Bjelovar (Hungarian: Belovár, German: Bellowar, Czech: Bělovar or Bělovár, Kajkavian: Belovar, Latin: Bellovarium) is a city in central Croatia.

In 1756, with the establishment of the modern city and its subsequent promotion to the military center of the Varaždin Generalate, which was commanded by barron Philipp Lewin von Beck.

Bjelovar sits on a plateau in the southern part of the Bilogora a long, low elevation range, with an average height of 150–200 m (highest point: Rajčevica, 309 m).

The oldest Neolithic location in this area is in Ždralovi, a suburb of Bjelovar, where, while building a basement for the house of Josip Horvatić, a dugout was found and identified as belonging to the Starčevo culture (5000 – 4300 BC).

The intersection of two Roman roads was located exactly at the place where the present-day Bjelovar developed, and in its immediate vicinity was a presumed military camp or station.

Stabilization of the Habsburg-Ottoman border on the Sava river and the new circumstances of the society in the region during the first half of the 18th century conditioned the territorial and administrative reorganization of the Varaždin Generalate.

The Severin Uprising (also known as the Varaždin rebellion), which took place in 1755 in the immediate vicinity of the future city, pointed to the need for a new command center from which better control of the Krajišan could be projected out.

Two Piarist monks, brothers Hubert and Ignacije Diviš, came to Bjelovar in 1761 and opened the first public school on the Đurđevac regiment side of town.

By the decision of Maria Theresa construction of a new church started, which was completed in 1772, with which the parish of Bjelovar was established, which until 1790 was managed by Piarists.

In 1771, Empress Maria Theresa confirmed Bjelovar's status as a privileged "Krajina city", i.e. a military community, which resulted in demographic and significant economic growth.

As an important military town, Bjelovar made its contribution by recruiting the male population, converting many public buildings into hospitals, using the railway to transport soldiers and the wounded.

With the end of the war Bjelovar became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and it retained its status as the administrative centre of the Bjelovar-Križevci county.

With the end of the war and the arrival of the new socialist government, tendencies towards the modernization of the state and the restoration of the failing industry and communal infrastructure were evident from the very beginning.

In addition to demographic and economic growth, the aforementioned built infrastructure contributed to the strengthening of all functions, which turned Bjelovar into one of the most important centers of northwestern Croatia.

On the morning of 29 September, ZNG (Zbor narodne garde) and Croatian police attacked the JNA facilities in Bjelovar.

The 5th Military District instead pressured the central Croatian authorities to order the ZNG in Bjelovar to observe a comprehensive ceasefire previously agreed between Croatia and the JNA on 22 September.

According to Šimić, the move was made after Lieutenant General Petar Stipetić telephoned him and urged him to continue the attack.

The authenticity of Šimić's account of has been disputed by Admiral Davor Domazet-Lošo, who claims it was an attempt to discredit Croatia before the ECMM.

The blast knocked down trees in a circle 200 metres (660 feet) wide, caused damage to nearby structures, predominantly in the then suburb of Hrgovljani and could be heard 20 kilometres (12 miles) away.

The JNA lost another soldier in the area of the depot, killed by an antitank missile while he was engaging the ZNG using an infantry fighting vehicle gun.

The prevailing wind during winter is northerly, with easterlies becoming stronger in spring, when it may be quite cold, often blowing for several days consecutively.

It was founded and is run by Bjelovar actor Goran Navojec, and it hosts a selection of the best plays performed in Croatia during previous year.

Bjelovar, Bjelovar-BilogoraSlavonski Brod, Brod-PosavinaDubrovnik, Dubrovnik-NeretvaPazin, Istria Karlovac, KarlovacKoprivnica, Koprivnica-KriževciKrapina, Krapina-ZagorjeGospić, Lika-Senj Čakovec, MeđimurjeOsijek, Osijek-BaranjaPožega, Požega-SlavoniaRijeka, Primorje-Gorski Kotar Sisak, Sisak-MoslavinaSplit, Split-DalmatiaŠibenik, Šibenik-KninVaraždin, Varaždin Virovitica, Virovitica-PodravinaVukovar, Vukovar-SrijemZadar, ZadarZagreb, Zagreb