Today’s Ludbreg is populated since prehistory, and remains of former settlements prove it. Survey results have shown that Illyrians, Celts, and Romans were once settled here.
A long time ago the settlement was located at the crossroad of paths that were connecting East and West, and also North and South. The settlement under the name Ludbreg was first mentioned in 1320 in a written document that states about the existence of the forth. This area was known as a market town located around the church during the 15th century. Noblemen ruled the settlement; among was Batthyany family, and today’s castle was named after it. The town of Ludbreg is today a well-known parish fete site and center of Ludbreg’s Podravina.
In the Batthyany castle’s court chapel of the Holy Cross, a miracle took place in 1411 during a mass in the chapel, wine miraculously transformed into the Blood of Christ. The Blood of Christ was hidden for some time, but before his death, the priest decided to discover his secret. Pope Leon X issued a bull in 1513, proclaiming Ludbreg a sanctuary. It is believed that Pope Leon X 1513 went through Rome leading a festive procession with Blood of Christ in his arms.
First initiatives for the building of parish fete site from 1739 when the plaque was raging in parts of Croatia. Croatian parliament promised to build a chapel if plaque disappears. The plaque has disappeared and the plans were finisher, but the Croatian Parliament didn’t fulfill its promise. With the initiative of Zagreb’s archbishop Alojzije Stepinac, 200 years after, collecting money was started for the building of the chapel, but the location of it couldn’t be agreed upon on. Under the influence of World War II the work has been stopped. In 1992 the parish got an area of 5 acres for chapel building. Laying foundation stone was done by Martin Sagner on 4th September 1993, and exactly one year after the chapel was consecrated by Cardinal Franjo Kuharić.
Author: http://ludbreg.hr/
