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Koprivnica and Križevci County

The Koprivnica and Krizevci county covers the fertile section of Podravina spanning from Bilogora to the Hungarian border and the Kalnik hills, with the highest peak measuring 642 meters. The ancient Roman "via magna' (main road) has made Koprivnica, the centre of the county, a crossroads of international traffic routes (Rijeka-Budimpesta and Graz-Vinkovci towards the countries of south-eastern Europe).

Koprivnica was mentioned for the first time ever in 1193 and until the arrival of the Turks represented the centre of one of the largest Croatian counties and the centre of the Slavonian classes. For a while Koprivnica was the centre of the Varazdin area (generalat), while in 1765 Maria Therese took the city out of military jurisdiction. Krizevci, situated on the south-east mount Kalnik area were mentioned for the first time at the end of the 12th century, while in the 13th century they represented the centre of the county at the time. The gothic sv.Kriz church dominates the town.

Kalnik, with its wine-growing properties, sources of mineral and salty water together with the Drava region lakes holds a huge tourism potential. The sand reserves have been preserved in the area (Djurdjevacki peski) where there still can be seen dessert plants and endemic plants. The area has a great cultural and educational history with many upper class families living there. The area has produced the country's greatest naive painting artists like Generalic, Vecenaj, Lackovic Croata etc.