Slavonia City Break and Gourmet Guide

Slavonia City Break

Slavonia Gourmet

Slavonija Full of lavours

Slavonija For Wine Lovers.

Slavonija For the Beer Lovers

Explore Slavonia

Slavonija UNESCO

Slavonija Lipizzaner State Stud Farm

Slavonija Full of Castles

Slavonija The Secrets of Old Towns

Slavonija For the Curious of Heart

Slavonija One With Nature

Slavonija Full f Surprises

Slavonija Fullof CreActivity

Slavonija In the Countryside

Slavonija Living Life "Slavonia style"

Slavonija Religious Heritage

Contents

Slavonia - A New Experience of Croatia

You will always have a smile on your face when travelling through Slavonia! The people of Slavonia will greet you and bid you farewell with a smile. It is in their nature - they are great hosts, with a heart of gold. Their hospitality has a special appeal. They will make you feel like home. Every trip to Slavonia is like coming home to your friends and family.

Castles, museums, forts, extraordinary religious heritage, architecture intertwined with its ambiance, a turbulent history involving different conquerors and customs, and rich tradition.. All of these just waiting to be discovered. River banks are the most inviting promenades in Slavonia, the cultural heritage is intriguing, and the nature inspiring.

favourite haunt for hunters and fishermen, it is equally liked by cyclists, and is slowly becoming an attractive camping destination. Those who are looking for an active holiday can enjoy wallks, hiking, free climbing, paragliding, horse riding, flying, bird watching- Beautiful forests and the nature parks of Kopački rit and Papuk, which is also a UNESCO Geopark, are the perfect spots to relax and reconnect with nature.

Slavonia has plenty of delicious food to offer, all of it prepared with love and unlike anywhere else. You will want to try everything. Sausages, among them the famous kulen and kulenova seka, pork rinds (čvarci), the paprika-flavoured fish stew fis paprikaš, the traditional shepherd's stew čobanac, carp grilled on a fork, home-made bread, delicious cakes and honey, and aromatic schnapps called rakija are hard to resist, even for the strongest of characters.

Local wines are a diff erent story entirely! Aromatic Traminer wines, the exquisite Welschriesling, Sylvaner, the best Croatian Blue Frankish wines, irresistible fruit wines, the intriguing wine roads, award-winning wineries and some of the oldest wine cellars are all the more reason to visit the region.

Slavonia is an excellent choice in all four seasons, especially during the summer months, when it off ers the perfect combination of land and sea, since everything in Croatia is close and within reach.

It is diffi cult to determine where towns end and villages begin in Slavonia; forests, plains and rivers are all intertwined here. In the west it merges with the Podravina region, and in the east with Baranja and Syrmia. Geographically speaking, the Pitomača township belongs to the Podravina region. Although at fi rst you may think there is no real diff erence between the two, the people of Podravina will be the fi rst to tell you they are not Slavonians. If you listen carefully, you will hear their accent is different, as they speak with the northern Croatian Kajkavian dialect, and they cherish the traditions of their region.

With people of Baranja and Syrmia, things get a bit tricky. They speak with the Shtokavian dialect, typical of Slavonia. The differences in their customs, way of life, traditions, and gastronomy are more nuanced, so you need to rely on geography. If you google Baranja, you will learn that the region is bounded by the rivers Drava and Danube. If you visit the city of Osijek, the locals will tell you that the border runs along the Drava bridge. Baranja will draw you in with its mystic beauty, wetlands, estuaries, forests, traditional villages, wines, as well as the multiculturalism reflected in its rich gastronomy.

Geography will not help you much with Syrmia, though, because its borders are not strictly defined. In the town of Vukovar, they say the border is at the mouth of the river Vuka, where it flows into the Danube, about halfway into the town. The people of Vukovar wrote "Slavonia" on the asphalt on one side of the imaginary border, and "Syrmia" on the other. Make no mistake, once you cross the bridge over Vuka, you have entered Syrmia, which will impress you both with its culinary off er and world-renowned wines and the memorable views of Fruška Gora mountain, whose vineyard slopes descend to the Danube.

