The Virovitica City Museum: Museum located in beautiful castle

18.04.2022
History and culture

Virovitica City Museum is located in the heart of the city, inside the castle of the Pejačević family, built on the site of former medieval fortress. The castle was built between 1800 and 1804, and from its inception was owned by Counts Pejačević, the princely family Schaumburg-Lippe and Count Drašković until 1903 when he sold the castle and the surrounding park to the town of Virovitica. When the castle passed into the hands of the city, part of its premises began to be used as a museum space.

Since the collection of the entire museum is quite large, today we decided to present you only 3 rooms that you can see if you visit the Virovitica Museum.

Museum located inside the castle surrounded by the park

In 2016, the renovation of Pejačević Castle began in order to restore the building to its original splendor. The renovation lasted until 2019, when the original pink color of the facade was restored to the castle, the complete interior of all rooms was restored and the park around the castle got a completely new look.

We decided to visit the museum and see what kind of novelties they introduced after the entire renovation. As we have already mentioned, the museum of the city of Virovitica is located on a hill in the center of the city, so it is very easy to find. A wide bridge leads to the main entrance of the castle, which can be used for walking or cycling (but do not walk to the castle in high and thin heels because the floor is quite uneven). The bridge can also be reached by car, but this possibility is reserved only for authorized staff. So, we think that hiking is definitely the best option since in Virovitica nothing is too far from each other anyway, and you will be able to enjoy a walk in the park and the view of the city center.

The entrance to the castle consists of a large door where no one greets you. When we went inside we noticed that the souvenir shop where you buy souvenirs and tickets is on the right. Ticket prices are very affordable, so we paid 5.31 EUR per adult for a ticket (permanent exhibition). The good news is that in this museum you can get a discount of as much as 50% if you are a student or pensioner. Group visits will also cost you less than going the way we decided to go. What we especially like is that the unemployed are free to enter all the exhibitions upon presentation of a document proving it. We have to admit that it is wonderful to see social sensitivity in a place like this. Culture really should be accessible to everyone regardless of their life circumstances.

Permanent exhibition of Virovitica City Museum takes us to the time of Pejačević counts

When you buy a ticket the kind salesman will instruct you to climb the magnificent stairs to the first floor of the castle where you will then see a long corridor lit by huge windows. We have to say that the view of the park from the window itself is beautiful. However, we did not come to look out the window – we came to rise culturally!

The first room we entered took us to the time of Counts Pejačević and we could see many paintings there, but also reproductions that took us to some forgotten times. The green painted walls of the room definitely contribute to the peaceful and festive atmosphere and fit perfectly with the furniture of that time. In addition to the classic museum display that includes household furniture, paintings and a piano in the middle of the room – here we could also enjoy interactive content that included a touch screen. We especially liked the feature with which we were able to photograph our face, the program then incorporated it into a photo of our choice. (It goes without saying that we liked the transformation into counts!)

Another room that caught our attention connects high society and people of the lower class

When we entered this room a table appeared in front of us with sumptuous dishes placed on it as if at any moment someone would sit down for it and start eating. After taking a closer look at the scene in front of us we realized that the table was leaning against the mirror on one side to duplicate the image and make the table look longer. Then we took a few more steps and could see another table leaning against him on the other side of the mirror — this time with much more modest-looking dishes. We liked this “merging of worlds”. At the same time we were able to see how the counts ate and how their servants and subjects ate. The difference between dishes these two groups of people used is quite obvious.

Virovitica City Museum also offers a view of the room of the newlyweds from the past

In this room, we had the opportunity to peek into the intimate space of a newlywed couple. The first thing we noticed was definitely the traditional white wedding dress with a veil that the bride wore over her face. Also, the custom dictated that the bride wear the white knitted gloves we spotted on the table next to the dress. In addition, we were attracted by the black dress on display next to the wedding dress. We have to admit that we were not sure who it was intended for, but according to the color and cut, we assumed that it was the mother of one of the newlyweds.

Next to the wedding dress was a description of a very interesting and at that time important word – miraz (eng. dowry). In the not-so-distant past, a dowry was often the only reason for a wedding. Love before marriage for most was not an option nor did it play any role in choosing a partner. A dowry is actually an asset that a woman brings into her marriage as her contribution to the family. So you can imagine which people had the best chance of finding potential husbands…

The dowry was movable and immovable property which, with the woman’s marriage, became the joint property of the married couple. This custom was especially important in rural areas, where “domaće ruho” (home-made clothes) and woven utensils were always prepared before marriage. Young women in the city usually received a bedroom, sewing machines or some other household items as a gift from their parents. This was done to prove to the future husband that he had chosen a woman who would fulfill all her obligations as a housewife.

A visit to the Virovitica City Museum was an educational experience that we will be happy to repeat to describe what is hidden in the other rooms of this beautiful castle. Apart from the museum that will take you back in time, Virovitica is also worth visiting for everything that surrounds the museum. You will be able to enjoy a walk through the landscaped park, and when you get tired you can go for a drink in a cafe within Pejačević Castle or just take a walk to the nearby pancake house whose specialties will surely delight you!

Your CTC Team, A. M.