Osijek - Name

Name

The name was given to the city due to its position on elevated ground which prevented the city being flooded by the local swamp waters. Its name Osijek comes from the Croatian word "oseka" which means "ebb tide".

Due to its past and its history within the Habsburg Monarchy and briefly in the Ottoman Empire and also due to the presence of German and Hungarian minorities throughout its history, Osijek also has (or had) its names in other languages, notably Hungarian: Eszék, German: Esseg or Essegg, Latin: Mursa, Turkish: Ösek. Also spelled Esgek. All those names were adjusted variations to the original Croatian given name. In Roman times Osijek was called Mursa Maior, but its official Roman name was Colonia Aelia Mursa, as it was established by emperor Hadrian.