March 15, 2022 - Ukrainians in Osijek will feel safe and comfortable in the city thanks to various programs provided to help refugees integrate. 

From the first day of the aggression on Ukraine, the City of Osijek opened its doors to Ukrainian refugees. Osijek was among the first in Croatia to prepare a Reception Center with 100 beds and was recently visited by Minister Davor Božinović. It also joined the new action plan "Slavonian Heart for Families of Ukraine," prepared by Osijek-Baranja County and the Center for Missing and Abused Children, to integrate children and adults coming to eastern Croatia quicker, reports Lokalni.hr.

"In addition to schools and kindergartens, city companies, institutions, associations, and sports clubs participate in the integration of Ukrainian citizens. We will do everything to make them feel safe and comfortable in our city. Our professional services are at their disposal. On this occasion, I would also like to thank my fellow citizens who selflessly help. If anyone can understand the Ukrainian people, it is the inhabitants of Osijek and Osijek-Baranja County," says Osijek Mayor Ivan Radić.

The city's Passenger Transport Company provided free city public transport for refugees and transports refugees from the Croatian border to the reception center or accommodation. Sports facilities offered free use of the pool. In addition, the space for the Children's Corner run by the Center for Missing Children has been renovated in the Osijek Cultural Center.

They also plan to offer children piano and other school activities because many had a music education in Ukraine. In addition, the city company Unikom, which includes the Zoo, will provide free tickets for the zoo. Assistance was also offered to the Kyiv Zoo in an animal shelter.

Free art and educational workshops (Waldingerionice) for children aged 6 to 13 are held in the City Galleries of Osijek every Saturday from 10:30 to 12:30. All Ukrainian children are welcome. The City Galleries of Osijek provide all materials and professional guidance. The Waldinger Gallery is open free to visitors every day from Tuesday to Sunday from 17:00 to 20:00. Depending on the program, there is always an exhibition in the gallery that can be viewed.

The Branko Mihaljević Children's Theater in Osijek joined with complimentary tickets for the non-verbal performances "Wild Horse" and "Duck Swims Across the Drava." In addition, the theater has equipment for the needs of blind and partially sighted children that can be used for simultaneous translation so that plays in Croatian could be watched in Ukrainian with the help of a translator or narrator.

Last Friday and Saturday, the Croatian National Theater organized a humanitarian classical music concert for peace in Ukraine. Part of the funds will be transferred to an account opened to help refugees. In addition, Ukrainians in exile will be offered free tickets to the Croatian National Theater.

An invitation was sent to all sports clubs and members of Osijek Sports Associations to include refugee children and youth in training and other club activities as part of regular planning and program activities. The Center for Technical Culture Osijek is also ready to include several children in workshops on model making, aircraft modeling, assembling Lego models, photography, and construction. If necessary, additional workshops can be provided.

The city of Osijek is a member of the association Croatia Helps, and it has offered a holiday in Novi Vinodolski from June 20 to 27 for 40 Ukrainian children who will be accommodated in Osijek. The city has also made available business space in Pothodnik, which will house the Refugee Info Center. Its opening was announced in the coming days. They are also planning a program for entrepreneurs, given that they have already received inquiries from several Ukrainian companies that would move to Osijek, and a model is being sought to co-finance their business.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

February 10, 2022 - The Osijek Fortress reconstruction is currently underway and should be completed at the end of 2023. The total value of the project is 130 million kuna.

Osijek is currently a large construction site. Cranes and excavators are literally in all parts of the city. Osijek's baroque pearl - the Fortress - is also full of construction workers, reports Lokalni.hr.

Reconstruction and extension upgrades include sanitary and precipitation sewerage, distribution telecommunication sewerage and electricity cable sewerage, and reconstructing the streets and pedestrian areas, which will create the conditions necessary to revitalize the Fortress as a business, residential, and public space.

