The city with about 15,000 inhabitants is 40 km away from Zagreb. The first written trace of the city dates back to 1244 (document of King Bela IV). The castle in Vrbovec dates from 1528 and was built for defense against the Ottoman Empire. Later it was owned by the Zrinski family, Erdody, then again the Zrinski, Patachich, etc. In 1621, Petar Zrinski was born there. Only a cylindrical tower of the castle remains today. The area is rich in valuable cultural heritage. Not far from Vrbovec (in Negovac), Marija Jurich Zagorka was born. Zagorka was a writer of popular novels and the first woman journalist in Southern Europe. The area abounds in rural picnic areas, places for relaxation and gastronomic experience (the event "Kaj su jeli naši stari” (What did our ancestors eat) in August), and sports facilities: tennis, clay pigeon shooting range, fishing on the lakes.
№220 in Cities of Croatia