Klakar

Klakar is a small municipal centre in Slavonian Posavina, about 13 kilometres south-east of Slavonski Brod. Its municipality also includes Ruščica, Gornja Bebrina and Donja Bebrina, so the places worth seeking out are spread across the Sava plain rather than concentrated in Klakar itself. The village landmark is the 19th-century parish church of St James, a protected cultural property. The municipality’s archaeological story is anchored by the prehistoric Paljevine site near Donja Bebrina, while the Museum of Brodsko Posavlje has conducted systematic field surveys across all four settlements since 2022. In Ruščica, the Milec family zoo keeps more than 70 animal species, providing a clear family-friendly reason to leave the main route from Slavonski Brod. Ruščica is also associated with the children’s carnival Mastibrk-Kolombrk, a February tradition protected as intangible cultural heritage. Klakar works best as the starting point for a short driving circuit linking St James’s Church, the archaeological landscape of Donja Bebrina and Ruščica’s attractions, with the Sava-side pastures of eastern Brodsko Posavlje farther on.

Klakar occupies the flat country east of Slavonski Brod, while its municipality extends across four settlements: Klakar, Ruščica, Gornja Bebrina and Donja Bebrina. The agricultural landscape beside the Sava conceals a much older story than the modern villages, demonstrated by the prehistoric Paljevine site near Donja Bebrina. In 2022 the Museum of Brodsko Posavlje began systematic archaeological fieldwalking across the municipality to record its sites more precisely. Within Klakar, the defining landmark is the protected 19th-century parish church of St James. Ruščica contributes a different identity through the Mastibrk-Kolombrk children’s carnival and a family-run zoo, allowing this compact municipality to combine archaeology, church heritage and a living local tradition.