In Slavonia, the eastern part of the Pannonian - Danube part of Croatia, on the northern edge of Bosut lowlands, lies the largest settlement of South East Slavonia and Western Srijem, the former very important military center and Šokac metropolis, the town of Vinkovci. The town of rich history, culture, architecture, folklore, traditions and customs.
According to Zagreb archaeologist, prof. dr. sc. Alexander Durman, Vinkovci is the oldest European town and the oldest urban settlement. It is a place where people have lived continuously for more than 8300 years.
In 1978, during construction work on Hotel Slavonija in the
centre of town, an ancient pot was found in the rubble, which
experts dated at 2,600 BC, and whose patterns depicted
the oldest known calendar in Europe. You can learn
much more about the Orion calendar in the Vucedol museum, as well as
enjoying the patterns, which have been immortalised in the paving in
the pedestrian zone in the centre of town.
Read more about the Orion calendar.
In Roman times Vinkovci were known as Colonia Aurelia Cibalae,
and were the birth place of two Roman emperors - Valens and
Valentinian. The town is a heaven for archaeologist, and there is a
saying amongst locals that you can not start building anything
around the town, without coming accross an archeological site. Some
of the most interesting findings are known as
Cibalae Treasure.
Another interesting finding is a
Roman Chariot With Horses,
which was found in a village nearby.
During the Croatian Independance war, Englishman Steve Gaunt came to
Vinkovci to assist a British humanitarian organization in
distributing the donationas. Thirty years have passed, and Steve
never left Vinkovci, but a classic red British telephone box
arrived.
Read more about the famous telephone box.
The annual festival marks the beginning of autumn, a season in which
Slavonians get a lot of rewards for their efforts for the year. The
Vinkovich Autumn Festival celebrates Slavonia’s lifestyle, customs
and culture with the aim of providing festival attendees with
insights into everything in Slavonia, including food, dance, music,
costumes and dialects. is.
Read more about the Autumn Festival
or
enjoy the video from this years celebrations.