Siscia

Siscia is the Roman name for Sisak, and the ancient city lies directly under the modern town, about an hour south-east of Zagreb at the meeting point of three rivers: the Kupa, the Sava and the small Odra. Control of this confluence made Siscia one of the most important Roman places in the region, a river port where goods and soldiers could be moved along the Sava toward the Danube and the Balkans. Today, what survives above ground is modest, but the place rewards visitors who like to imagine a large provincial city in an everyday modern setting.

The Romans took over the area in the late first century BC, after a hard-fought campaign against the local Pannonian tribes, and the settlement grew into a significant city of the province of Pannonia. In the later third century it became the capital of Pannonia Savia, a new province created in the administrative reforms of the emperor Diocletian. Siscia was especially known for its imperial mint, which struck bronze and other coins used to pay the army for decades. The city was also an early Christian centre, and its bishop, Quirinus of Siscia, was martyred in the early fourth century, an event that makes the city important for the history of the church in Croatia. In later years the rise of Sirmium, further east on the Sava, reduced Siscia's standing.

You can still see traces of the Roman past in several places. The remains of the defensive walls and other buildings are displayed in an archaeological area near the town centre, close to the cathedral and Ban Jelačić Square, with interpretive panels explaining what each part was. Many of the finest finds, including coins, inscriptions and sculpture, are kept in the Sisak City Museum rather than outdoors, so for a full picture you should combine the walls with a museum visit. The Cathedral of the Holy Cross, next to the Roman remains, was damaged in the 2020 earthquake that struck the Banovina region, and repair work has continued, so access to parts of the square may be restricted.

Sisak has another story worth knowing: the 1593 Battle of Sisak, in which a Habsburg and Croatian force defeated the Ottomans at the fortress by the river, an event often regarded as a turning point in Croatia's long wars against the Ottoman advance. The old fortress and the long stone bridge with seven arches, listed in this guide as a sibling attraction, are a short walk away.

Allow an hour or so for the walls and signs, plus extra time for the museum and the fortress. Siscia suits history enthusiasts and anyone who likes places where several layers of the past sit under a working town.