Osijek is just 35km (22 miles) from Dakovo and 29km (18 miles) from the Hungarian border in the northeastern corner of Croatia. It is the largest city in Slavonia and the 4th largest in the country. More than 10 years after the end of the Homeland War, Osijek is finally recouping some of its former vigor. For the first decade after the end of the war, Osijek concentrated on repairing damage from the hostilities, but now the city has finished a $10-million face-lift of its main square while rehabbing older properties and building new ones. During the war, all but 15,000 of Osijek's 80,000 citizens fled the city and sought shelter with relatives in other parts of Croatia or in foreign countries. Many -- but not all -- have returned to their hometown, a sign that the local economy is on the upswing.
Osijek is also known as a "green city" because of the parks and tree-lined streets that link its three centers and shade its stately mansions. Osijek's western skyline, however, is a wall of socialist-era structures that belie the city's beauty. The city comprises three town centers: Tvrda, Upper Town, and Lower Town, each of which has its own personality. The Tvrda area is the most interesting, with its vestiges of Roman culture and Ottoman occupation; these days it looks like a construction zone because its buildings are being renovated. It is also the site of Osijek's summer cultural program, which opened with the very American Duke Ellington Orchestra in June 2007.
One of the city's best features is its riverwalk, a paved path flanking both banks of the Drava that is used by joggers, cyclists, in-line skaters, and people fishing or exercising their dogs. The riverwalk is quickly becoming a trendy nightlife and shopping spot because of a new adjacent shopping mall. A small bridge leads to Copacabana, the city's most popular beach, and on the river, the marina houses hundreds of powerboats and sculls. Other people-powered crafts can be seen cutting through the water at any time of the day.