Even after this little geography lesson, you too will forget about the borders once you arrive! In Slavonia you will feel relaxed and stress-free, and you will discover a new way to vacation. It is time you discovered its beauty and experience Croatia in yet another way. 11

Journey of Discovery

Virovitica - Draped in"Schubert" Red and Blue

The "Bridge of Love", the "Music Bridge", the "Mirror Bridge", the "Gymnasium Bridge", the "Portal Bridge", connecting the old and new parts of town. You would be hard-pressed to find another place with so many original bridges as there are in the Virovitica town park. They were designed by students from the Faculty of Architecture in Zagreb as an unusual urban experience that accentuates the beauty of the park in the very center of town. The focal point of the park is the newly renovated Pejačevié Castle, built in the Baroque style, dating back to the beginning of the 19th century. Despite the harsh competition of the First Croatian Savings Bank, the centenarian gymnasium school, the monastery and Church of St Rocco, characterised by the Franciscan version of the Baroque style, the people of Virovitica will tell you without question that the Pejačević Castle is the most beautiful building in

Something for everyone - three words that best describe Virovitica. A little bit of culture, entertainment and nature, all of it within reach.

town. Today, it houses the Town Museum and represents the cultural heart of town, alongside the library, which dates back to medieval times, the famous Music School, and Virovitica Theatre.

In addition to being theatrically and musically gifted, the locals know exactly what the "šubert red and blue" shades are. Those are the colours of the geometric shapes on the building façades along the promenade, named after Edita Schubert, the first lady of the Croatian avant-garde.

Virovitica also lilkes trains, and is home to an unusual exhibit at the main train station that includes over 3,500 train models from around the world, from steam engines to intercity trains. The most fascinating part is that all of the trainsets are fully functional.

There are plenty of reasons to visit Virovitica - the wine hills, an excursion to the fish ponds, the wooded slopes of Bilogora Mountain, the beautiful Drava river, the sweetest honey and the most delicious peppers-

Slavonski Brod - the Greatest Love Story Ever Told

All of the roads in Slavonski Brod lead to the old part of town, Stari Brod. This is the center of the town, comprised of three streets - Starčeviceva and Mesiceva streets and the Sava promenade, a favourite among locals. It can be reached via the longest promenade in Slavonia, the Ivana Brlić Mazuranić Square, which has a prominent statue of the famous author who wrote the most beautiful Croatian fairytales. Mazuranić came to Brod on her 18th birthday, and the foundations of the house she lived in were used to build a Neoclassicist single-story building that now houses the Brlic House Interpretation Centre.

Potjeh, one of her more famous characters, is sitting on a bench on the Sava promenade. Lost in thought and carrying a backpack, he urges you to take a selfie. )

Slavonski Brod is full of surprises - from the bome of the famous Croatian poet Dragutin Tadijanović that was turned into a memorial center, the Tambura Museum, dedicated to the traditional string instrument of the region, and the Ruzić Gallery, to the tourism and industrial park that is bome to trains and vebicles manufactured in the well-known Croatian factory "Duro Daković"

Slavonsli Brod boasts not only the longest promenade, but also the largest church in Slavonia. The Church of the Holy Trinity forms a part of the Baroque Franciscan monastery that houses an extensive library of old books and incunabula. You simply cannot leave Slavonski Brod without visiting the Fort, a grand monument of the highest category, and an impressive example of Baroque fortification architecture in the fertile plains along the Sava river. The fort dates back to the Roman settlement Marsunia as evidenced by a Roman military diploma from 71 AD. The modern Slavonian town was built on the site of the ancient Roman settlement. It is mentioned under the name "Brod" as early as 1244, as a village in the area where Sava was easiest to cross. 11

The town of Pozega, built on the only flat piece of land among a range of mountains, will show you that Slavonia is so much more than the vast plain it is thought to be. The first known mention of Požega dates back to 1227, proving its long history. Due to its economic and cultural significance, it was referred to as the "Athens of Slavonia" in the 19th century.

Its green parlks, sports courts and public pools, as well as cycling and pedestrian infrastructure are popular among young people and the young at heart. A special kind of atmosphere takes over at the end of August and beginning of September, during the "Golen Strings of Slavonia" (Zlatne Zice Slavonije) festival, the oldest music festival in Croatia.

The Požega Valley, known as the Golden Valley since ancient Roman times, is surrounded by five mountains, which are perfect for biking and recreational activities, as well as mountain biking.

