Everyone's first association with Croatia is its beautiful coast, but the continental part also offers plenty of interesting tourist attractions and beautiful nature.
Podravina is a region in the northeast of Croatia, while Slavonia stretches in the east. Both regions are characterized by rich historical and cultural heritage, interesting gastronomy, and various natural attractions.
Read on to read what you should definitely visit on your trip to these regions.
Day 1 - Podravina
1. The Old Town of Durdevac - The Old Town Fortress is a unique medieval fortress and as such is the most important part of the cultural heritage of Durdevac. It used to be surrounded by a swamp, which was also its natural form of protection and belongs to the wasserburg-type fortress. Construction began in the 14th century and was later upgraded over the centuries as needed.
2. Drava Sands - Drava Sands is an intriguing sandy area that offers a unique opportunity to get to know the real Croatian desert, which is recognized as a very attractive place, and many films have been made here.
3. Halas Carda - Halas Carda is the confluence of the Mura River and the Drava, and is known as the most beautiful part of the Drava in Croatia. This natural attraction is adorned with untouched nature and the diversity of flora and fauna.
Day 2 - Slavonia
4. Kopacki rit Nature Park - Kopacki Rit is a nature park in eastern Croatia in the municipalities of Bilje and Knezevi Vinogradi. It includes many backwaters and ponds along the Danube. It is one of the most important, largest, and most attractive preserved untouched wetlands in Europe.
5. Brod Fortress - Built on the banks of the Sava River by the Austrian Habsburgs between 1715 and 1780, the Slavonski Brod Fortress was an important strategic center that controlled the main retreating trade routes to Turkey and the Ottoman Empire.
6. Medieval fortress Ilok - Imagine a massive, high and long fortress, princely and royal castle, high bell tower, church and monastery with tower, rare Islamic buildings turbe and hammam, lush parks, deep buried old wine cellars, belvedere with unforgettable a view of the wide Danube and the Backa plain - you can really see and experience all this in the medieval core of Ilok, on a small hill surrounded by the Danube and vineyards.
Day 3 - Slavonia
7. Dakovo Cathedral - Dakovo Cathedral was built in the 19th century, in the neo-Romanesque style. The magnificent building with its two towers rises high above the small houses of Sakovo. The main initiator of the construction was the famous bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer, a great patron of art and science in Croatia. This is how the best artists of the time worked at the cathedral, and their works can still be seen when visiting the church.
8. State Stud Farm Dakovo - Stud Farm in Dakovo was founded in 1506, which makes it one of the oldest stud farms in Europe. Lipizzaner horses began to be bred in the early 19th century. Through numerous performances around the world, Dakovo Lipizzaners have spread and continue to spread the word about Dakovo and the Dakovo region.
9. Sopot Archaeological Park is connected to the center of Vinkovci by a 3-kilometer-long hiking and biking trail. Here you can see the reconstruction of six houses that were built in this area during the Neolithic, and were reconstructed on the basis of found objects. They belonged to the Sopot culture.
10. Ethnological Center of Baranja Heritage - Visit the Ethnological Center of Baranja Heritage, a place where you will discover valuable ethnological treasures, relax in the landscaped outdoor pavilion, and learn interesting historical events of this mystical area.