The Franjo Tuđman Bridge () is a bridge over Drava River located in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. It connects Osijek and

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

with Baranja.

History

Source: In 1962 a vehicular bridge over Drava River was built in Osijek. It was in use until 1991 when it was demolished in the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

battle of Osijek The Battle of Osijek () was the artillery bombardment of the Croatian city of Osijek by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) which took place from August 1991 to June 1992 during the Croatian War of Independence. Shelling peaked in late November an ...

. In 1993 the cornerstone was laid for a new bridge. The initiator of this project was

Croatian President The president of Croatia, officially the president of the Republic of Croatia (), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the country and abroad. The president ...

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...

. The new bridge was finished in 1995, in place of old bridge. The opening ceremony was on 10 June 1995, with president Tuđman in attendance. From 1995 since 2009 bridge had a few names, for example ''Drava Bridge'' () or ''Bilje Bridge'' (). In 2009, by decision of the leaderships of Osijek and

Osijek-Baranja County Osijek-Baranja County (, , ) is a Counties of Croatia, county in Croatia, located in northeastern Slavonia and Baranya (region), Baranja which is defined part of the Pannonian Plain. Its center is Osijek. Other towns include Đakovo, Našice, Val ...

, the bridge was renamed ''Franjo Tuđman Bridge''. In 2012 bridge was renovated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franjo Tudman Bridge (Osijek) Bridges over the Drava in Croatia Bridges completed in 1995 Buildings and structures in Osijek Road bridges in Europe