A 1.5 km path called the "Falcon Trail" (Staza sokola) leads from the town center to the Sokolovac hill on the Požega Mountain, )

Slavonia City Break

Slavonia City Break

and makes for a perfect spot for wallking and recreational activities. It was named after a local hero, friar Luka Ibrišimović - "Sokol", who helped liberate the town from the Ottomans in 1688. The Ottomans ruled the Požega burg for more than 150 years. Although the burg no longer exists, the part of town where it was located, now taken up by a park and the Strossmayer promenade, is known simply as the Old Town. The "Love promenade," with its dozen benches and stories of famous couples from Pozega, as well as some universal messages of love, is the perfect spot for a couple selfie.

Stroll through the baroque heart of the town, starting from the main St. Trinity Square and passing landmarks such as the Town Museum, the Požega House Visitor Center, the Church of the Holy Spirit, and the Franciscan Monastery. You'll also see the Church of

St. Lawrence with its 13th-century frescoes, the Gymnasium founded over 300 years ago, and the Cathedral of St. Teresa of Avila, located on the square bearing the same name, home to the Diocesan Museum of the Požega Diocese and its rich sacral heritage. 11

Dakovo - Life's Work of Bishop Strossmayer

One of the more interesting stories and legends of the area is that of the monument to the plague, a votive monument to the Holy Trinity in the center of town, erected by the townsmen after a plague epidemic in the late 18th century took nearly 800 lives. Its builder, a certain Gabrijel Granicije, was given two thousand eggs and 300 Hungarian forints as payment. Legend has it that he used the eggs as a binding agent for the monument.

The biggest church square after Rome is located in Slavonia, in the town of Dakovo, which is the result of the life's work of Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer. The town represents a masterpiece of 19th-century Croatian culture, and if that is not reason enough to visit, there is also the famous Slavonian hospitality, traditional cuisine and great wines.

Curia of the Dakovo Archdiocese, Strossmayer's park, the Theological Seminary, the Church of All Saints, which used to be the Ibrahim Pasha Mosque, the old church walls, the old town center, and the Lipizzaner State Stud Farm, take a break over a glass of Welschriesling from the Trnava wine country in one of Dakovo's restaurants.

If you ask the people of Dakovo, their St Peter's Cathedral is the most beautiful cathedral in the world. To prove that it is not just a matter of their opinion, Pope John XXIII once said that there is not another one like it from Venice to Istanbul. After a tour of the cathedral, the Bishop's Palace, the

A favourite selfie spot in Dakovo is the mysterious rock in Strossmayer Park. Some say it is a meteorite, some that it was placed there by the bishop, while others think that it is all just a good joke. However, the rock became one of the town's symbols, along with the monument to "berda", the biggest instrument in tamburica ensembles.

It is unclear wbetber it is true, but legend bas it that there are underground tunnels in Dakovo. Some say they were built by Ibrabim Pasba, wbile others believe it was Strossmayer.

Dakovo is also known for the unique Jewish cemetery, where over 570 victims of WWII concentration camps were buried. Their names would be lost to history if it had not been for Stjepan Kolb, a grave-digger who secretly buried them in individual graves, instead of a mass grave, and left drawings of their layout and a list of their names in his notebooks.

Osijek - the Metropolis of Slavonia

Once a state-of-the-art military fortress in Central Europe, which never actually got to fulfil its military purpose, Tvrda is nowadays renowned for its museums and galleries, as well as a vibrant night life, charming cafés, pubs with an abundant offer of Croatian craft beers, as well as restaurants and hotels and bed-and-breakfasts with captivating stories to tell. The Osijek Old Town is always bustling

Slavonia City Break

Osijelk has one of the most beautiful river promenades that spans the "Winter Port", Osijek Hotel, the suspension bridge, numerous cafés and restaurants on one bank of the river Drava, and green spaces, the largest zoo in Croatia, and the famous beach Copacabana on the other. 11

with groups of tourists who marvel at its vibrant baroque houses while listening to their guides tell fascinating tales of the town's past.

Osijek boasts the largest number of city parks and urban green spaces in Croatia. There are 17 parks in the city area, covering a total of 394,000 square metres, and two of these - the park of King Petar Krešimir IV and King Tomislav Park - are monuments of landscape archi-

tecture. They are bordered by European Avenue, which has the longest row of Art Nouveau buildings in Southeast Europe.

