Top Things To Do In Osijek, Croatia! Discover the Eastern Region of Slavonia!

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Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia. It’s not huge, it's about a hundred thousand people, but it's actually the biggest city in this region, in the eastern part of Croatia. It’s along the River Drava, it’s a great little city and and lots to do!

You can take a stroll through Ante Starčević Square, which is the main square in Osijek. It typically is filled with people walking around and there are shops that line all three sides.

It's actually in the shape of a triangle which is kind of unique for a for a main square, so it should be called the main triangle.

There is a beautiful statue here of Ante Starčević. He's been known as father of the nation because he always fought for the rights of Croats within Austria-Hungary. And there's also a very beautiful sculpture by Ivan Meštrović, a famous Croatian sculptor.

Osijek was actually the first Croatian city to have a tram back in 1884, and now it stands as one of two cities with the tram line, the other being Zagreb. But of course they weren't electric way back then, they were pulled by horses! It wasn't until 1926 when the trams became electric.

Tvrđa

The big fortress complex in Osijek is called Tvrđa. The whole complex, historically, it was the most important cultural, economic, administrative, and military center of Slavonia, so this region in Croatia.

This whole fortress complex used to have walls surrounding it but they were taken down, they were demolished in the 20th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Tvrđa was really a multi-ethnic town. People from Bulgaria, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and other countries were living there together and they were learning Croatian!

In the middle of the fortress is the main square, Holy Trinity Square. It has a huge baroque statue of Holy Trinity, which was actually a votive of the people of Osijek to God, so that the plague would never return. It was built in 1729, and it's absolutely gorgeous.

Water Gate

Water Gate is a well-preserved entrance to the fortress where the walls used to be. There were actually four gates into Tvrđa, but Water Gate is the only gate that remains, and it got it’s name because it faces the River Drava, so it faces the water.

A very interesting monument in Osijek is of a Fićo (an old Fiat car) and a tank. ,
It represents a moment in the war back in ’91, when a Croatian soldier had parked his Fićo in an intersection as a sign of protest against the Yugoslavian National Army that was coming.

But of course the army wanted to show their power and aggression and so they ran right over the Fićo. There's actually a story behind it that the driver in the tank was Croatian and he didn’t want to run over the car, but his commander had put a gun to his back and said to press the gas and run over the car, and so he did.

Later apparently, the driver of the Fićo and the driver of the tank met and they they became friends. So it's quite the story of power, aggression and protest.

The Chapel of Sorrows

This sweet little chapel is a baroque building from 1780, and legend has it that a young man actually was sentenced to death because he confessed to a theft that he never committed in order to protect his girlfriend, so this has become a Romeo and Juliet type of story in Osijek.

The famous pedestrian bridge in Osijek

The bridge has become an iconic symbol of the city. It was built in 1980 in just three months, so that was pretty quick. It goes over the River Drava and it is about 35 meters high, six meters wide, and across it goes about 200 meters. It's the only pedestrian bridge and in the evening it actually lights up in beautiful colors!

Osijek Beer

Osječko Pivo is home to Osijek and it was the very first Croatian beer, dating back to 1664. You should definitely give it a try if you find yourself in the city. Very refreshing and you can taste the history :)

Видео Top Things To Do In Osijek, Croatia! Discover the Eastern Region of Slavonia! канала Royal Croatian Tours