The UNESCO Creative Cities Network was established in 2004 to strengthen cooperation with cities which have recognised creativity as a strategic factor of sustainable growth. The network comprises more than 350 cities.
Varaždin Mayor Neven Bosilj said he was proud Varaždin had become the first UNESCO city of music in Croatia.
"An excellent team has been formed, led by the Varaždin Tourism Board and the Music School, which has a phenomenal tradition and which has given some of the most important musicians in Croatia. Given the Varaždin Baroque Evenings, local crafts people who make music instruments and everything else that makes Varaždin a city of music, we knew that we would succeed," said Bosilj.
The secretary-general of the Croatian Commission for UNESCO at the Culture and Media Ministry, Rut Carek, congratulated the mayor and county authorities and all Varaždin residents on having invested for decades in culture and cultural and music heritage, noting that she believed there was a chance for other Croatian cities as well to obtain the status of a UNESCO creative city.