River Drava and Križnica – The only remaining Pannonian island

Sometimes calm and sometimes capricious – but always equally astonishing- something that many adventurers, fishermen, cyclists and travellers who find adrenaline, peace and inspiration on Drava’s white sandy beaches and islands and the trails that follow the river, will tell you about the river Drava. Križnica is among the most picturesque places. It is a protected landscape along the Croatian-Hungarian border, which can be reached by a cable ferry or a suspension pedestrian bridge. Yes, the time in this village, surrounded by Drava’s backwaters, feels as if it had been stopped… You can only be woken from this Drava dream by the smell of freshly prepared Drava fish, which you can taste in the nearby restaurants. Many cyclists, who regularly pass by following the attractive Drava cycling route in the area of ​​the former Iron Curtain also know that. From time to time, your attention will also be drawn to a few branches of some old wood that the river Drava will carry to the beach and which will later be used by a local artist for a unique sculpture.

From the source in southern Tyrol to the confluence with the Danube in Croatia, nowhere does the Drava change its course as it does here in Križnica. The defiant Drava did not listen to administrative divisions, or respect Hungarian and Croatian land registers, but worked on her own. So today, the Hungarian-Croatian border often crosses the river, so if you sail the Drava here, at one moment you can find yourself in Croatia, and at the other in Hungary. For decades, this was the area of the ​Iron Curtain which made the communication between the population difficult and the industry could not be built, which resulted in preservation of the almost intact nature.

Križnica is attractive at all times of the year, especially for those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.