The tourism board, which is located downtown beside the cathedral are amazing people to work with. They have dedicated many hours to give accurate cycling information, putting together brochures and guide books for all the local bike routes.
There are dedicated bike lanes in Osijek; the maps make it easy to know where they start and end. Here in the Osijek-Baranja County, the former empires that once dominated the lands played a pivotal role in the countries success - so successful in fact that many invaders retreated from the area. The bike routes help to retrace the footsteps of Croatia's rich history while building tourism and reconnecting people to their ancestral heritage.
Here you will see the grand manors that were built by the wealthiest of families of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The most influential politicians and nobles throughout the counties history had the luxury of bringing the best painters to decorate their homes and churches. Through these paintings, we can look back at how they lived. A life of extravagance thanks to trade routes and fertile landscape. The rich fertile soil was one of the many reasons nobles were attracted to this area, even today you can see many rural locations and never-ending vineyards along the cycling routes.
A good place to start is in the center of the region in the city of Osijek along the Drava River. There are two good starting points; the first one is the heart of downtown Osijek and the second, the Old City of Tvrđa (Citadel). The terrain is mostly flat - which was the start of the 2016 “Tour of Croatia” bike race.
Osijek-Baranja County consists of seven cities; each one is uniquely different in culture and history. The nearby cities of Beli Manastir, Belisce, Donji Miholjac, Dakovo, Nasice, Valpovo all warrant a visit on your bike.
We've explored the Eurovelo6 and the Greenway routes from Croatia to Hungary, but there is another route which goes from Croatia to Serbia that is called the Route Danube and Pannonian way of Peace. (“Ruta Dunav i Panonski put mira”).
This route was the first post-war peace bicycle route between the two countries. The route takes you from Osijek-Baranja County and finishes in Serbia. The project was first created in 2005 and later revamped in 2008 adding new trails to the Greenway along the Danube and Drava Rivers. Be sure to have current maps available and check with local tourist board in Osijek for any changes to the route.
