Istria & Kvarner
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Slavonia & Baranja

Croatia  Slavonia en Baranja

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Image1 Slavonia and Baranja are located on the north-eastern side of Croatia and they border with Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (See Slavonia and Baranja on map). These regions are well-developed in agriculture and due to their many rivers, brooks and beautiful forests, visitors can enjoy a holiday of rest and relaxation. Sports fishing, hunting and enjoying the picturesque landscape are just some of the activities rural tourism has to offer.

Surrounded by the rivers Sava, Drava and Dunav, Slavonia is a region of exceptional beauty with its thick forests and green pastures as well as numerous castles and summer homes which once belonged to the wealthy. These characteristics give Slavonia a certain charm.

The city of Osijek is the largest city in Slavonia and it is located next to the river Drava. Osijek is a historical yet modern city rich in culture as well as entertainment.

Baranja is a region which extends between the rivers Drava and Dunav and the Hungarian border. At the crossroads of the rivers Dunav and Drava is the natural phenomenon of the Kopacki rit (swamp). The Kopacki rit (swamp) is a zoological preserve rich in wildlife and vegetation and it was declared a nature park in 1967.

The larger cities throughout the regions of Slavonia and Baranja are Osijek, Vukovar, Vinkovci, Slavonski Brod, Pozega, Daruvar, Nova Gradiska, Kutjevo, Zupanja, Djakovo, Nasice and Virovitica.Slavonia is a region in eastern Croatia. It is a fertile agricultural and forested lowland bounded, in part, by the Drava river in the north and the Sava river in the south. The area is divided in five counties, total population 800.000. The region was originally part of the Roman province of Pannonia. In the 7th century a Slavic state owing allegiance to the Avars was established, soon replaced by the (also Slavic) Croats and later part of their kingdom. Slavonia, like the rest of Croatia, became part of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1102. It came under Turkish rule in the 16th century and by the Habsburgs by the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699). Southern parts of it became part of the their Military Frontier.

The Revolutions of 1848 changed Slavonia's status to an Austrian crown land, but Slavonia and Croatia were restored to the Hungarian crown by 1868. It became part of the Yugoslav kingdom in 1918, within the Savska banovina after 1929. During World War II, it was part of the Independent State of Croatia, the northern section controlled by Nazi Germany. When the Yugoslav federation was formed after the war, Slavonia became part of the Socialist Republic of Croatia.

When Croatia declared its independence in 1991, Serbs of Krajina established their own state over portions of eastern and western Slavonia. The eastern portion was referred to as the Serbian Autonomous Region of Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, and it encompassed roughly everything east of Osijek and Vinkovci and northeast of Županja, including the cities of Vukovar and Ilok, as well as all of Baranja. The western portion included the area around Okuèani and most of the Psunj moutain. In May 1995, the western region was restored to Croatia in the military Operation Flash. In 1996 the east was turned over to the UNTAES, and reintegrated into Croatia by January 1998.

Consequences of the war

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