Virje

Virje is a Podravina settlement whose historic centre is framed by St Martin’s Church and the park on Trg Stjepana Radića. The earliest written record of a St Martin’s church in the then Prodawicz dates from 1334, while the present church—apart from its older tower—was rebuilt from the ground up in 1832–33. During that work, a stone referring to a chapel of 1484 was found and incorporated beside the sacristy entrance. In the village park stands the Old School, known as “Krasotica”, built in 1894 on the site of a girls’ school and a former military station. Classes continued there until 1971; the building now brings together the local heritage museum, library and reading room, cinema, gallery and Zrno kindergarten. The Podravina Museum is at Trg Stjepana Radića 1, making it easy to combine with the church and old school on a short walk through the centre. Virje suits visitors looking for a compact introduction to Podravina’s local history.

Virje is a Podravina village where the fertile Drava plain begins to rise towards Bilogora’s vineyards. Its historical identity reaches back to Prodavić, a medieval estate and fortress later absorbed into the Military Frontier system. Today, St Martin’s bell tower shapes the skyline, while the surrounding park holds memorials to notable people from Virje. The village’s most distinctive civic building is Krasotica, an imposing primary school completed in 1894 and now shared by a museum, library and gallery facilities. Local identity also has an edible emblem in prkači biscuits and their international festival. Beyond the centre, Virje’s story continues among vineyard cottages, cultivated slopes and springs on the Bilogora side of the municipality.