9/14/08

After docking this morning and passing through customs in Vukovar, site of the worst artillery shelling of the Croatioan-Serbian war, we took a short walk through the town. The town was hit by 3,000-4,000 shells per day and was 90% destroyed in the 1991-1995 Homeland War. Prior to the war there were 45,000 inhabitants of Vukovar. Now there are only 25,000 people, with 32% unemployment. Many of the buildings look like Emmenthaler cheese. We looked at Els Castle, and at the Bosnitza (hospital) where Serbs took all patients out and shot them.

Then we went to explore Osijek, the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of about 115,000, and the economic center of eastern Croatia. Osijek is on the right bank of the river Drava, 16 mi upstream of its confluence with the Danube.

The origins of human habitation of Osijek dates back to Neolithic times, with the first known inhabitants belonging to the Illyrian tribes. Archeologists found a statue of a dove dating from 3000 BC. Roman Hadrian raised the old settlement of Mursa (in the old part of Osijek) to a colony with special privileges in 131. After that, Mursa had a turbulent history, with several decisive battles taking place deciding the destiny of the whole region. After their migration, the Croats made a settlement near the ruins of Mursa, giving it its present name, Osijek. Life was thriving here in the Middle Ages, but only traces of that life can be found today because the Turks destroyed everything they found and made a town to suit their style.

The earliest mentions of Osijek date to 1196. The town was a feudal property of the Korogyi family between 1353 and 1472. The city was sacked and destroyed by the Ottoman Empire on August 8, 1526. The Turks rebuilt it in oriental style and it was mentioned in the Turkish census of 1579. Suleiman the Magnificent built a famous, 8 kilometer long wooden bridge in Osijek, considered to be one of the wonders of the world.

Osijek was restored to western rule when on September 29, 1687 it was occupied by the Habsburg Empire. Between 1712 and 1721, new Austrian authorities built a new fortress (authored by the architect Maximilian de Gosseau), known as Tvrdja. It is a unique urban and military complex that lies in the heart of the town. Its main central Holy Trinity Square is closed on the north by the building of the Military Command, on the west there is the Main Guard building and on the east is the Magistrate building (presently Museum of Slavonia). In the middle there is a monument to the plague, erected in 1729 by general Petras' widow. The Gornji Grad (Upper Town) was founded in 1692 and Donji Grad (Lower Town) followed on 1698. Tvrdja, Gornji and Donji grad continued as separate municipalities until 1786. In late 18th century it took over from Virovitica as the centre of the Veroce county.

We went to the Tvrdja military complex in Osijek, which had a lovely little garden commemorating the several holocausts that had taken place in Croatia.

We drove to Bilje, near Ossijek, and went to several different homes for a home-hosted lunch. Ours was wonderful: roasted and sauteed potatoes, batter-fried eggplant (aubergines), meat (pork and beef) patties, fresh salad greens, vegetable soup, roasted red peppers and onions, Slivovitz (plum brandy), walnut brandy, beer, wine, and cherry cake. All terrific. The mother of the house was Maritza. Her husband died before the Homeland Wars. During the war she was wounded by a shell, so she can't use her right arm. Her sister helped her with the lunch. Her sister's husband was a metal worker, with his shop in a garage-like building in the rear of the house. Maritza's younger son, Dado, about 30 years old, came to join us. He operates heavy machinery, a back-hoe, building roads. Dado's wife draws people's blood in the hospital. Dado has a son, Ian, three years old, and an 8-month old daughter. Later on, Dado's cousin (the welder's son) and the cousin's fiancée (who teaches English to 4th-graders) arrived to keep us all company. The cousin and his fiancée are going to be married in the spring. We got a family photo. They rent out one of their rooms as a B&B. They grow many of their vegetables either in their own garden, or in another cousin's garden. I told Dado I would send him a copy of the photo we took.