Along with the pedestrian bridge over the Drava River, still often called by its original name "Bridge of Youth", the most eye-catching symbol of Osijek is the 90-meter-tall tower of the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul. Even though it is a co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Dakovo-Osijek, the locals simply call it "the cathedral". It was built in late 19th century at the initiative of Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer, so it comes as no surprise that its neo-Gothic style is reminiscent of the Dakovo cathedral.

Another important part of European cultural heritage is the famous Osijek tramway, which has been in operation since 1884, as well as St Ana Cemetery, listed as an important cultural structure and monument by the Association of Significant Cemeteries of Europe.

Pedestrian bridge, Osijek

This university city and the fourth largest city in Croatia is a must-see on every tour of Slavonia. It is also known as "the city on the Drava river", wbich in itself shows that a walk along the river is simply unmissable.

Slavonia City Break

Vinkovci - Over 8000 Years of Settlement

A creative urban scene with a long-standing tradition of rock music and comic strips lies beneath the surface of this seemingly quiet town in Slavonia. Life in Vinkovci began an astounding 8,000 years ago, which earned it the title of the oldest town in Europe. This is where Orion, the first Indo-European calendar, was found, as well as double moulds for casting axes, Slavic cremation graves from the 7th century, and the remnants of a later Bijelo Brdo culture, together with a medieval settlement.. Two Roman emperors were born here, Valentinian and Valens, two early Christian saints lived here, Eusebius and Pollio, and a specific Baroque style of the military border type was created and maintained from the time of the Ottoman Empire.

The Town Museum building is considered to be the most beautiful Baroque monument in Vinkovci. In the very center of town, you can see the Gymnasium, the Art Nouveau building of the Brod Estate Community, and the house of doctor Georgević, which now houses the office of the Tourist Board.

Talke a wallk down one of the most beautiful town promenades, along the Bosut river. The promenade leads from Krnjaš, an old street once populated by the ethnic group Šokci, where the house of the well-known Croatian author Ivan Kozarac is located. His forbidden love towards Marija Kozarac is still a topic of conversation in Vinkovci. A monument to the Romeo and Juliet of Vinkovci in front of the author's old house is a perfect selfie spot.

Feel the rbythm of the town in one of the numerous cafés along the Korzo, the main promenade, which is paved with motifs of the Orion, the first Indo-European calendar depicting the starry skies above Vinkovci.

1 Promenade along the Bosut river, Vinkovci / MIRJANA PJEVAC | 2 Statue of Marija and Ivan Kozarac, Vinkovci | FILIP BEUSAN
3 Orion on the Korzo promenade, Vinkovci I MATIJA šCULAC | 4 Birth bome of Ivan Kozarac, Vinkovci | FILIP BEUSAN
5 Vinkovci Town Museum / FILIP BEUSAN | 6 Advent Festival, Vinkovci /JULIEN DUVAL | 7 Park, Vinkovci /DRAZEN BOTA
8 Roman Days Festival (Rimski dani), Vinkovci ITOURIST BOARD OF THE TOWN OF VINKOVCI (TZG VINKOVCI)
9 Autumns of Vinkovci Festival (Vinkovačke jeseni) / IVO PERVAN

If you go for a wallk along the Bosut river, you will see the "Birds" (Ptice), a unique set of sculptures by a world-renowned artist Dina Merhav, who used to live in Vinkovci. Kunjevci forest, the Great park, Prkos, Archaeological park and the Sopot excursion site, with six traditional houses of the ancient Sopot culture, are favourite places to visit among the people of Vinkovci, and the town itself and its immediate vicinity are interconnected with a network of red, blue and yellow cycling routes starting from the bridge over Bosut. 11

The entire protected Baroque complex in Vukovar is inviting - the Franciscan monastery and Church of St Philip and St James, right next to the Gymnasium, the promenade along the Danube leading to the building of the mail coach and the Magistrate, then the former Grand Hotel or Workers' Hall as it is sometimes called, the Eltz Castle further on, which houses the Town Museum, and Syrmia Palace across the street, dating back to the 18th century, which is the seat of the Vukovar-Srijem County-

While taking in the town's beauty, it is difficult to imagine it was nearly destroyed at the end of the last century, during the Croatian Homeland War. This tragic

The Vukovar-Vučedol-Ilok tourist destination follows the downstream flow of the Danube, and is packed with castles, museums, architecture complexes with great ambient value, and gastronomy delights. Its beauty bas led it to being named a European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) in 2016/2017.

part of Croatian history is told by the Vukovar Nocturne (Vukovarski nokturno), a tour that covers the tragic sites of the Vukovar Hospital, as it was in 1991, the Memorial Centre and mass grave at Ovčara, the Memorial Cemetery of the Victims of the Homeland War, the central cross at the at the mouth of the river Vulka, where it flows into the Danube, and Memorial Centre of the Homeland War in the Vukovar barracks.

