On the Eastern side of Croatia, between the border with Hungary on the North and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the South, bounded by three major rivers that flow through Croatia – the Sava, Drava, and Danube, this is the magical (and yet, still undiscovered) area where long time ago a region that still stands here today has settled its roots- Slavonia.
Unlike other Croatian regions that many associates with seaside and mountainous nature, Slavonia is precisely the opposite which just proves how diverse a small country like Croatia can be.
Miles and Miles of wheatfields, high oak forests and beautiful plains in all colors of nature are just the part of this beautiful region.
Slavonia is one of the historically wealthiest parts in Croatia, where many significant historical moments took place.
The region was initially part of the Roman province of Pannonia, and after the fall of the Roman Empire, the Slavs settled there. Local tribes here created their first state, which will enter into an alliance with other Slavic tribes that called themselves „Slaveni“ which led to Slavonia’s name.
In 925 it became part of the Kingdom of Croatia. In 1091 the region was conquered by the Hungarians, 11 years before the rest of the then Croatian state. Then it becomes an administrative unit independent of Croatia, and it remains until the 19th century.
After the Revolution in 1848, Croatia and Slavonia constitute the autonomous Croatian-Slavonian region, which in1867 came to the Hungarian part of the monarchy. 1881. The Great Border is finally united with the civilian Croat, making the whole area again under Croatian rule.
After Croatia declared independence in 1991, the Serb population established its state from parts of eastern and western Slavonia. The eastern part was called the Autonomous Serbian region, and during the hard times in Homeland War, it was Slavonia who suffered the most, lost many of its people and got many of its cities destroyed, especially city of Vukovar.
But time heals, and Slavonia came back to its regular life and doing things that were always the trademark of this region, such as excellent wine (most popular is made in Ilok, which was recently served during the British Royal wedding), meat deli products and even trendy sneakers by Borovo.
Cities you might want to visit in Slavonia? Osijek, Vinkovci, Vukovar, Đakovo…..and many more.
Think outside the box and discover stuff in foreign countries that are not the most popular tourist spots…..trust us, it’s worth it…..it’s pure serenity!
