Varaždin cemetery is considered to be the most beautiful cemetery in Croatia but also in Europe. It’s a fantastic example of landscape architecture and natural monuments began to look like today more than a hundred years ago when established in 1773. In 1905, Herman Haller began to arrange about 7,000 cypresses, maple, ash, red beech, boxes, and magnolia…. Clipping Thuja into geometrical bodies made the cemetery more similar to the French fleet. One of the most valuable monuments in the Varaždin cemetery is the “Angel of Death”, the work of Sculptor Robert Frangeš Mihanović, which symbolically shows the farewell of the living with the dead. It is an ideal, restful place for visitors due to the botanic composition of birch, flowers, grass, and tall cypress trees, which allows for the delicate play of light and shadow…
Sculptor Frangeš Mihanović turned a peaceful resting place for the dead into a nature park and a beautiful tourist spot. Numerous monuments are works of other famous Croatian sculptors. Astonishing chapels and graves with artistic value will leave visitors speechless. The cemetery is divided into new and old and has the characteristics of a French park. The cemetery is part of a mosaic of different customs and funerary art in Europe for the last 200 years. It belongs to the Italian project from Verona, “European Cemeteries Route.” It is definitely a must-see!