"Reconstructing the Fortress is a strategic project of the City of Osijek and the Urban Agglomeration of Osijek with majority funding from the ITU mechanism through the European Regional Development Fund. The project's total value is 130 million kuna, of which the grant amounts to 65 million kuna. Investments in cultural heritage throughout Europe have proven to be profitable because of the return on investment and generated new income in the economic, hospitality, tourism, and public sector. Furthermore, cultural heritage is an important generator of jobs from construction, repairs, and maintenance related to heritage preservation, which is exactly what is happening at the Fortress, all the way to the development of cultural tourism, creative industry, small and medium enterprises, and startups," said Mayor Ivan Radić. 

The works are progressing according to the planned dynamics, and the completion is planned for the end of 2023. After the reconstruction, the City of Osijek will, for the first time in 300 years, have detailed plans for the underground infrastructure of the Fortress.

The realization of projects worth one billion kuna is also underway. The first major reconstruction of the Copacabana swimming pool after 46 years is a go, and an underpass worth 60 million kuna is being built on Čepinska, which will solve traffic problems that have burdened Osijek for almost half a century. There is also a new Economic Center that will return Osijek to the fair maps of Europe.

"Connecting the Lower and Upper Towns with a promenade is in progress. Thus, the longest Croatian promenade, the Osijek Promenade, will get an additional 3 kilometers. The value of the works is 100 million kuna. In addition, we are starting to design a promenade towards Višnjevac of almost 5 kilometers. We have found extra-budgetary funds for almost all projects," concludes Radić.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

December 6, 2021 - The 22nd Pannonian Challenge in Osijek was attended by more than 200 athletes from 24 countries, and more than 15,000 visitors attended the event during the five days of the festival.

For 22 years, the Pannonian Challenge, a festival of extreme sports and urban culture, has successfully withstood all challenges and imposed new standards year after year, both in sports results and organization, reports HRTurizam.

Over the years, the Pannonian Challenge has become one of the most key events in Osijek and the whole of Slavonia. Moreover, due to its international character, it has crossed the borders of Croatia. Therefore, the importance of this event is unquestionable for Osijek, as the Drava river city is positioned in the world as a center of sports, entertainment, and team spirit.

The 22nd edition of the Pannonian Challenge was attended by more than 200 athletes from 24 countries, and more than 15,000 visitors attended the event during the five days of the festival.

"We are happy that the Pannonian Challenge, despite the corona crisis, managed to continue and for the 22nd year in a row promoted our city, county, and state and brought positivity among our fellow citizens. These figures and data best show the impact of Pannonian on all of us and the community we live in, and thanks to our partners and understanding of the authorities, we have survived the worst and plan a strong return - hosting the BMX World Cup as part of the 23rd Pannonian Challenge! We have a big job ahead of us. Still, we believe that with the support of all our partners and associates, we will succeed, just like in all previous years," said Jurica Barać, director of the Pannonian Challenge.

More than three million kuna was invested in the organization of the event, facilities, and the event's promotion, and thus in Osijek and the whole of Croatia. In addition, viewers from as many as 93 countries worldwide had the opportunity to see Pannonian Challenge footage.

Namely, the media platform Icarus Sport broadcast the show "The Outdoor Sports Show," which was partly dedicated to the Osijek event and shown on 53 sports channels, with a media reach of more than 1.3 billion households worldwide. In addition, the video is shown on flights of Air China, Air Canada, Qatar Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Oman Air, TAP Air Portugal, and many others. Through October 2021, it was seen by tens of thousands of people, with the important note that the video is also shown during November.

The sporting significance of the Pannonian Challenge was further confirmed this year when for the first time, BMX freestyle became an Olympic discipline. The Osijek team led by Igor Vukadinović Poki and Zdenko Liška, president of the Pannonian Association, set up a skate park in Tokyo at the Olympic Games.

The Pannonian Challenge has become a unique brand of its city and the entire country. For years, it has achieved a high global promotion for Osijek, Osijek-Baranja County, and Croatia. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

A stunning new promotional video about the city on the right bank of the Drava river.