Pozega

As you cannot fail to notice on the huge, user-friendly maps posted about town, Pozega's industrijska zona (industrial zone) is about the same size as the adjacent town center. And yet Pozega (pop. 21,000)—in the center of the fertile, vineyard-rich Pozega Valley, which the ancient Romans knew as "Vallis Aurea," or Golden Valley—is the prettiest city in central Slavonia. Pozega was first mentioned in historical documents in 1227, but not much remains on the ground of that early era of local history. Stari Grad, a 13th-century fortress, today exists only as a small, thickly wooded hilltop park right beside the town center. As evident from the litter scattered here and there, and by young lovers you pass on benches in the woods, some folks are given to partying and necking in this otherwise pleasant park—within easy view of the rear windows of a nearby monastery. During the 150-year-long period of Ottoman rule that began in 1537, Pozega become central Slavonia's most important administrative and military center. With the expulsion of the Turks in 1688, a new era of Habsburg control ensued. In 1739 the town was ravaged by a plague that killed 798 citizens. But by the mid-18th century it had become a vibrant university center, and the town core was fast on its way to assuming its present appearance. By the 19th century Pozega's cultural dynamism had earned it a reputation as the "Athens of Slavonia." In 1847 it became the first city to officially adopt the Croatian language. The construction of the central Slavonian railway, which began in 1894, was vital to the local economy as the 20th century arrived. As with much of Slavonia's interior, reaching Pozega is easiest by car. By train, it takes about three hours to get here from Osijek (53 Kn), with a transfer in Nasice.