Tvrđa

Two kilometres east from Gornji grad lies the fantastically well-preserved Baroque quarter known as Trvđa (literally “citadel”), a collection of military and administrative buildings thrown up by the Austrians after the destruction of the earlier Ottoman castle. Tvrđa’s grid of cobbled streets zeros in on Trg svetog Trojstva, a broad expanse bearing a plague column, built in 1729 with funds donated by the local fortress commander’s wife to give thanks for deliverance from a devastating outbreak of plague which is thought to have killed a third of Osijek’s population. The square is surrounded by former Habsburg military buildings, many of which are now occupied by high schools or university faculties – coffee-swilling students fill the local cafés on weekdays.