Gallery of Old and New Masters

Why it is worth your time

The Gallery of Old and New Masters is set in the Sermage Palace, a rococo building of 1750 opposite the Stari grad, and holds the most valuable art collection of north-western Croatia: some six thousand works, from European painting of the 15th to the 19th century, with Italian, Flemish, Dutch, German and Austrian masters, through to Croatian modern and contemporary art. The collection grew from donations by Varazdin families and purchases by the city museum, and it is especially strong in portraiture and in the baroque painting tied to the noble houses of this region.

The palace itself is part of the visit: the arcaded courtyard, the painted ceilings and the rococo facade with its balcony are among the loveliest examples of that architecture in continental Croatia. The gallery is a minute from the fortress, the ticket is valid in combination with the other city museums, and the visit takes an hour. In summer the courtyard hosts concerts and literary evenings.