Fodor's Expert Review Tvrđa
Osijek
Fodor's Choice
Now a somewhat sleepy Old Town that always seems to be under construction, this walled fortress has a history dating back to the mid-12th century when the site was a market town in the Hungarian-Croatian kingdom. It was later occupied by the Ottomans, and finally became a fortified military garrison under the Austrians in the 17th century. It has one of the best-preserved ensembles of Baroque buildings in Croatia, with old barracks, churches, and monasteries. Facing the Drava River, the Water Gate is the only remaining gate in the original fortress wall, most of which was razed in the 1920s. Trg Sv. Trojstva (Holy Trinity Square) is Tvrđa's main square, and at its center is the Votive Pillar of the Holy Trinity, one of Osijek's finest baroque monuments. Erected in 1729-30 by the widow of General Maksimilijan Petraš, who died of the plague in 1728, it has an elaborate pinnacle and four pedestals at its base bearing the statues of various saints, including St. Sebastian.
