Introduction to Osijek

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 fourth largest in the country. Osijek finally is recouping some of its former vigor 15 years after the end of the war. At first, 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 in other parts of Croatia or in foreign countries. Many -- but not all -- have returned, a sign that the local economy is on the upswing.

Osijek proper is awash with parks and tree-lined streets that link its three centers and shade its stately mansions. Its 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 Osijek's biggest tourist draw, 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 brings in big-name performers from all over the world.

One of the city's best features is its river walk, 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 river walk 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.

Homes, Sweet Homes

Throughout Slavonia and Baranja you might notice houses that seem very small from the street but that resemble long shotgun houses as they extend into the land. These houses, which have many entrances, are the result of the landowners' reluctance to divide their property among their sons. As the sons grow older and marry, their parents add groups of rooms for each son, each group with its own entrance. The additions are built onto the structure and into the property; the family land stays whole instead of subdivided for their children. Thus the children became part owners of the family farm. The house facades face the street, but the buildings themselves jut into the land like a series of one-story motels.