Ilok
A fortress town overlooking the Danube, Ilok rose to prominence in the fifteenth century, when local magnate Nikola Iločki and Italian warrior-monk John Capistrano used it as a base in Hungary-Croatia’s long-running border wars against the Ottoman Turks.
An impressive walled castle complex still stands on Ilok’s hill; inside it, the Franciscan Church holds the tombstones of both Iločki and Capistrano. Also inside the castle complex is the arcaded Odescalchi Palace, built for seventeenth-century Habsburg administrators and now housing the varied and well-presented collections of the town museum.
Wine
Ilok’s other claim to fame is wine – with dry white Graševina and slightly sweeter Traminac the leading local varieties. Individual families have wineries all over town – most of which are open to the public for tasting and buying.
Biggest local vintner is Iločki podrumi, one of Croatia’s biggest producers, with a large wine bar, show cellars and company shop just inside the entrance to the castle complex.
There is a tourist office at Trg sv. Ivana Kapistrana 5 (this entry’s map location)
By car: Ilok is on the main road from Vukovar to the Serbian city of Novi Sad.
By bus: About 8 buses run daily to Ilok from Vukovar on weekdays, less on Saturdays and Sundays.