Download The site of Vinkovci (German: Winkowitz, Hungarian: Vinkovce, Latin

The site of Vinkovci (German: Winkowitz, Hungarian: Vinkovce, Latin: Cibalis) was inhabited
well before the Roman period The area of the town has been inhabited continually from the
Neolithic period. Under the romans the town was known as Colonia Aurelia Cibalae (also
Cibalis) and was the birthplace of Roman emperors Valentinian I and Valens. The Roman
thermal bath is still preserved as are several other Roman buildings located near the center of
today's Vinkovci.
The city and its surroundings were gravely impacted by the Croatian War of Independence.
The city was close to the front lines between the Republic of Croatia and the rebel Serbs, but
it managed to avoid the fate of Vukovar (in the infamous Battle of Vukovar). The eastern
sections of the town were substantially damaged by shelling, and the nearby village of Cerić
was almost completely destroyed. The most significant destruction in the center of the city
were the city library, which burned down to the ground, the law courts, the Catholic and
Orthodox churches, both hospitals, the theatre, two cinemas and a host of businesses and
factories. In December 1995-1996, the Vinkovci rail station served as a rail offloading base
for the United States Army's, 1st Armored Division in route to Zupanja to cross the Sava
River into Bosnia during Operation Joint Endeavor.
Vinkovci municipality within Vukovar-Srijem County
The most famous annual event, one of the biggest in Slavonia, is the folk music festival
"Vinkovci Autumns" (Vinkovačke Jeseni), which includes the folklore show and the
presentation of folk customs of Slavonia. It is characterized by a number of original folk
music performances, beautiful traditional costumes, a beauty contest, competitions of the
manufacturers of kulen (smoked paprika-flavoured sausage), plum brandy and other
traditional foodstuffs, and especially by the magnificent closing parade.
Vinkovci's music school Josip Runjanin is named after the composer of the Croatian national
anthem Lijepa nasa domovino. The Vinkovci gymnasium is named after Matija Antun
Reljković, a Slavonian writer who lived in the city in the 18th century.
The city of Vinkovci was built in the Roman times, under the
name of Colonia Aurelia Cibalae, an extremely important traffic
and business center. The Roman emperors Valens and Valentian were
born there. Furthermore, the Avaric, Slavic and Croatian cultural
remnants testify of an early settlement of a Croatian tribe on
this territory, as well as of its ethnic predomination to this
present day.
Grad Vinkovci je smješten u Slavonskoj regiji, na istočnom djelu Hrvatske, između rijeka
Sava, Drava i Dunav, sa populacijom od 32, 455 stanovnika, čineći ga tako najvećim gradom
Vukovarsko-Srijemske županije. Vinkovci leže na obali rijeke Bosut.
Grad Vinkovci je jedan od najdulje neprekidno naseljenih gradova u ovom dijelu Europe.
Vinkovci, the town that lies on the banks of the river Bosut in a luxuriously fertile and wooded
Slavonian lowlands. Vinkovci municipality is situated in the Slavonia region, in the eastern part of
Croatia, between the rivers of Sava, Drava and Danube, with a population of 32, 455 making it the
largest town of the Vukovar-Srijem county. The area of the town Vinkovci (German: Winkowitz,
Hungarian: Vinkovce, Latin: Cibalis) is rich in historical and cultural inheritance, continually inhabited
for 7,5 thousand years.
During the Roman reign Vinkovci becoms an important trade and artisan settlement - Colonia Aurelia
Cibalae, where two Roman emperors were born: Valens and Valentinian. In the 3rd century the town
was the seat of an early Christian bishopric. The two local saints, St. Eusebius and St. Polion, belong
to this period, and the town today has a church named after them. Croatian traits are connected with
Bjelobrdska culture from the 9th century which was at the same time the substratum culture for the
settlement of St. Eliah on MERAJA, from which the present-day Vinkovci have developed. By the end
of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century, along the western outskirts of Roman Cibalae and
next to the rebuilt early Romanesque little church dedicated to St. Eliah, a settlement with the same
name developed with which the history of present-day Vinkovci begins.In the 15th and 16th century,
concurrently with the name St. Eliah the name Vinko, Wanko or Wanka appeared which later became
Winkowcze, Winkoftzi and Vinkovci. The origin of the new name is to be found in the fact that the new
altar of a Gothic church was dedicated to St. Vincent, once a favourite saint in this region, the patron
of wine-growers, brick makers, pharmacists, potters and fellers. In 1538 Vinkovci and its surroundings
was put under the power of Srijem sanjak.The area around the church that had earlier served as a
cemetary was converted by the Turks into a promenade, resting-place or a place for taking it easy for
a while - meraja in Turkish. The name Meraja struck roots with the inhabitants of Vinkovci and it is still
used today.
By becoming the regimental seat of Military-Border, Vinkovci became rapidly urbanised and it was at
this period that the town assumed its present-day appearance characterized by the succession of
baroque buildings belonging to the town core. Vinkovci takes pride in many Croatian patriots, scholars,
writers and artists born in it: Croatian Ban (governor) Josip Šokčević, the composer of Croatian
national anthem Josip Runjanin, some of the leading figures of Croatian literature - M.A. Relković, Ivan
and Josip Kozarac, Vladimir Kovačić, Joza Ivakić as well as some great Croatian artists - Vanja
Radauš, Albert Kinert, Slavko Kopač and many others. The town is famous for its numerous sport
clubs and national events such as Vinkovci autumn, Comics showroom, Actor's festival. Vinkovci is
also proud of its developed school system (8 primary and 7 secondary schools, a 220-year-old
Humanistic secondary school, Faculty of Agriculture), culture (Town museum, Gallery, Town library),
science (HAZU-Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts), as well as of its developed economy (food
industry, wood and lumber industry, building trade, textile industry). It is our wish that during your stay
in Vinkovci you experience some of our traditional hospitality and that our town finds a place in your
heart.