Living in Vukovar means living on the Danube and the Vuka rivers. Their banks form beautiful promenades, and scenic boat tours on the Danube offer a unique experience. A wallk to the Adica Park Forest is the perfect choice for nature and adventure lovers, the birth house of the Nobel Prize winner Lavoslav Ruzička will give you an opportunity to meet the famous chemist face to face - or at least a hologram of him - while the numerous cafés and restaurants will give you a sense of the local spirit, hospitality and easy-going lifestyle.

Only a few lkilometres downstream on the Danube, at the most important archaeological site of the Eneolithic Period, you can visit the Vučedol Culture Museum dedicated to the ancient people of Vučedol who had a strong influence on as many as 13 European countries. The Vučedol "Dove" and "Boot", ceramic masterpieces dating from the same period, are two famous emblems of the town, as is the 1968 water tower. 11

Slavonia City Break

Full of Elavioir

Kulen - a Culinary Icon from Slavonia

His majesty, the kulen is one of the most sought-after delicacies of Slavonia. This exquisite product is prepared and smoke-dried according to a protected recipe, using the best parts of chopped pork meat, cleaned from fat and connective tissue, with added garlic, salt and red paprilka, and sometimes a little pepper. It takes the right ratio of sweet and spicy paprika to give it the required spiciness. Some believe it is best when the meat is hand-cut; others say that the truly best pieces of meat are hand-cut to provide all the taste, while the rest is ground up to give it consistency.

Although the recipe may seem simple, the finest kulen is difficult to make, and only a rare few can do it just right. An especially tasty kind of kulen is that made from the Black Slavonian pig, which could once be found in every rural household in Slavonia. Experts claim that the pig's diet is the most important factor for obtaining high-quality meat, so the pigs still roam free in the meadows and forests of Slavonia, enjoying their favourite treat - the acorns of Slavonian oak.

You simply cannot leave Slavonia without trying kulen. You can eat it at any time - before your meal, after it, for breakfast, lunch or dinner, as a snack, on its own, together with pork rinds (čvarci), dried bacon, ham, traditional pressed sausage called švargl, a sausage similar to kulen known as kulenova seka (literally "kulen's sister"), cow or goat cheeses in various forms, regardless of whether you are hungry or not..

Sometimes called kulen, sometimes kulin, whether it is from the region of Slavonia or Baranja - it does not matter. When it is cut thinly and served on a wooden board, you will not be able to resist.

What is the secret of Slavonian gastronomy, you ask? It lies in the preserved authenticity of the ingredients and recipes, in the short time it takes for the food to reach the table from the field and, of course, the well-known Slavonian hospitality. And remember, each meal in Slavonia begins with a small glass (cokanj) of the aromatic alcohol drink rakija, and ends with an exquisite wine from the Slavonian vineyards. 11

In addition to the fish stew, Slavonia offers other fish dishes as well - grilled trout, catfish stew perkelt, carp grilled on a fork, zander or smoked fish. An incredible five tonnes of fish are served every August, at the annual three-day festival "Davor Fishermen's Nights" (Ribarske večeri u Davoru).

Fiš, čobanac..

When it comes to food, Slavonians only ever worry about two things - that there will not be enough food for everyone and that their fish stew is not spicy enough.

They need not worry, though, because it has yet to happen that anyone is left hungry here, or that they do not remember their first taste of fis very vividly. And whether you like it or not, you simply have to try the fis. It comes in many different variants, from mild to extremely spicy, from the more traditional ones from the Baranja region to those with a modern twist, such as the boneless stew that spread from the town of Ilok to Požega. Whatever its form, one thing is for sure - it is always made with the freshest freshwater fish, and cooked in a cauldron with lots of love, passion, and ground red paprika.

