Photo: Ratko Vukovic / Tourist Board of Daruvar City

Daruvar is a small town in western Slavonia, located at the foot of the mountain Papuk. This multicultural oasis of health and hedonism in the heart of the Pannonian Croatia provides its guests a variety of experiences in a preserved natural environment with sources of healing thermal waters, rich historical heritage and high levels of biological and cultural diversity.

In Hungarian "daru" means "crane" (bird) which was the symbol on the coats of the Daruvar's noble Jankovich family (responsible for the strong development of Daruvar), and "var" which means town or castle. In translation, Daruvar means Crane's town or Crane's castle. Today the bird crane is the symbol of Daruvar.

There are many reasons to visit Crane’s Town: the famous Daruvar Spa (Croatian ‘Daruvarske Toplice’) in which bathed Romans, Julius Park, Castle Jankovic, effective symbiosis of nature and urban architecture, fertile vineyards etc.

Four gold, two silver and one bronze recognition from the Croatian National Tourist Board, confirm that the town Daruvar is the most decorated small town of continental Croatia.

During the Romans it was a widely-known patrician thermal health resort – Aquae Balissae which means „very hot springs“. Under the Ottomans it was an important strategic point, later a market town and in the time of the counts Jankovich, who are considered the founders of Daruvar as it is today, the town was transformed into a centre for crafts and trade.

Two large decorated parks and the Roman forest in the town center which discreetly blend with the town architecture make the town one of the greenest urban areas in Croatia. In the Julius park - one of the oldest spa parks in continental Croatia – there is a bronze sculpture of a naked woman called Kupačica ('woman bather'). It is one of the symbols of Daruvar and the Daruvar spa.

As a manufacturing and trading center, the town Daruvar also developed into a prominent cultural center that hosts many cultural and entertainment events: Vinodar (the most significant festival of wine for Daruvar's winemakers, June), Darfest (festival of entertaining music, May), FLIG (international festival of brass music, July), Dožinky – harvest ceremony (the most important festival of Czech minority), Martinje (Ceremony of wine baptism, November), etc.

Recommended accommodation: Holiday House Vrbovčanka

If you are interested in exploring Daruvar, please send us your inquiry to info@inlandia.com