Draž

Draž is a Baranja village at the centre of a municipality stretching from the slopes of Bansko brdo to the Danube’s backwaters in Croatia’s far northeast. Its story is inseparable from nearby Batina, Topolje, Gajić, Podolje and Duboševica, whose wine cellars, Šokac traditions and borderland scenery create a distinctive Danube landscape. A rewarding first circuit links the Šokac House in Topolje, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul and the Battle of Batina Monument overlooking the river. Walkers can follow part of the Baranja Mountaineering Route through vineyard country towards the Trojnaš viewpoint, while long-distance cyclists meet EuroVelo 6 within the municipality. The Old Danube and more than 400 hectares of fishing waters give Draž a waterside identity quite unlike inland Baranja’s open fields. Visitor services are dispersed rather than concentrated in the village, making a car or bicycle useful for reaching the municipality’s principal sights. Access to heritage venues such as the Šokac House should be arranged in advance. The Draž Tourist Board, at Braće Radića 58, provides local information and coordinates announced visits.

Draž belongs to a compact Danube borderland where the plain rises into Bansko brdo, known locally simply as Planina. Vineyard slopes are cut by surduci, deeply sunken lanes, while traditional gatori wine cellars survive in the hillside and are recognised in the municipal spatial plan as valuable built heritage. Towards the Danube, cultivated ground gives way to former channels and backwaters, most notably the Old Danube. The municipality also includes Batina, Gajić, Podolje, Topolje and Duboševica, so its visitor attractions are spread among several villages rather than gathered in one centre. Proximity to the meeting point of Croatia, Hungary and Serbia has shaped a local blend of Šokac customs, viticulture and life beside the river.