Apartment Braja

Archaeological, ethnographic, cultural, historical and art collection as well as the exhibition of Homland War can be seen on permanent display at the City Museum, founded back in 1953. It is located on the top floor of the castle Pejačević, in the city center. First Museum Exhibition was held in May 1954. The first exhibition “Through the history of Virovitica” was shown in 1968. in the great hall on the first floor of the castle, which is still used for many temporary exhibitions. The museum now has about 5,000 cases, of which 880 exhibited in the permanent exhibition, and they show the life in Virovitica and Virovitica-Podravina County from the early days till today.

As part of the Franciscan Monastery in Virovitica, which was renovated in 2011, the Museum of Sacred Art and Cultural and Historical Heritage was opened. Here are located the greatest values that the monastery has: liturgical attire and utensils, liturgical books and patterns, paintings of saints, crucifixes, antique furniture, a fully equipped pharmacy closet and a collection of old photographs. Next to the Museum there is also a monastery library, which contains valuable and rare books ranging from the 15th to the 21st century. Following the original idea, this Museum doesn’t only narrate history, but also reveals the soul and heart of the city through the eyes of priests who lived and worked there.

Back in 1886 the Music School Jan Vlašimsky was opened; the first principal and teacher was Jan Vlašimsky himself. The school has a pre-school, primary and secondary school music program with more than 350 pupils. In 2019, Music School Jan Vlašimsky was awarded the best music school in Croatia.

Magical theatrical achievements, professionalism, top theater pieces, education and the promotion of new cultural image of society, is what strives Virovitica theater today. 1900 marks the beginning of the theater life in Virovitica when Virovitica actors presented a small play “Sluga muzikanti” with music society “Sloga” at the Grčić Inn on Feb 3.

Theatrical tradition in Virovitica took place at difficult times. When many theaters in much larger cities were shot down, Virovitica Theater kept on operating. In seventy years of work, it had more than four hundred premieres and staged more than 10 000 plays. Some of the performances were staged in Virovitica and the rest in all parts of Croatia and beyond. The long tradition of professional theater is accompanied by numerous awards and invitations to festivals. Virovitica Theatre has it’s own festiva called VIRKAS – Virovitica Theatre Meetings which takes place every year in February.

During the second half of the 20th century, the City Library experienced developmental changes, but also some difficulties and delays in its development. The book fund was slowly enriched, sometimes only through donations, and the funds for acquisition were insufficient. At the turn of the 21st century the City Library finally made significant progress, and today it is the central and largest library with more than 50,000 volumes and more than 2,500 users in Virovitica-Podravina County.

Virovitica is the first city in Croatia which implemented the project “Street Piano”. Piano is located in Pejačević Palace and is available for playing at any time.

Musical fence is the first exhibit of the future Science Park in Virovitica. This innovative and
educational tourist attraction enables any visitor to play Beethoven’s “ Ode to Joy” while walking.