The most eastern part of Croatia comprises the tourist region of Slavonia, which makes it the largest Croatian region after Dalmatia. Slavonia is renowned for its wheat fields, endless oak forests extending along the Danube, Drava and Sava, and for its ancient rural landscapes. However, there are broad mountains covered with dense beech forests and vineyards on the hill slopes in Slavonia too. There is also a well preserved autochthonous folklore heritage, the sound of tambouritzas, and a delectable cuisine with local specialties. Two nature parks are located in Slavonia: the wooded mountain of Papuk and Kopački rit - a unique wetland region, as well as several other protected areas, mostly woods and parks.
The main natural defining lines of Slavonia are the three largest Cro- atian rivers, the Danube, Drava and Sava, which border to the east, south and north. Hence, stretching through the north, east and
south of the region is a wide expanse of plains, Podravina, and to the north, Baranja, along the moody Drava; Posavina, along the placid Sava, whose course is flanked by primeval oak forests, and fertile Croatian Podunavlje and the region of Srijem, along the mighty Danube. The only mountainous area is in the west, with a range of wooded mountains: Papuk and Krndija in the north, Psunj, Požeška gora and Dilj in the south, and in the centre, the wonderful and fertile Požeška kotlina (Požega Valley), famous for its vineyards. After Central Croatia, Slavonia is the largest of Croatia’s tourist regions, comprising five counties: Virovitica-Podravina, Požega- Slavonia, Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem. Lo- cated away from the main tourist routes, most of which lead to the sea, Slavonia attracts relatively few tourists even today. However, for those who do visit, Slavonia will be a surprising and richly reward- ing experience.
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The things which best define the soul of Slavonia are its flat wheat fields, extending as far as the eye can see, the monumentality of its tall oak trees in the great wetland forests, and the placid nature of its wide rivers. Those rivers have not been restrained within canals, and one can still enjoy their green waters and the endless forests that follow their courses. This applies both to the Danube, whose wide course is festooned with numerous small islands (4), and the tame Sava, which is bordered by dense oak forests (1).
This is why Slavonians best like to spend their leisure time in their modest timber built weekend huts on the banks of those rivers (5). A particularly popular form of recreation is fishing in the peaceful ambience of the woods bordering the calm rivers (3). Many Slavo-
nians have old wooden boats (2) with which they sail the sheltered backwaters, where civilization is but a distant thought.
Greenery in Slavonia reaches into its towns, all of which have at least one lovely park in their centres. This applies equally to large towns like Osijek or Slavonski Brod and small ones such as Našice. Indeed, many say that the most beautiful of all the town parks in Slavonia is in fact the one in Našice (6), in which stands the imposing Pejačević manor house. Slavonia is also renowned for its tradition of horse breeding and traditional folk festivals, such as Đakovački vezovi or Vinkovačke jeseni, were horses are a central feature. The main horse breeding centre is Đakovo, next to which is the famous Lipizzaner stud farm (7).
Kopački rit is one of the largest natural wetlands in Europe and as such has been recommended for inclusion in the UNESCO List of Natural Heritage.
Due to its extraordinary natural value and the unique beauty of its wetland landscapes, if Kopački rit had been located in some other state, it would have certainly been awarded the status of a national park, but in Croatia, this has not been possible because of the strict
strictly forbid such activities in national parks, for the time being, Kopački rit is “merely” a nature park. Many nature lovers would be happy to see such activities prohibited altogether, and not only in the zoological reserve, which covers an area of up to 80 hectares in the central area of the park.
Large herds of deer are practically a trade mark of Kopački rit, de- spite the fact that herds of wild boar are just as large. There are other
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mammals in the park, but far more numerous are birds (8), totalling almost 300 different species (11, 14 & 15). The most important among them are the very rare and protected species: white tailed eagle and black stork. Among other rare animals living in the park, turtles occupy a special place(16).
The park can be easily reached by car from nearby Osijek, the larg- est town in Slavonia, and visitors can abandon themselves to the primeval ambiances of the wetlands, forests and diluvial fields (9). The best way, however, is to tour the park on excursion boats (12) which are able to reach even the shallow, swampy backwaters. The beauties of the park are also enjoyed by tourists aboard large river cruisers sailing the Danube, which marks the eastern border of this truly magnificent nature park (13).
Slavonia comprises not just flat lands but also wooded mountains, the majority of which are situated in the westernmost. The most widespread and beautiful of these is the protected nature park of PAPUK. The feature that visitors find the most captivating is the woods of Papuk, extending as far as the eye can see (18). These woods are mainly mountain beech (20), but there are also oak, fir and other types of trees. Imposing trees also grow in the foothills of Papuk, particularly in town parks such as those in Slatina, Ora- hovica and Našice (19).
By far the most beautiful part of Papuk is Jankovan park-wood, one of Slavonia’s favourite excursion sites. It is named after Count Janković, who owned the surrounding estates and who, deciding to spend his dotage here, made himself a place to rest in and to
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enjoy. In a magical valley up in the mountains there are several spar- kling brooks surrounded by flowering meadows and dense beech woods. At the top of the mountains is the loveliest of all its adorn- ments: the Jankovac waterfall (22). There is also a mountain lodge of the same name (21), regarded by many Croatian mountaineers to be the most beautiful and the most comfortable of all of Croatia’s mountain lodges.
However beautiful the woods, brooks and waterfalls may be, what makes this mountain unique in Croatia is its geology. Here, one can see all the ages of rocks, from the Palaeozoic to the most recent Qua- ternary period. This is also the only Croatian mountain to have an abundance of volcanic rocks. Consequently, this is where Rupnica - the first Croatian geological park known for the unusual strata it contains (23) - was founded near the picturesque village of Voćin. Due to its exceptionally interesting and valuable geology, Papuk has been included in the list of world geological parks, the first such park in Croatia.
In addition to its clean and preserved nature, Slavonia stands out with its harmonious blend of natural heritage and human interven- tion. This relates in particular to the picturesque region of BARAN- JA, in the northeasternmost region of Croatia, north of the Drava. In fact, Baranja is not a part of Slavonia but a separate region, the bulk of which is located in neighbouring Hungary. The largest part of Baranja is made up of endless plains, but there are occasional low hills covered by vineyards, as well as steep, sandy slopes along the banks of the Danube. The romantic quality of the plains is at its most enchanting in the area around the small village of Topolje. Here, in the solitude of a backwater of the Danube, there stands the small church of Saints Peter and Paul, built in 1722 by the famous Prince Eugen of Savoy in gratitude for the great victory achieved over the Osmanlis (24).
The beauty of Baranja’s vineyards can best be sensed in the village of Zmajevac (25), where its unique wine cellars (27) have been dug into the thick strata created through centuries of sedimenta-
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tion caused by the passage of winds across the limitless Pannonian steppe. Many will say that the vineyards and wine cellars in the re- gion of Srijem (29) are even more beautiful. These are located in the far eastern part of Slavonia. Here, near the easternmost Croatian town of Ilok, the romantic vineyards, practically extending over the Danube itself (28), are famous themselves, but their wine, Iločki traminac (the Traminac of Ilok), is even more famous. Wine grow-
ing is significant for the western part of Slavonia as well, especially around the town of Kutjevo (26) in the Požega Valley. Inspired by its fertility and beauty, the ancient Romans named it Vallis Aurea, (Golden Valley). Kutjevo is the town with the famous 13th-century wine cellar that was once visited by many members of the nobil- ity, most famous among them being Empress Maria Theresa of the House of Hapsburg.
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