Museum of Slavonia). In the middle of the square there is a monument to the plague which was erected in 1729 by general Maximilian Petras' widow. The Gornji Grad (Upper Town) was founded in 1692 and Donji Grad (Lower Town) followed on 1698. Tvr?a, Gornji, and Donji grad continued as separate municipalities until 1786. In late 18th century it took over from Virovitica as the centre of the Ver?ce county.
The Habsburg empire also facilitated the migration and settlement of German immigrants into the town and region.
In 1809, Osijek was granted the title of a Free Royal City and during the early 19th century it was the largest city in Croatia. The city developed along the lines of other central European cities, with cultural, architectural and socio-economic influences filtering down from Vienna and Buda.
During the 19th century, cultural life mostly revolved around the theatre, museums (the first museum, Museum of Slavonia, was opened in 1877 by private donations), collections, and printing houses (the Franciscans). City society, whose development was accompanied by a prosperous economy and developed trade relations, was related to religious festivals, public events (fairs), entertainment and sports. The Novi Grad (New Town) section of the city was built in the 19th century, as well as Retfala to the west.
20th century
The newest additions to the city include Sjenjak, Vijenac, Jug and Jug II, which were built in the 20th century. The city's geographical riverside location, and noted cultural and historical heritage � particularly the baroque Tvr?a, one of the most immediately recognizable structures in the region � facilitated the development of tourism. The Osijek oil refinery was a strategic bombing target of the Oil Campaign of World War II.
Immediately after the war, the daily newspaper Glas Slavonije has been relocated to Osijek and has printed there ever since. A history archive was established in the city in 1947
