4 Best Sights in Excursions in Lonjsko Polje, Zagreb and Environs

One of the largest floodplains in the Danubian basin, this unique ecological and cultural landscape of 20,506 acres along the Sava River was accorded park status in 1990 and is included on UNESCO's roster of World Heritage sites. It has numerous rare and endangered plant and animal species, from white-tailed eagles and saker falcons to otters and the Danube salmon—as well as storks, which are as easy to come by here as in Čigoč. Its 4,858 acres of pastureland are also home to Croatia's highest concentration of indigenous breeds of livestock. Traditional village architecture—in particular, houses made of oak—further contributes to the region's appeal. Three park offices (in Čigoč at Čigoč 26; Repušnica at Fumićeva 184; Krapje at Krapje 16) provide maps and information on where to go and what to see, and also issue park entrance passes. Prices vary with the package; some include boat rides. A car is the easiest way to access the park; if you're driving from Zagreb, exit the motorway at the pretty village of Popovača and take the road to the right through the villages of Potok and Stružec toward Sisak.

Located in a traditional wooden Posavina house on the main road through the village center, the information center is the top regional source for all you need to know about storks, the Stork Festival, and nearby Lonjsko Polje Nature Park. Park maps are available for purchase.   Ask about the park's educational programs or appealing boat trips; many options are available for an additional price.

Although the labor camps at Jasenovac were razed after World War II, a memorial park was eventually established at the site, along with a museum featuring photographs and other exhibits related to the memorial. Current estimates are that somewhere between 77,000 and 97,000 people—mostly Serbs, Jews, Roma, and Croatian antifascists—perished at this string of five camps on the banks of the Sava River between 1941 and 1945 from exhaustion, illness, cold weather, and murder.

A bit south of the town center—3 km (2 miles) to be exact, where the rivers Kupa and Sava meet—stands the once-mighty Sisak Fortress (built 1544–50), with one prominent bastion at each point of its triangular form. The fortress has a hugely significant past: it was here, on June 22, 1593, that the Habsburgs, in the company of Croats and Slovenes, pulled off a victory over Ottoman armies, a triumph that figured prominently in halting the Ottoman advance toward Zagreb and into Western Europe. The fortress's interior is closed due to earthquake damage (no reopening date at the time of this writing), but it's worth taking a look at the structure and going for a stroll on the green walkway that surrounds it.