Varaždin County (Croatian: Varaždinska županija; Hungarian: Varasd vármegye) was an administrative subdivision (županija) of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (Transleithania), the Hungarian part of the dual Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its territory is now in northern Croatia. The capital of the county was Varaždin (Croatian, in Hungarian: Varasd).^[1]

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Varaždin County Varaždinska županija (Croatian) Varasd vármegye (Hungarian)
County of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
12th century–1922
Coat of arms
Location of Varaždin County (yellow) within the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (green)
Early 20th century map of Varaždin County
Capital	Varaždin
Area
• Coordinates	46°18′N 16°20′E
• 1910	2,521 km2 (973 sq mi)
Population
• 1910	307,010
History
• Established	12th century
• Treaty of Trianon	4 June 1920
• Disestablished	1922
Succeeded by Zagreb Oblast
Today part of	Croatia

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Varaždin County shared borders with the Austrian land Styria, the Hungarian county of Zala, and the Croatian-Slavonian county of Bjelovar-Križevci and Zagreb. The river Drava formed its northern border.^[2] Its area was 2521 km² around 1910.

The territory of Varaždin County was part of the Kingdom of Croatia when it entered a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1102, and with it became part of the Habsburg monarchy in 1526. After 1607, the position of the county's župan was hereditary, given to the Erdődy noble family.^[3] Until the 18th century it was part of the Varaždin Generalate of the Military Frontier.

In 1850, following the revolutions of 1848, Varaždin County gained Međimurje from the Hungarian Zala County (except for the area around Legrad, which went to Križevci County). It was divided into four (political) districts ((politische) Bezirke):^[4]

• Warasdin
• Klanjec
• Krapina
• Csakaturn

In 1854, as part of Bach's absolutism, it was restructured again, absorbing much of Križevci County. The 1850 districts were replaced with a different system (still referred to as Bezirke but functionally different).^[5]

The cities of Kreutz (Križevci), Kopreinitz (Koprivnica) and Warasdin/Varasdin (Varaždin) themselves were city-districts (Stadtbezirke) separate from the districts listed above (which were Landbezirke).

Its territory was restored to its pre-1850 state in 1860.

In 1871 the Varaždin Generalate of the Military Frontier was integrated into Croatia-Slavonia. As a result the territory of the surrounding counties was altered; Varaždin County gained some territory from both Zagreb and Križevci Counties. In 1886 its territory was altered again, with some returned to Zagreb and some more gained from Križevci (which became part of Bjelovar-Križevci County in the same reform). This configuration would remain in place until the county's dissolution.

In 1918 Croatia-Slavonia de facto seceded from Austria-Hungary as part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, which joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed to Yugoslavia) soon after. This was recognised in the 1920 Treaty of Trianon. The county was formally abolished in 1922 when the Vidovdan Constitution came into force. Since 1991, when Croatia became independent from Yugoslavia, the county is part of the Republic of Croatia.^[6]

In 1900, the county had a population of 279,448 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:^[7]

Total:

• Croatian: 270,897 (96.9%)
• Serbian: 2,464 (0.9%)
• German: 1,654 (0.6%)
• Hungarian: 1,061 (0.4%)
• Slovak: 126 (0.0%)
• Ruthenian: 4 (0.0%)
• Romanian: 1 (0.0%)
• Other or unknown: 3,241 (1.2%)

According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities:^[8]

Total:

• Roman Catholic: 275,111 (98.5%)
• Serbian Orthodox: 2,502 (0.9%)
• Jewish: 1,612 (0.6%)
• Lutheran: 161 (0.0%)
• Calvinist: 31 (0.0%)
• Greek Catholic: 26 (0.0%)
• Unitarian: 0 (0.0%)
• Other or unknown: 5 (0.0%)

In 1910, the county had a population of 307,010 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:^[9]

Total:

• Croatian: 300,033 (97.7%)
• Serbian: 2,384 (0.8%)
• German: 1,172 (0.4%)
• Hungarian: 1,095 (0.4%)
• Slovak: 41 (0.0%)
• Ruthenian: 0 (0.0%)
• Romanian: 2 (0.0%)
• Other or unknown: 2,283 (0.7%)

According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities:^[10]

Total:

• Roman Catholic: 303,038 (98.7%)
• Serbian Orthodox: 2,409 (0.8%)
• Jewish: 1,341 (0.4%)
• Lutheran: 114 (0.0%)
• Calvinist: 42 (0.0%)
• Greek Catholic: 61 (0.0%)
• Unitarian: 0 (0.0%)
• Other or unknown: 5 (0.0%)

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Varasd county were:

• Current Varaždin County