From Neolithic settlements to the centre of Roman, Slavic and Turkish conquests, the area of the town of Otok and the municipalities of Bošnjaci and Vrbanja is rich in historical layers that tell the story of the continuous settlement and importance of this locality through different periods of time. Each period brought its own challenges and changes, thus shaping this area’s identity and cultural notions, from ancient fortifications and battles against the Ottoman threat, to modern times marked by efforts for progress and peace.
Evidence of the settlement of the area of the town of Otok and the municipalities of Bošnjaci and Vrbanja dates to prehistory. In the Middle and Late Neolithic, the most prominent prehistoric culture here was that of Sopot-Lengyel (3000-2400 BC). Archaeological sites from the era of the Vučedol Eneolithic culture (2300-1800 BC) were also discovered, which is not surprising because the oldest European city, Vinkovci, is nearby. All this points to the fact that parts of the Tourist Board of the Spačva Forest Area have been continuously inhabited from prehistory to the present day.
In Antiquity, from as early as AD 6– 8, the Romans occupied these regions. At that time, the town of Otok, as well as the present archaeological site of Zvjezdangrad, had significant economic, cultural and strategic significance in the Roman defence system. The fortifications meant the security of supplies for the Roman legions on the Danube, and owing to the fragments of cavalry equipment of Roman soldiers found in Otok, it is believed that the Roman cavalry was stationed here.
Since the 4th century, this area has been exposed to frequent raids by barbarian tribes: the Goths, the Huns, the Gepids, the Eastern Goths, the Langobards and the Avars. In the next two centuries, all of them took turns in Slavonia and Srijem. Finally, at the beginning of the 6th century, the Slavs arrived. There are different theories about the migration of the Slavs/Croats to these regions, but their arrival can be traced with certainty from the end of the 5th century. Until the end of the 8th century, i.e. until the final victory of the Franks over the Avars, the Croats maintained oscillating relations with the Avars. At the end of the 8th century, the entire Pannonian Croatia, the area of the town of Otok and the municipalities of Bošnjaci and Vrbanja, were converted to Catholicism under the Frankish influence.
In the next three centuries, there were frequent confrontations between Pannonian Croatia and the Franks, Bulgarians and Hungarians, as well as between the Bulgarians and the Franks, but there were also attempts by Byzantium to consolidate its power in this area. The population increased at the turn of the 10th century, and at the beginning of the 12th century, the first outlines of the Croatian-Hungarian feudal relations could be seen, which were developing until the arrival of the Turks. Despite the Pacta conventa (1102) and the entry of the Croats into a personal union with Hungary, an insignificant number of Hungarians immigrated to the Tourist Board of the Spačva Forest Area.
At that time, Otok (13th century), Soljani (14th century) and Vrbanja (15th century) were mentioned for the first time in historical writings. The second half of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century were an apocalyptic era for this region due to frequent looting and robberies by the Ottomans after the fall of Bosnia in 1463. Although they initially resisted the invading Turks, in 1536 the whole of Slavonia came under the 150-year occupation of the Ottoman Empire.
After the great defeat of the Ottoman army in Vienna in 1683, the Turks fled to Bosnia, and the present Tourist Board of the Spačva Forest Area became part of the Military Frontier in 1745. The Military Frontier survived and was the Bulwark of Christendom until 1873.
This period is extremely important for the cities of Otok and the municipalities of Bošnjaci and Vrbanja.
The traditional architecture and the construction methods for building houses were conditioned by the defence against the Turks: the settlements are dense, which ensures fast and efficient mobility of the border guards.
Life is lived in accord to strict military regulations, and family cooperatives solve the basic existential needs of the border guards. At that time, the watercourses were also regulated, so mills on the rivers disappeared, and dry mills (suvare) were built.
With the abolition of the Military Frontier in 1873, the population turned to forestry and intensive logging, which, in tandem with the arrival of the English and the French, resulted in significant economic progress in the region. At that time, the novelist Josip Kozarac also served as a forester in the Vrbanja municipality, and he wrote some of his best pieces inspired by life and work in the Spačva Forest. Parallel to the development of forestry, agriculture was also developing, especially animal husbandry, fruit growing and beekeeping.
Although it looked like better days were coming for the Spačva Forest area and its surroundings, as many as three wars in the 20th century, namely World War I, World War II and the Homeland War, had all left severe consequences on the population and the economy of this region. And because of this, for the last 30 years the focus was put on the development and progress of this part of Croatia, along with the so important and much-needed peace for everyone.