The top masters say that the secret to a good fish stew lies in a harmony of flavours. This cauldron speciality must be lightly salted, moderately thick and spicy, and when it comes to the latter, "moderate" has a very flexible meaning. This is especially true in Baranja, where fis is somewhat of a trademark, associated with the Hungarian community in Croatia, which is famous for producing its vital ingredient - ground red paprika.

Much like fis, another stew called cobanac is prepared in all parts of Slavonia, all year-round, and it can be found in nearly every restaurant in the region. It takes three hours of simmering in a cauldron over an open fl ame to make it, and every village and town in Slavonia has its own recipe or secret ingredient. Various kinds of meat, lots of vegetables, and the key ingredient of ground red paprilka, coupled with Slavonian wine, and you have yourself a true feast.

Slavonia Gourmet

Slavonia will seduce you with the smell of freshly baked bread and tasty, greasy scones that no foodie can resist, even those who are careful about their weight. The same is true of desserts, which offer an endless array of delicacies - Floating Islands (or šnenokle), jam pastry tacke s pekmezom, deep fried flat bread poderane gace or langoši, a multilayered pastry cake gibanica, the puff pastry salenjaci made with pork lard, walnut and poppyseed rolls (orabnjača and makovnjača, respectively), etc. 11

Anyone Can Be a Foodie Here

The multiculturalism and rich history of the region influenced not only the customs and way of life, but also the wide variety of foods and wine. Throughout the centuries, some added to the cuisine, and others took from it, eventually creating original Slavonian specialities from Hungarian, German and oriental recipes.

Two types of meat, smoked bacon, onions and peppers wrapped in pork caul fat and grilled, friends gathered around the fire, and a glass of fine wine.. All of these make for a unique gourmet experience! This is a specific version of kebab unique to the area of Pozega, made as a combination of meats on skewers with oriental influences in meat preparation, which became a traditional food of the winegrowers and winemakers of Požega, who gave it the name of vinogradarski cevap ("vineyard kebab").

It may not be an original Slavonian dish, but sarma is certainly everyone's favourite. Fans of this

In a book entitled Muzej u loncu (Museum in a Pot) of the Požega Town Museum, you can find out more about the traditional Slavonian dishes dating back to the late 19th and the early 20th century. And if you are looking for a more contemporary culinary experience, the Michelin Guide-listed restaurants of Waldinger Hotel in Osijek and Dunav Hotel in Ilok are the places to be.

minced meat and cabbage dish will agree that there is no better smell than freshly cooked sarma. It used to be prepared exclusively from dry-cured pork in Slavonian villages, except during traditional pig slaughtering feasts, when there was fresh meat aplenty. A special meatless sarma was traditionally made from chopped pumpkin seeds and served on Good Friday. It is still included in the "Flavours of Golden Slavonia"(Okusi Zlatne Slavonije) menu, a designation of authentic cuisine of the area surrounding the towns of Pozega and Pakrac.

A similar designation, "Flavours of Posavina's frontier" (Okusi Granicarskog Posavlja), has been given to fifteen restaurants in and around Slavonski Brod, while Eastern Croatian authentic cuisine bears the label "Flavours of Syrmia and Slavonia"(Okusi Srijema i Slavonije). No true foodie will miss the Baranja region, and the cuisine of the villages Kopačevo, Zmajevac, Vardarac, Suza and Karanac. The area of the town of Pitomača will show you all the beauty of traditional cuisine of the Podravina region, from nettle bread to freshly caught fish from the river Drava.

Kriznica, an island of unexpected beauty, will surprise you by bringing the river Drava to your table, while in the Papuk Mountain region you will find dishes made from ingredients from the forests and game meat. 11

Slavonia | Gourmet

Wine as a Lifestyle

Slavonia will tell you one of the most beautiful wine stories you have ever heard. Surrounded by forests, nestled on slopes that reach all the way down to the rivers, just outside towns and villages, there are vast rows of grape vines creating the most beautiful landscapes. Ever since the Roman emperor Probus planted the first vines in 3rd century AD, wine became an inextricable part of Slavonian tradition. The fertile plains, a lot of sunny days, a specific microclimate, knowledge, and experience joined to make Slavonian wines, which tantalise even the most demanding wine lovers with their aromas and flavours. Slavonian wines are always held in high regard, so the region has the largest, oldest and award-winning wineries in Croatia.

