Spacious between wheat fields and the Drava river, rich in social and cultural content, airy and surrounded by natural beauty - a city tailored to man.

The "Slavonika" highway takes us through a landscape that changes its clothes every season. In spring, the plain is colored with yellow rapeseed flowers, while in summer and early autumn, swarms of bees and bumblebees play in the sunflower fields. Clearly, the golden wheat fields are a motif that you cannot leave this part of Croatia without. And then suddenly – the city. Osijek, the metropolis of Slavonia and Baranja, stretches between grain fields and the Drava River, whose course it follows, elongated from west to east. It is one of those cities that can rightfully say that they are human-sized, especially if you consider yourself a family type. Neither too big nor too small, rich in social and cultural content, airy and surrounded by natural beauty. Not because it's ours, but there really are a handful of reasons that make it special. In the words of Branko Mihaljević, a good spirit of local poetry, "My Osijek is full of sunshine, along the Drava River, calm and quiet, for me it will always remain the most beautiful poem and verse."

Since prehistoric times, the area of the Pannonian Plain has been a civilizational hotspot. During antiquity, it was inhabited by the Romans, and then in the Middle Ages by Slavs and Ugrians (Hungarians). Conquering Slavonia and a large part of Hungary, in the middle In the 16th century, the Ottomans built the eighth wonder of the world here - the wooden Sulejman Bridge, which led from Osijek, over seven kilometers of swamps, to the center of Baranja, Darda. After they are over In the 17th century, the Ottomans were pushed back by the Austrians (burning the bridge along the way), and a new phase of Osijek's construction boom began. The fortified, central part of the city, which at that time consisted of three separate settlements, was declared a military center. From the swamp until 1722. one of the largest fortresses in Croatia, also known as Tvrđa, emerged. To the west and east of it are the Upper and Lower towns. After in 1809 Osijek unites and acquires the status of a free royal city, these parts will become the engine of its economic and social development. Until the middle of the 19th century. century, the Slavonic metropolis is also the largest Croatian city.

Not to confuse you: in cities along rivers, such as Osijek, the adjectives "upper" and "lower" do not mean elevated and flat, but the upstream and downstream parts of the city. As for the height, both are lowland and allergic to heights!

Who wouldn't explore a place of such a past! However, before you go, respect the all-Croatian custom that every successful sightseeing is based on a cup of coffee (or possibly brandy). You can test it in one of the cafes in the center of the city (once Upper Town), or in the taverns of Tvrđa. In one of them, the best friend of all morning coffees has been drunk since 1718. Find out in which (the name is a bit threatening, but the atmosphere is 100% friendly ;)!

After coffee we can go. And the panorama of Osijek is dominated by the church, co-cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. Somewhat younger than the cathedral in Đakovo, the traditional center of the Đakovo-Osijek archdiocese, Osijek's neo-Gothic beauty is actually the most luxurious and tallest parish church in Croatia, and certainly beyond. Its 94 m height probably helped it to receive the status of a co-cathedral in 2008, exactly 110 years after it was "put into circulation" (admittedly, even before, no one, enchanted by its beauty, believed her when she told him that it was an "ordinary" church ).

The co-cathedral, located on the main city square, and the Fortress are connected by an avenue, but not just any avenue. It is the longest stretch of Art Nouveau city palaces in Southeast Europe, built in the late 19th century 19th and beginning 20th century. Their facades are decorated with frescoes of Slavonian fields and rivers, green "front gardens" open onto the street, and luxurious wrought iron fences tower over the sidewalk - we don't need to say twice that you are in the Instagrammable zone here.

Life in the heart of the city is filled with many pleasures. One of them is visits to interesting city restaurants, which should not be surprising, considering that we are in the end of tempting meat and veggie delicacies, and equally good wines. The fact that the whole of Osijek is one big promenade and recreation center whets the appetite. From the parks and parks in the city center, head towards the Drava promenade. Visit the river mill, and then go down to the ferry - the scaffolding that will take you to the left bank. The Osijek Zoo is located here, special in that its animal enclosures are one of the largest in Europe. While lions and tigers cool off in their groves, the people of Osijek find refreshment in the summer heat at Copacabana – the Slavonian namesake of the famous Brazilian beach. Join them! Use your return to the city to enjoy the city's most beautiful sunset, which opens into the view from the pedestrian bridge over the Drava.

On the eastern edge of Gornji Grad, the famous Osijek cinema "Urania" was built in 1912, according to the project of architect Viktor Axmann. The building, where you can watch movies even today, was also the seat of the Masonic lodge "Budnost", founded way back in 1773. The relief of the Egyptian sphinx, the "guardian of the temple", stands out on the unusual rounded facade of the cinema. The sculptures of two sphinxes and the mythical Hindu heroine Šakuntala, or in Osijek, Sakuntala, also contribute to the slightly twisted ambience of the location. After her, the entire park in front of the "Urania" cinema is called Sakuntala Park.

We have already said something about Osijek Tvrđa. Once a large military complex, today it is a fortress of culture and tourism. There are several galleries, studios and museums here, among them the Museum of Slavonia, the largest general museum in Croatia. The newly renovated Vatroslav Lisinski Square with an educational and informational tourist center, located in the Stara pekara building, is becoming a new starting point for cultural-tourist "landings" in Osijek. And in the case of the nearby Kazamat, "nomen" is no longer "omen" - here you will not be imprisoned and tortured, but showered with various artistic treats, since the former dungeon now houses a famous gallery.

With Tvrđa's catering offer, it is impossible to stay hungry and thirsty. However, if you want your stay here to take on a bigger dimension, it is perhaps best to visit the Osijek fortress on a Saturday, especially if it is the first of the month. The fortress then turns into a stage for the monthly antiques fair, and who knows, maybe your first successful haggling. The fair takes place on Holy Trinity Square decorated with the votive statue of the same name, in memory of the unhappy love of Baroness Petraš and her husband Maksimilian, who died of the plague. Sniff.

If at some point you feel like walking, you can also explore Osijek by tram. It has been operating on the streets of Osijek since 1884, which makes it the first in Croatia. If you run into a familiar face while driving, greet him with a stretched "Di si, lega". Among the numerous jargonisms derived from the local Esekese dialect, "lega" is the most legendary, and in its own way, the warmest. Although real locals pronounce it extremely phlegmatically, they say to you - "Friend!".