Assoc. Prof. Denis Njari, PhD, participated in the academic conference “Landscape in Education and Education in the Landscape”, held in Gospić from 21 to 23 May 2026, where he presented a paper entitled “Land Reclamation and Colonisation of the Marshland South of Osijek during the Final Phase of the Feudal System”.
The presentation analysed the process of land reclamation and colonisation of the marshland south of Osijek, in the area of the former Palača Marsh, which, due to its natural characteristics, had long been a difficult-to-access and sparsely populated landscape. More systematic drainage and hydro-reclamation works began in the early nineteenth century, primarily within the Čepin Estate, which recognised the considerable economic potential of these undertakings. The reclamation works created new areas of arable land with significant agricultural potential, thereby establishing the conditions for the planned settlement of the area. As a result of these processes, the new settlements of Antunovac, Ivanovac and Vladislavci were founded in 1836. Archival records held by the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb made it possible to reconstruct the social and economic structure of these settlements during the final phase of the feudal system, immediately before its abolition in 1847. The presentation sought to demonstrate how land reclamation and colonisation transformed both the landscape and the social relations within the area under examination.