The entire story would be incomplete without a hundred or so charming family wineries and farms with tasting rooms that will give you an insight into all of the facets of Slavonian hospitality. The essential specialities such as kulen, kulenova seka, sausages and cheese, as well as the sounds of tamburica, or sometimes even bagpipes (gajde), will make the wine go down more smoothly. A very special experience is offered by the traditional festivals dedicated to vineyards and wine, such as the annual grape harvest, taking place in September, the Feast of Saint Martin in November and of St Vincent in January, St Gregory's Day in March in Požega, or the Festival of Welschriesling (Festival graševine) that takes place every June in the town of Kutjevo.

Alongside traditional wine events, a growing number of modern festivals are blending hedonism, art, and active leisure. Standout examples include WineOs and Evenings of Wine and Art in Osijek, the Wine & Bike Tour in Erdut, the Traminac Festival in Ilok, as well as the Ideš i piješ (Sip and Stroll) event in Kaptol.

You will learn that wine in Slavonia brings so much more than pleasure - from the wine roads of Bilogora Mountain near the town of Virovitica, of Papuk near the town of Orahovica, and on the Stupnička brda hills, to the vineyards on the slopes of Kutjevo, Požega, Pleternica, and Pakrac, Erdut, Baranja, Dakovo and Feričanci, and all the way to the vine-covered hills of Syrmia. Wine is a lifestyle here! 11

Welschriesling, Traminer wine, Sylvaner, Blue Frankish wine..

You can never go wrong with a Welschriesling! Also known as Riesling, this grape variety is considered to be Central European, although some wine experts, such as Jancis Robinson and Steven Spurrier, claim Croatia is its country of origin. Slavonian winemakers are sure to agree, as they have always )

considered it native to Croatia. It even gave its name to the main square in Kutjevo, a small town widely known for high-quality wines. Many believe this variety gives the best results right here.

The palatable and refreshing wines made from this grape variety will initially seduce you with their lovely floral and fruity aroma, followed by a full and harmonious flavour. It complements white meat and pasta, thick sauces, as well as fish and seafood specialities. From the finest Welschriesling wines to the late, selected, or ice harvests- One thing is for sure, you will enjoy a unique experience!

Although it is also the most common grape variety in the Syrmia wine country, this part of Croatia was made famous by a top-quality Traminer wine that has been produced since 1710. Many fans of this royal variety consider it one of the best wines in Europe. It gives you a very special feeling when you drink it with rich Syrmia dishes, or in Principovac, Ilok's most famous wine area.

In addition to their fruit wines, the people of Orahovica are especially proud of the Sylvaner, one of the oldest grape varieties in the world, which found its perfect terroir here. It makes for fresh and sophisticated wines that perfectly complement freshwater fish and white meat.

Attractive, intoxicating, and unpredictable just lilke a woman. This is what the Slavonians have to say about the Blue Frankish wine, a red variety of grapes grown in the village of Feričanci and Ilok that makes exquisite wines. With its ruby red colour with a scarlet hue, a strong aroma specific to the variety, and an intense, long-lasting and excellent taste, the Blue Frankish pairs well with ham and kulen. Some find it even more appealing after it has been aged in oak barrels. It complements dishes made from game meat, freshwater fish, and spicy delicacies straight from the cauldron, fiš paprikaš and cobanac. It is also an excellent choice for a barbecue, grilled lamb meat, steak, and matured cow and goat cheeses.

Other grape varieties are represented in Slavonia as well, such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir, Syrah, Zweigelt, and the white varieties Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Rhein Riesling, Pinot blanc, Pinot gris.. Salut! 11

Slavonia Gourmet | For Wine Lovers-

Wine Stories

Slavonia's rich past as an exceptionally fertile wine country is evidenced by its numerous legends. According to one of them, widow Clicquot - the very same one who conquered the world in the 19th century with her champagnes - visited the town of Pleternica on

her way to Peterburg. She was so delighted by its hills that she had vine grafts sent there upon returning to Champagne. In her honour, one of the hills on the Rose and Wine Road (Cesta ruža i vina) in Pleternica - and subsequently also a coupage of Welschriesling, Rhein Riesling, Pinot blanc and local Ranina wines - was named Klikun, by the way the locals pronounced Clicquot. )

One of the earliest Croatian sparkling wines was made on the estate of Georg Wilhelm, Prince of Scbaumburg-Lippe in Slatina in 1864 using the traditional method.