Osijek travel guide

Background

The town was founded by the Romans as the fortified military camp of Mursa in the first century AD, in the area that is now Tvrdja, and was last mentioned in 591, after which it was destroyed by invading Goths and Huns and sank into oblivion. By the 12th century a new settlement had grown up in the area that is now Gornji Grad: it was a market town and river port, owned by a Cistercian Abbey and known by the Hungarian name of Eszek. However, the medieval town was ransacked by the Turkish leader Sultan Suleiman II the Magnificent in 1526, and an important Ottoman administrative centre, complete with mosques, built in its place. The Turks linked Osijek to Darda in the north with an 8-km-long wooden bridge, which ran across the River Drava and the Baranja marshes.

In 1687, the Hapsburgs pushed the Turks out of the area, and set the town up as one of the principal army barracks on the Slavonian Miltary Border, based in the purpose-built Tvrdja fortress complex. Almost a century later, in 1786, the three town boroughs of Tvrdja, Gornji Grad and Donji Grad were united, and Osijek became the administrative centre of the wealthy agricultural region of Slavonia.

In the 20th century, industries such as food processing, chemicals, agricultural machinery, textiles and footwear grew up here, mainly due to the town’s location on a transport crossroads between Zagreb and Belgrade, and Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the war for independence Osijek came under siege for several months in 1991 and 1992, lying dangerously close to the front line after the Serbs took Vukovar, just 35 km to the southeast. The theatre and the old rooftops of Tvrdja were hit several times, though subsequent restoration work has repaired the worst of the damage.

Air

Osijek Airport, T031-514400, 7 km from town. The only flights are internal to Split and Dubrovnik. There are no flights in winter.

Bus

The bus station is a 10-min walk from the centre at Bartula Kašića bb, T060-334466.

There are 12 buses daily to Zagreb (4 hrs); 20 daily to Dakovo (40 mins); and 20 daily to Vukovar (45 mins). An international bus departs from Osijek for Pecs in Hungary, Mon-Sat (3 hrs).

Buses leave for Bilje every hour; you have to walk the final 3 km to the park entrance.

Car

Hertz, Gundulićeva 32, T031-200422, www. hertz.hr.

Taxi

There is a taxi rank in front of the train station, Trg Ružičke, T031-200100 (day), T031-372555 (night).

Train

The train station is a 10-min walk from the centre, next to the bus station, at Trg Ružičke, T060-333444.

There are 6 trains daily to Zagreb (4 hrs), 1 to Rijeka (7½ hrs), and 2 international trains daily for Pecs in Hungary (3 hrs).

Consulates

There is only 1 consulate in Osijek. Hungarian, S Radića 15, T031-250150.

Internet

VIP Internet Café, L Jager 24; Internet Klub Ukrik, Sunčana 18, http://www.ukrik.hr.

Medical services

Osijek Hospital, J Huttlera 4, T031-511511; casualty, T031-506920. Pharmacies: Ljekarna Centar, Trg A Starcevica 7, T031-205722, works regular hours and also covers nights shifts; Ljekarna Park, Park Kralja P Kresimira IV 6, T031-208323, works regular hours and also covers Sat and Sun afternoons.

Post offices

Županijska 8, Mon-Fri 0700-2000, Sat 0700-1400.