`Fiš` (pronounced fish), a spicy fish soup, is one of the trademarks of Slavonian gastronomy and one of the dishes which simply must be tasted when visiting Slavonia. Held every year in Slavonski Brod at the beginning of July is a competition in which more than a hundred lovers of `fiš` demonstrate their culinary skills in an attempt to win the title of the best `fiš` master and prove that it is their unique recipe that is unbeatable. The culinary challenge is usually accompanied by a good drop of Slavonian wine, merry songs and tambura band music.

The traditional competition is held on the small city public bathing ground, which was in the past a gathering area for only about 20 lovers of `fiš`, while today fishermen from the whole of Europe come to Slavonski Brod to attend `Fišijada`. This year the competition will be held on the first day of July.

Apart from the rich gastronomy offer, the town on the River Sava and its surroundings offer numerous cultural and historical sites, among which are the fort in Brod and the Franciscan monastery. The Austrian Empire built the Fort in the period between 1715 and 1780. Together with the fortified Slavonian Baroque cities Osijek and Stara Gradiška, it belonged to the large defence system on the border towards the Turkish Empire. The star shaped fort was predicted to accommodate 4000 troops and 150 cannons. Even though it was a military fort on the border, it almost never got the opportunity to prove its battle power. Numerous preserved fortified objects remind of the past times of military life that went on there. Today many organised manifestations are held in the Fort, which was proclaimed a monument of the highest category.The hosts regularly hold `living history` programs with participants dressed up as horsemen from the second half of the 18th century, as well as other characters form the history of the Fort, such as commanders, clerks, guards and craftsmen.

Along with the historical heritage, the Slavonia-Brod area is especially interesting to hunters and fishermen as this is an extremely rich hunting area in which there are some of the largest fish ponds in this part of Europe. There are also numerous places to visit and protected landscape areas which make this area more and more interesting to tourists.

The Tourist Board of Brod-Posavina County
www.tzbpz.hr

The Tourist Board of Slavonski Brod
www.tzgsb.hr