white wines, such as Graševina, Rajnski Rizling, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon, Zeleni Silvanac, and Chardonnay. Some reds are also grown and made here, such as Frankovka, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet, as well as wines made from fruit.
The wine road of Ludbreg includes eight objects for now: Kežman Family Farm and wine tasting (in Slanje), Kovaček Wine House (in Čukovec), Arabela Restaurant (in Globočec), Makar Wine Cellar, Kirić Wine House, and Stručić Winery (all in Vinogradi Ludbreški), Črn-Bel Restaurant, and Winegrower Association 'Trsek' Wine Cellar (both in Ludbreg).

SAINT VINCENT VANTAGE POINT

The statue of Saint Vincent, the protector of the Ludbreg's vineyards stands next to the road between Ludbreg and Koprivnica, above the Globočec village. The vantage point is a part of the Wine Road of Ludbreg, which was opened in 2010. The Winegrower Association 'Trsek' installed the 7,4 meters high statue of Saint Vincent on the eight-meter high pedestal. The statue was created by Petar Kolarić, a sculptor from Ždala. This is the highest statue of Saint Vincent in the World, and from the vantage point, you can see all the way to Hungary. The statue was blessed and opened on October 29th, 2011.