B o Ž E N A F i L I P AN
THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLACE-NAME
VARAŽDINSKE TOPLICE
This survey of the development of the place-name Varaždinske
Toplice shows that this toponym has had a great variety of orthographic forms which were susceptible to change over time due to
social, political and economic circumstances. All these forms can
be classified in one of two morphological groupings: simple vernacular
— latinized, germanized and Hungarianized forms; and German,
Hungarian and Croatian syntagms with the modifier »Varaždinske
« .
In the Middle Ages, the original vernacular name TOPLICA was
prevalent, but by the sixteenth century the syntagm THOPLYCZA
THERMAE had appeared, confirming that the place was used as
a spa. The greatest toponymic differentiation existed in the seventeenth century when Latin and Croatian syntagms became more frequent. They appear in technical literature and other publications is
by the beginning of the eighteenth century, while at the same time
both the Chapter administration and the Municipality of Toplice
retained the traditionally accepted name TOPLICE. Cartographic
sources indicate that the traditional name TOPLICE, or its latinized
form TOPLIKA, had persisted even to the end of the nineteenth
century. However, the fact that the regional military-topographic
and political maps, from the early nineteenth century onwards, contain the syntagmatic forms confirms the hypothesis that the formation and evolution of this toponym was influenced by the activities of the administrative-political and military authorities. The authors of historical maps selected the simple traditional form TOPLICE or TOPLIKA from existing cartographic materials.
Archival records show that the vernacular name VARAŽDINSKE
TOPLICE was in use by the beginning of the seventeenth centur}^
while lexicons of toponyms confirm that it was taken frorti the centuries-old toponymic vocabulary.
After the territorial and political reorganization of the County
of Varaždin, whereby Toplice was included as a constituent part in
the District of Novi Marof, and after the formation of the Cadastral
Division of Varaždinske Toplice, the existing municipality also chan-
ged its name to the Administrative Municipality of Varaždinske Toplice, with its headquarters located in the same place. This name
was also adopted by the spa management.
It is therefore clear that the evolution ary process of this place-
-name was influenced by three significant factors: the activities of
the Generalate of Varaždin, the development of the administrative
power of the County and the legal and economic interests of the
spa owners
