OSIJEK

German Esseg, Hungarian Eszk, industrial town and agricultural centre in Croatia, on the Drava River. In Roman times the city site was known as Mursa. Its present name was first recorded in 1196. An important trade and transportation centre from early times, Osijek was controlled by the Ottoman Empire from 1526 to 1687. In the 19th century a brewery and a match-making factory were established in the town. Many of Osijek's buildings were damaged or destroyed during fighting between Serb and Croat forces in 1991. A river port, the town also has good rail connections to neighbouring parts of the Balkans and to Hungary. The upper, or old, town centres on the fortress; the lower, or new, town is the commercial and main residential area. Osijek's industries manufacture electrical equipment, apparel, chemical products, furniture, agricultural machinery, and food products. Cereals, fodder crops, sugar beets, dairy cattle, and poultry are raised in the surrounding region. The Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek was founded in 1975. Pop. (1991) 129,792.