Discover Legrad

Legrad combines a late Baroque church and several cultural and historical collections with cycling connections along the Drava. When planning your stay, you can therefore weigh local history against route planning. The confluence of the Mura and Drava lies northeast of Legrad and is a prominent geographical reference point for the landscape around the town.

Churches and Collections in Legrad

The Church of the Holy Trinity was built between 1769 and 1784. Its late Baroque appearance earned it the local nickname “Cathedral of Podravina.” The church is a protected cultural monument; its organs and furnishings are also protected. The Evangelical Church offers a different insight into religious history: it has been under provisional heritage protection since 2007, and Legrad’s Evangelical congregation is one of the oldest Lutheran congregations in Croatia. The two churches thus represent different aspects of the town’s religious and architectural heritage.

The Legradska hiža ethnographic collection comprises several hundred exhibits showing what life in Legrad was like in the past. The school museum is housed in the old school building and displays teaching materials, books and old records from earlier times. Together, the two collections take you from everyday life to the history of learning.

The history of firefighting is also represented: the memorial collection of the Volunteer Fire Brigade documents the brigade, founded in 1884, and includes a flag from 1899, considered one of the oldest surviving fire brigade flags in Croatia. The memorial room for Marija Bango presents the life and work of the writer and educator from Legrad. It opened to the public on January 26, 2018. If you plan to visit the collections, check their respective opening hours in advance.

Cycling Routes and Their Connections

When planning your route, it is worth distinguishing between endpoints and connections. The Drava Route links Legrad with Pitomača along the Drava and continues to Halasz Csarda. The Drava Bike also leads to Legrad and ends at the confluence of the Mura and Drava near the town. The Tour de Mur ends in Legrad and connects there with the Drava Route and the Iron Curtain Trail, also known as EuroVelo 13. This helps you determine whether Legrad lies on your route, is its endpoint, or serves as a connection between cycling routes.

The Drava Route is part of the cycling history of Općina Legrad: it opened in 2002 as the region’s first signposted cycling route and is part of the international EuroVelo 13 cycling corridor, also called the Iron Curtain Trail. Before setting off, check the route and current signposting. The connections described differ mainly in which places they link and where their endpoints are.

River Landscape and Nature

The confluence of the Mura and Drava lies northeast of Legrad. The Veliki Pažut special ornithological reserve is located nearby. It lies within the Mura-Drava Regional Park and is part of Croatia’s ecological network. The river landscape and protected area thus add a natural perspective to Legrad’s cultural and historical character.

Nature in the Wider Destination of Općina Legrad

About one third of the territory of Općina Legrad lies within the protected Mura-Drava Regional Park. The landscape also includes the artificial lake Šoderica, where extensive aquatic and wetland vegetation has developed. The lake serves as a breeding and wintering area for birds and provides habitat for many other aquatic and wetland animals.

A 2023 plan describes the lake’s north shore within Općina Legrad as the most important summer bathing area for people from the wider surrounding area. If you plan to swim there, check current bathing conditions and facilities in advance. The combination of river landscape, protected area and lake complements the cultural and historical offerings, but is a regional feature and should not be equated with a characteristic of the town center.

For the wider travel overview: Općina Legrad.