Main city of the Croatian southeast, Osijek is a relaxed riverside town blessed with green spaces. Its chief asset is the river Drava, which is bordered by extensive parks, foot- and cycle-paths.

Gornji Grad

The town is unusual in having more than one centre. At the western end of town is Gornji Grad, a knot of nineteenth-century buildings grouped around the Neo-Gothic Church of Saints Peter and Paul, whose 90-metre spire makes it the tallest Croatian building outside Zagreb.

Tvrđa

About 2km to the east is of Gornji Grad is Tvrđa, the fortified settlement built by the Austrians to serve as a regional command centre in the late seventeenth century. Consisting of main square, administrative buildings, churches and former barracks, its a unique surviving example of late-Baroque military-civilian architecture. Occupying the former guard-house on Tvrđa’s main square is well-stocked Archeological Museum, covering Osijek’s Roman forerunner Mursa as well as the culture and lifestyles of the medieval Croats.

Europska Avenija