Lepoglava is a town in Varaždin County

Varaždin County

Varaždin County is a county in northern Croatia. It is named after its county seat, the city of Varaždin.-Geography:In addition to the city of Varaždin, the county includes the towns of Ivanec, Ludbreg, Lepoglava, Novi Marof and Varaždinske Toplice, as well as 22 municipalities...

, northern Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, located southwest of Varaždin

Varaždin

Varaždin is a city in north Croatia, north of Zagreb on the highway A4. The total population is 47,055, with 38,746 on of the city settlement itself . The centre of Varaždin county is located near the Drava river, at...

, west of Ivanec

Ivanec

Ivanec is a town in northern Croatia, located southwest of Varaždin and east of Lepoglava, north of the mountain Ivanščica.In the 2011 census, the population of the municipality is 13,765, in the following settlements:* Bedenec, population 731...

 and northeast of Krapina

Krapina

Krapina is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 and a total municipality population of 12,479...

.

A total of 8,271 people in the municipality (2011 census) lives in the following settlements:

• Bednjica, population 214
• Crkovec, population 164
• Donja Višnjica, population 550
• Gornja Višnjica, population 272
• Jazbina Višnjička, population 24
• Kamenica
  Kamenica
  Kamenica is a Slavic toponym that may refer to several places:* In Albania** Kamenica Tumulus, a neolithic tumulus close to Kamenicë, Korçë...
  
  , population 140
• Kamenički Vrhovec, population 208
• Kameničko Podgorje, population 325
• Lepoglava, population 4,164
• Muričevec, population 192
• Očura, population 188
• Viletinec, population 170
• Vulišinec, population 234
• Zalužje, population 167
• Zlogonje, population 414
• Žarovnica, population 845

Lepoglava prison

Lepoglava is probably best known for hosting the main Croatian prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

. In 1854, a monastery of the Pauline Fathers was transformed by the authorities into a penitentiary (this order

Roman Catholic religious order

Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular ; monastics ; mendicants Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular (canons and canonesses regular...

 would wait until 2001 for a part of its property there to be returned to the bishopric). In the 20th century, the prison became known as the home to numerous "unwanted" groups - during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...

, the Communists and revolutionaries were incarcerated there, among them Josip Broz Tito

Josip Broz Tito

Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...

, Moše Pijade, Rodoljub Čolaković

Rodoljub Colakovic

Rodoljub Čolaković was a Bosnian Serb and Yugoslav politician.A native of Bijeljina, Rodoljub Čolaković joined Socialist Party of Bosnia-Herzegovina in March 1919 as a student. Later he joined Crvena pravda, left-wing terrorist organisation in assassination of Yugoslav interior minister Milorad...

, Radivoje Davidović, Mihajlo Javorski and others. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and the Independent State of Croatia

Independent State of Croatia

The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...

, the prison was used to incarcerate and liquidate over two thousand anti-fascists. After the war, Alojzije Stepinac spent some time in the Lepoglava prison. After the Croatian Spring

Croatian Spring

The Croatian Spring was a political movement from the early 1970s that called for greater rights for Croatia which was then part of Yugoslavia as well as democratic and economic reforms.-History:...

, the prison held political prisoners including Franjo Tuđman, Vlado Gotovac, Dražen Budiša

Dražen Budiša

Dražen Budiša is a Croatian politician who used to be leading opposition figure in the 1990s and a two-time presidential candidate.-During Yugoslavia:...

, Dobroslav Paraga

Dobroslav Paraga

Dobroslav Paraga is a Croatian right-wing politician.-Background:In his early days Dobroslav Paraga used to advocate secession of Croatia from Yugoslavia and that led him to be persecuted by the Communist authorities. Paraga used that persecution as an argument against Yugoslavia and its low human...

, Ivan Zvonimir Čičak, Šime Đodan, Hrvoje Šošić and others.