Koprivnica-Križevci County

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Map showing Koprivnica-Krizevci county within Croatia

Koprivnica-Križevci county - Koprivničko-križevačka županija is a county in northern Croatia. This hyphenated name comes from two entities, the two of its largest cities, Koprivnica and Križevci.

Koprivnica is the official capital of the county. It was first mentioned in 1272 in a document by prince Ladislav IV and declared a free royal town by king Ludovic I in 1356, and flourished as a trading place and a military fortress since.

The military aspect set it back some when it was included in the Military Frontier in the 16th century during the wars with the Ottoman Turks, but after Maria Theresa's decree of 1765 it resumed life as a peaceful little merchant town.

Koprivnica developed significantly in the 20th century with the advent of the Podravka food industry, known worldwide for its Vegeta spice.

Križevci, on the other hand, as a smaller city and second mentioned in the county name may seem like an underdog to its neighbour Koprivnica. Its first mention was from 1193 by Bela III but it was divided in two parts which didn't develop equally fast.

After centuries of division, empress Maria Theresa united the Lower and Upper Križevac into Križevci in 1752. The town was also hit by the wars with the Turks, but it regained importance in 1871 when the railway was built through it on the way from Budapest to Rijeka.

The modern Križevci is oriented towards entrepreneurship, while preserving its eight beautiful churches (one is cathedral), built mostly in the Middle Ages.

The county also includes a third town, Đurđevac, but its population is much smaller than the main two (8,862 in 2001).

The Koprivnica-Križevci county borders on the Međimurje county in the north, Varaždin county in the northwest, Zagreb county in the southwest, Bjelovar-Bilogora county in the south and Virovitica-Podravina county in the southeast.