Sisak



Sisak (in Sziszek) is a city in central Croatia located at the confluence of the Kupa, Sava, and Odra rivers, 57 km southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb. The city's total population in 2011 was 47,768 of which 33,322 live in the urban settlement (naselje).

Sisak is the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia's biggest river port and a centre of river shipping industry (Dunavski Lloyd). It lies on the main road Zagreb-Hrvatski Sisak-Petrinja (M12.2) and the railroad Zagreb-Sisak-Sunja. Sisak is a regional economic, cultural and historical center. The largest oil refinery in Croatia is located here.

Name
Prior to the invasion by the Roman Empire, the region was Celtic and Illyrian and the city there was named Segestica.

In German the town is known as Sissek, in Hungarian as Sziszek, Latin as Siscia, in Serbian Cyrillic as Сисак, and in Slovene as Sisek

Geography
Sisak is usually considered to be where the Posavina (Sava basin) begins, with an elevation of 99 m.

History
The long history of urban life here (around 2,500 years) as well the extremely favourable position on the confluence of three rivers (the Sava, the Kupa and the Odra), have made Sisak an important town in the history of Croatia.

During the Roman Empire when Sisak was known as Siscia, a Roman mint in the city produced coins under a series of emperors between 262 and 383 CE. It was in this period that the Christian martyr Quirinus of Sescia was tortured and nearly killed during Diocletian's persecution of Christians. Legend has it that they tied him to a millstone and threw him into a river, but he freed himself from the weight, escaped and continued to preach his faith. Today he is the patron saint of Sisak.

Braslav of Pannonian Croatia reigned from Sisak until this last bastion of the Pannonian Croats was invaded. According to Historia Salonitana maior, Duke Tomislav reclaimed it soon after.

The 16th century triangular fortress of the Old Town, well-preserved and turned into the Native Museum, is the main destination of every tourist. The fortress is famous for the victory of the joint forces of Croats, Austrians and Carniolans (Slovenes) over the Ottomans in 1593, known as the Battle of Sisak. It was one of the early significant defeats of the up-to-then invincible Ottoman army on European territory. The Croatian Ban Thomas Erdődy who led the defense in this battle became famous throughout Europe.

The Baroque palace of Mali Kaptol, the classicist Veliki Kaptol, the brick Stari most ("Old Bridge") over the Kupa, and the ethnological park are the most frequently visited landmarks.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Sisak was a district capital in the Zagreb County of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.

From 1929 to 1939, Sisak was part of the Sava Banovina and from 1939 to 1941 of the Banovina of Croatia within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Sisak suffered much damage during the Croatian War of Independence starting in 1991. While Sisak remained within Croatian hands, the territory immediately south of the city was controlled by Serbs, who often shelled the city indiscriminately, causing many civilian casualties. The threat to Sisak was removed in 1995 following Operation Storm.

Demographics
The city administrative area is composed of the following settlements:


 * Blinjski Kut, population 278
 * Budaševo, population 1,660
 * Bukovsko, population 89
 * Crnac, population 553
 * Čigoč, population 97
 * Donje Komarevo, population 322
 * Gornje Komarevo, population 508
 * Greda, population 861
 * Gušće, population 387
 * Hrastelnica, population 898
 * Jazvenik, population 142
 * Klobučak, population 68
 * Kratečko, population 200
 * Letovanci, population 52
 * Lonja, population 111
 * Lukavec Posavski, population 127
 * Madžari, population 235
 * Mužilovčica, population 74
 * Novo Pračno, population 444
 * Novo Selo, population 624
 * Novo Selo Palanječko, population 517
 * Odra Sisačka, population 814
 * Palanjek, population 318
 * Prelošćica, population 528
 * Sela, population 969
 * Sisak, population 33,049
 * Stara Drenčina, population 223
 * Staro Pračno, population 896
 * Staro Selo, population 110
 * Stupno, population 480
 * Suvoj, population 42
 * Topolovac, population 894
 * Veliko Svinjičko, population 271
 * Vurot, population 102
 * Žabno, population 509

In the 2011 census, of the total population of 47,768 there were 40,590 Croats (84.97%), 3,071 Serbs (6.43%), 1,646 Bosniaks (3.45%), 648 Romani (1.36%), 179 Albanians (0.37%), 29 Montenegrins (0.06%), and the rest were other ethnicities.

In the 2011 census, the population by religion was 37,319 Roman Catholics (78.13%), 3,279 Orthodox Christians (6.86%), 2,442 Muslims (5.11%), and others.

Education
The city hosts University of Zagreb's Faculty of Metallurgy.

Miscellaneous
Chief occupations are farming, ferrous metallurgy (iron works), chemicals, leather (footwear), textiles and food processing plants (dairy products, alcoholic beverages), building material, crude oil refinery, and thermal power.

Sisak features the largest Croatian metallurgic factory and the largest oil refinery in Croatia

Sisak has many rich mineral springs (spas) with healing properties in the temperature range from 42 to 54 °C.

Sports and recreation facilities in the town and the surroundings include mainly the waters and alluvial plains a public beach on the Kupa. All rivers (Kupa, Odra, Sava) with their backwaters offer fishing opportunities. There are hunting grounds in the regions of Turopolje and Posavina. Sisak is the starting point for sightseeing tours into Lonjsko Polje (Field of Lonja river) nature park.

The local football club is HNK Segesta.

Sisak features the oldest ice hockey club in Croatia, KHL Sisak est. 1934

Sisak is a popular destination in the summer and many people from the surrounding cities visit the cafés situated along the river Kupa. As of recently, numerous clubs have opened and their popularity has been bolstered through nights sponsored by various beer manufacturers.

Twin towns — Sister cities
Sisak is twinned with: