Editing Vukovar

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Vukovar
| official_name      = ''Grad Vukovar''<br /> City of Vukovar<br>
| other_name         = 
| settlement_type    = [[List of cities and towns in Croatia|City]]
| image_skyline      = {{Photomontage|position=center
| photo1a = Vukovar Dvorac Eltz SK.jpg
| photo2a = Radnički dom u Vukovaru.JPG
| photo2b = Vukovarski vodotoranj.jpg
| photo3a = Crkva sv. Filipa i Jakova u Vukovaru.jpg
| photo3b = Dudik Memorial Park - Спомен парк Дудик 01.jpg
| photo4a = 20230429.Ansichten von Vukovar.-049.jpg
| size = 280
| spacing = 1
| color = #FFFFFFu
| border = 0
| foot_montage = Clockwise, from top:[[Eltz Manor]]; [[Vukovar water tower]]; [[Dudik Memorial Park]]; View of Vukovar city; [[Church of Saints Philip and James, Vukovar|Franciscan monastery with church of Saints Philip and James]] and [[Workers' Hall, Vukovar|Workers' Hall]]}}
| image_flag         = Vlag vukovar.svg
| flag_size          = 140px
| image_seal         = 
| image_shield       = Coat of Arms of Vukovar.svg
| nickname           = ''Grad Heroj'' ([[Hero City (Soviet Union)#Other countries|Hero City]])
| motto              = 
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-wikidata = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 9
| mapframe-stroke-width = 1
| mapframe-frame-width = 280
| pushpin_map        = Croatia Vukovar-Srijem County#Croatia
| pushpin_mapsize    = 280
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Vukovar within Croatia
| pushpin_label_position = left
| coordinates        = {{coord|45|20|40|N|19|00|09|E|region:HR-16_type:city(28,000)|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Croatia}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Regions of Croatia|Region]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Podunavlje]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Counties of Croatia|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = {{flagu|Vukovar-Srijem|name=Vukovar-Syrmia}}
| established_title  = <!-- Settled -->
| established_date   = 
| leader_party       = [[Homeland Movement (Croatia)|DP]]
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = [[Ivan Penava]]
| leader_title1      = City Council
| leader_name1       = {{Collapsible list
 |title   = 19 members
 |frame_style = border: none; padding: 0;
 |list_style=text-align:left;display:none;
 |1     =• {{Color box|{{party color|Homeland Movement (Croatia)}}|border=darkgray}} [[Homeland Movement (Croatia)|DP]] (5)
 |2     =• {{Color box|{{party color|Croatian Democratic Union}}|border=darkgray}} [[Croatian Democratic Union|HDZ]] (5)
 |3     =• {{Color box|#033E7C|border=darkgray}} [[Croatian Sovereignists|HS]] (4)
 |4     =• {{Color box|{{party color|Independent Democratic Serb Party}}|border=darkgray}} [[Independent Democratic Serb Party|SDSS]] (2)
 |5     =• {{Color box|{{party color|Democratic Alliance of Serbs}}|border=darkgray}} [[Democratic Alliance of Serbs|DSS]] (1)
 |6     =• {{Color box|{{party color|Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats}}|border=darkgray}} [[Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats|HNS]] (1)
 |7     =• {{Color box|{{party color|Independent}}|border=darkgray}} [[Independent politician|Independent]] (1)
}}
| area_footnotes     =<ref>{{Cite Q|Q119585703|mode=cs1}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 100.1
| area_land_km2      = <!--See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on automatic unit conversion-->
| area_urban_km2     = 61.6
| area_metro_km2     = 
| elevation_footnotes = <!--for references: use<ref> </ref>  tags-->
| elevation_m        = 108
| population_footnotes =<ref name="Census 2021">{{Croatian Census 2021|S}}</ref>
| population_as_of   = 2021
| population_total   = 23175
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_urban   = 22255
| population_density_urban_km2 = auto
| population_metro   = 
| population_density_metro_km2 = 
| population_demonym = {{lang|hr|Vukovarac}} (masculine)<br />{{lang|hr|Vukovarka}} (feminine)
| population_note    = 
| timezone           = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| timezone_DST       = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset         = +1
| utc_offset_DST     = +2
| postal_code_type   = Postal code
| postal_code        = 32 000
| area_code          = 032
| registration_plate = [[Vehicle registration plates of Croatia|VU]]
| website            = {{URL|vukovar.hr}}
}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| caption_align     = center
| image1            = Vucedol culture map.png
| width1            = 160
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = Map of the [[Proto-Indo-European society|Indo-European]] [[Vučedol culture]] with epicenter in Vukovar, 3000–[[2400 BC]]
| image2            = ZGvucdove.jpg
| width2            = 160
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = The [[Vučedol Culture|Vučedol Dove]], ritual vessel made between 2800 and [[2500 BCE]], a historical symbol of Vukovar.
}}
'''Vukovar''' ({{IPA|hr|ʋûkoʋaːr|pron}}; {{lang-sr-Cyrl|Вуковар}}, {{langx|hu|Vukovár}}, {{langx|de|link=no|Wukowar}}) is a city in [[Croatia]], in the eastern [[Regions of Croatia|regions]] of [[Syrmia]] and [[Slavonia]]. It contains Croatia's largest [[river port]], located at the confluence of the [[Vuka (river)|Vuka]] and the [[Danube]]. Vukovar is the seat of [[Vukovar-Syrmia County]] and the second largest city in the county after [[Vinkovci]]. The city's registered population was 22,616 in the 2021 census, with a total of 23,536 in the municipality.<ref name="census2011">{{Croatian Census 2011|S|16|5185}}</ref>

==Name==

The name ''Vukovar'' means 'town on the Vuka River' (''Vuko'' from the Vuka River, and ''vár'' from the [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] word for 'fortress'). The river was called "Ulca" in antiquity, probably from an Illyrian language. Its name might be related to the name of the river "Volga".<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/50001|title=Ime Mursa|first=Mayer|last=Antun|date=1 April 1935|journal=Vjesnik Arheološkog Muzeja U Zagrebu|volume=16|issue=1|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref> In other languages, the city in German is known as ''Wukowar'' and in Hungarian as ''Vukovár'' or ''Valkóvár''. In the late 17th century, the medieval Croatian name Vukovo was supplanted by the Hungarian ''Vukovár''.<ref>Treasures of Yugoslavia, p.249.</ref>

In the [[Middle Ages]], Vukovar was the seat of the great [[Vukovo County]], which was first mentioned in 1220 as "Comitatus de Wolcou".
On the right bank of the Vuka was the royal fortress castrum Walkow.
A settlement developed in its suburb (suburbium), which was granted the privileges of a free royal city in 1231 by Duke Slavonia Koloman.
Until the 14th century, the city was recorded in documents as Walco, Vlcou, Volkow, Walko, Wlkoy, and then the Hungarian variant of the city's name – Wolcowar (for the first time in 1323) was mentioned more and more often.
Since 1691, the town has been developing on the right bank of the Vuka, initially under the name Vukovarski otok (Insula Vukovariensis); since then, the Hungarian name Vukovar has supplanted the medieval Croatian name of the city.
<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vukovar.dnevno.hr/obrazovanje-i-kultura/ime-vukovar-preuzeli-smo-od-madara-znate-li-koje-je-bilo-staro-hrvatsko-ime-grada-heroja/|title=Ime Vukovar preuzeli smo od Mađara, znate li koje je bilo staro hrvatsko ime grada heroja?|date=26 October 2020|website=Vukovar}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vukovar |url=https://www.enciklopedija.hr/clanak/vukovar |access-date=2022-10-02 |website=www.enciklopedija.hr}}</ref>

==Municipal area==

The administrative municipal area of the city contains the following [[naselja|settlements]]:<ref name="census2011"/>
* [[Grabovo, Croatia|Grabovo]], population –
* [[Lipovača, Vukovar-Syrmia County|Lipovača]], population 323
* [[Sotin]], population 597
* Vukovar, population 22,616

In [[SFR Yugoslavia]], the municipalities were generally larger, and the Vukovar municipality spanned the region from [[Vera, Croatia|Vera]] and [[Borovo, Croatia|Borovo]] in the north, [[Ilok]] in the east and [[Tovarnik]] in the south, but it has since been divided into several municipalities.

Historically, Vukovar was divided into the Old Vukovar, New Vukovar and former workers' Bata village with [[Bata Shoes]] (now Borovo) factory, today known as the Vukovar suburb Borovo Naselje.

==Geography==
[[File:Torre del agua-Vukovar.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Vukovar water tower]]'', a symbol of the suffering of the city and the [[Croatian War of Independence]].]]
 
The city is positioned on important transport routes. Since time immemorial transport routes from the northwest to the southeast were active in the Danube Valley through the Vukovar area.

After steam ships were introduced in the mid-19th century, and with the arrival of present-day tourist ships, Vukovar is connected with Budapest and [[Vienna]] upstream and all the way to Romania downstream. The Vukovar harbour is an important import and export station. The Danube has always been and remains the connection of the people of Vukovar with Europe and the world.

Vukovar is located {{convert|20|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} northeast of Vinkovci and {{convert|36|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} southeast of [[Osijek]], with an elevation of {{convert|108|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. Vukovar is located on the main road [[D2 road (Croatia)|D2]] Osijek—Vukovar—[[Ilok]] and on the Vinkovci—Vukovar railway (and road [[D55 road (Croatia)|D55]]).

==Climate==
Since records began in 1999, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station was {{convert|39.8|C|F}}, on 6 August 2012.<ref>{{cite web |date=2022-07-19 |author=DHMZ |title=Najviše izmjerene temperature zraka u Hrvatskoj za razdoblje od kada postoje mjerenja |url=https://meteo.hr/objave_najave_natjecaji.php?section=onn&param=objave&el=priopcenja&daj=najvise_temperature_zraka |website=Državni hidrometeorološki zavod}}</ref> The coldest temperature was {{convert|-21.8|C|F}}, on 9 February 2012.<ref>{{cite web |date=2022-01-21 |author=DHMZ |title=Najniže izmjerene temperature zraka u Hrvatskoj za razdoblje od kada postoje mjerenja |url=https://meteo.hr/objave_najave_natjecaji.php?section=onn&param=objave&el=priopcenja&daj=najnize_temperature_zraka |website=Državni hidrometeorološki zavod}}</ref>

==History==
===Prehistory===
The area of Vukovar has been continuously inhabited for five thousand years, which we know based on numerous archaeological sites. The Vučedol culture, which developed in the [[Vučedol]] locality, is particularly significant for the Vukovar area. In 1938, the Vučedol dove was found at that location, which later became a symbol of the town. The Vučedol Orion, also found on Vučedol, is equally important and is considered the oldest Indo-European calendar. In the area of Vukovar, there are numerous archaeological sites from the [[Bronze Age|Bronze]], Early and Younger [[Iron Age]]s, from which we can see the way of life of the [[Illyrians]] and [[Celts]], the original inhabitants of the Vukovar area. During the last decades of BC, the Romans reached the [[Danube]] in their [[conquest]]s and built many [[forts]] on the border (the so-called [[Danubian Limes|Danube limes]]) as a protection against the [[barbarian]] [[tribe]]s.

The Romans influenced the economy of the Vukovar region because they planted the first vineyards  and drained the swamps.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=A brief history of Vukovar |url=https://turizamvukovar.hr/en/vukovar/crtice-iz-povijesti-vukovara/ |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=Turistička zajednica grada Vukovara |language=hr}}</ref> One [[Scordisci]] archaeological site in Vukovar dating back to late [[La Tène culture]] was [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavated]] in the 1970s and 1980s as a part of [[Rescue archaeology|rescue excavations]] in eastern Croatia.<ref name="La Tène">{{cite journal |last1=Dizdar |first1=Marko |date=2016 |title=Late La Tène Settlements in the Vinkovci Region (Eastern Slavonia, Croatia): Centres of Trade and Exchange. |url=https://www.austriaca.at/0xc1aa5576%200x003437f9.pdf |journal= Boii – Taurisci: Proceedings of the International Seminar, Oberleis-Klement, June 14th–15th, 2012 |pages=31–48 |publisher=[[Austrian Academy of Sciences Press]] |access-date=22 January 2019 }}</ref> Archaeological site was a part of the settlement network of Scordisci in the area of Vinkovci.<ref name="La Tène" />

===Early history===
The history of today's Vukovar begins very early, according to archaeological data.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Grad Vukovar – Povijest grada Vukovara |url=https://www.vukovar.hr/255-nekategorizirano/2783-povijest-grada-vukovara |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=www.vukovar.hr}}</ref> [[Slavs|Slavic]] tribes settled in this area in the 6th century. In the 9th century the region was part of the Slavic [[Pannonian Slavs#Principality|Principality of Lower Pannonia]] ruled by prince [[Pribina]], and part of the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]]. In the first half of the 10th century, the [[Vukovo]] fortress was looted by the [[Hungarians]].<ref name=":1" /> In the 11th–12th century, the region was part of the [[Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)|Kingdom of Croatia]]; from the 13th to 16th century part of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]; and between 1526 and 1687<ref>Treasures of Yugoslavia, published by Yugoslaviapublic, Beograd, available in English, German and Serbo-Croatian, 664 pages, 1980</ref> under [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule.

Vukovar was mentioned first in the 13th century as ''Volko'', ''Walk'', ''Wolkov, Wolcou, Walkov and numerous other versions'' (original Croatian/Slavic name of the town was ''Vukovo''). All these different forms of the city's name were used until the 14th century, when the name Vukovar began to be used more and more, to which the [[Hungarians|Hungarian]] suffix -var was added, which denotes a fortress.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Kirchhoffer |first=Sonja |title=Šetnja kroz povijest Vukovara u srednjem vijeku |url=https://povijest.hr/hrvatska/setnja-kroz-povijest-vukovara-u-srednjem-vijeku/ |website=povijest.hr}}</ref> In 1231, Vukovo obtained its first privileges and later the right to levy taxes on passages along the Danube and the Vuka.<ref>Treasures of Yugoslavia, p.249</ref> In 1231, Vukovar received the status of a [[royal free city]]. Duke [[Coloman, King of Hungary|Koloman]] gave Vukovar the status of a free royal city, to encourage further development of the city. His charter meant that the residents of Vukovar were directly subject to the king, not the landowner.<ref name=":2" /> The [[charter]] of [[Duke Koloman]] confirmed the privileges that protected the people of Vukovar.<ref name=":1" /> From the contents of the charter, it can be seen that at that moment, an ethnically diverse population was already living in Vukovar. The inhabitants of Vukovar were engaged in trade and crafts. Vukovo County was quite densely populated in the Middle Ages. Vukovar entered the Middle Ages as a suburb with roads, and then a fortress was built. The royal administration is important for the further development of the city. The citizens of Vukovar received privileges from King Ludovik of Anjou, which included the holding of weekly fairs, which led to further stronger economic growth. Due to trade levies, the city's income also increases. The county was densely populated, and according to written sources, it had 33 forts, 34 shops and 1,182 villages, settlements and inhabited estates. Vukovar was an important church seat and a fortified city. The city occupied between 20 and 25 hectares of the city area. At the end of the 14th century, Vukovar was one of the largest medieval Slavonic towns with 350 houses and 2,000 to 2,500 inhabitants.<ref name=":2" /> During administration of the medieval [[Kingdom of Hungary]], the town was a seat of Valkó (Croatian: Vuka) county, which was located between the [[Drava]] and [[Sava]] rivers, while during Ottoman administration it was part of the [[Sanjak of Syrmia]]. The Turkish rule brought great changes to the Vukovar region. On their campaign in 1526, the Turks occupied Ilok and Vukovar. Vukovar lost its significance, but still remained an important trade center on an important trade route. Before liberation from the Turks, Vukovar had close to 3,000 inhabitants.<ref name=":1" />

===Habsburg Monarchy===
[[File:Greetings from Vukovar - View of the Danube (front).jpg|thumb|right|Vukovar seen from the Danube river 1917.]]
After the [[Treaty of Karlowitz]] in 1699, Vukovar was part of the [[Habsburg monarchy]], Slavonia ([[Transleithania]] after the [[compromise of 1867]]), and soon after in the [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]], created when the [[Kingdom of Slavonia]] and the Kingdom of Croatia were merged in 1868.

Vukovar was left with an almost empty town, with only about fifty houses. The indigenous population is returning to the devastated area, as well as new residents. Because of the need for labor, Orthodox Serbs are settling. In the 18th and 19th centuries, a considerable number of [[Germans]], [[Hungarians]], Jews, [[Ruthenians]], [[Slovaks]] and [[Ukrainians]] arrived. Thus, Vukovar becomes a multinational city.<ref name=":1" />

After the end of the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] domination (in the 16th and 17th centuries), the [[German nobility|German Counts]] of [[Eltz]] bought a large part of the Vukovar area which was known as the [[Lordship of Vukovar]] and for the next two centuries they would have a great influence on the economy and culture of Vukovar.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Vukovar Street scene.JPG|thumb|left|Townhouses with arches in the center of the city.]]

[[Count]]s [[Eltz]], German nobility, come into possession of the manor in Vukovar. Philip Karl Eltz, Archbishop of [[Mainz]], in 1736 buys this huge property with more than 30 inhabited places.

At the beginning of this period, almost half of the inhabitants of Vukovar were craftsmen and merchants. Crafts, trade, shipbuilding are developing. Goods are shipped to the Danube countries by ship. Numerous [[guild]] organizations were founded to protect craftsmen. Vukovar is the main center of trade for the entire western Srijem.
[[File:Vukovar.jpg|thumb|right|Vukovar in [[Austria-Hungary]], [[Franz Joseph I]] street]]

The Vukovar area has very good conditions for agriculture. Almost 80% of the population lived from agriculture. In addition to basic grain production, viticulture is also important, and horse studs are also famous.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Since 1840, Vukovar has had permanent [[steamboat]] lines on the Danube, and since 1878 it has been connected to the railway. The port of Vukovar is the largest port in Croatia. The industry developed slowly due to lack of capital.

According to the population census from 1900, Vukovar has 10,400 inhabitants, including about 4,000 Croats, 3,500 Germans, about 1,600 Serbs, 950 Hungarians, etc.<ref name=":1" /> In 1905, the first major industrial enterprise, the spinning mill, began operating in Vukovar.<ref name=":1" />

In 1745, Vukovar became the seat of the [[Syrmia County]] of the [[Kingdom of Slavonia]] and from 1868 [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]].<ref name=":0" />

===Kingdom of Yugoslavia===
[[File:Radnički dom u Vukovaru.JPG|thumb|left|[[Workers' Hall, Vukovar|Workers' Hall]] after the reconstruction. Historical second congress of the [[Communist Party of Yugoslavia]] was held in [[Workers' Hall, Vukovar]] in 1920]]
In 1918, Vukovar became part of the newly formed [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes]] ([[Yugoslavia]] in 1929). Between 1918 and 1922, Vukovar was the administrative seat of the county of Syrmia (Srijem), and between 1922 and 1929 it was the administrative seat of [[Syrmia Oblast]]. Despite the status of administrative center the settlement will get the city status only on 23 November 1919, by the decision of regent of the new state [[Peter I of Serbia]].{{sfn|Barišić Bogišić|2022|pp=205}} After the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and in the wake of communism gaining popularity throughout Europe, Vukovar became the location of the 2nd congress of the Socialist Labor Party of Yugoslavia (Communists) ({{lang|sh-Latn|Socijalistička radnička partija Jugoslavije – komunista}}), where it was renamed the [[Communist Party of Yugoslavia]] ({{lang|sh-Latn|Komunistička partija Jugoslavije}}). 
In 1920, ahead of the local elections, the Jewish Party was established in the town while [[Zionist]] Association was founded in 1926.{{sfn|Barišić Bogišić|2022|pp=180}} After 1929, Vukovar was part of the [[Sava Banovina]], and beginning in 1939 it was part of the [[Banovina of Croatia]]. Part of the Serb community in the town and neighbouring villages was dissatisfied with the inclusion in the new autonomous Banovina leading them to present their disagreement in the 1939 [[Vukovar resolution]].

The [[interwar period]] in Vukovar was marked with a significant growth of the shoe and textile industry that began operating in the town, including the shoe factory Bata in 1931, which was later renamed [[Borovo (company)|Borovo]]. This consequently led to a population growth–according to the 1948 census, Vukovar had over 17,000 inhabitants.<ref name=":1" />

===World War II===
Croats and Serbs tensions in the town escalated during the latter half of the 1930s.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=118}} An incident in 1937 involved a Serb student bringing a pistol to Vukovar High School and threatening to kill a Croat classmate.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=118}}  At the time of [[1938 Yugoslavian parliamentary election]], Vukovar's [[Ustaša]] used a slogans referencing an Ustaša paramilitary training camps in Hungary.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=118}} After the Croat-led coalition won the town election, a group of Croat high school students celebrated the victory by chanting pro-Croatian and anti-Yugoslav sentiments in the streets.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=118}} The local newspaper ''Srijemski Hrvat'', which was published in Vukovar from November 1939 to January 1941, showed a clear increase in Ustašist influence as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia approached its collapse.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=112}} Although it was officially aligned with the [[Croatian Peasant Party]] (HSS), its editor, Luka Puljiz, was a committed Ustaša and leader in the movement's local cell.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=112}} On 15 November 1939 ''Srijemski Hrvat'' discussed local Germans' support for the central government in Belgrade and invited them to back the Croatian Peasant Party-led regime in Zagreb instead.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=115}} While it mentioned Germans, Hungarians, Czechs, Ukrainians, and Slovaks as relevant national minorities, Jews, Serbs, and Roma were notably excluded.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=115}} On 5 November 1939 [[Nikola Andrić]] gave a speech asserting that Croatian ethnic songs were not only better than Serbian ones but also the best among all the world's cultures.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=124}}
[[File:Dudik Memorial Park - Спомен парк Дудик 01.jpg|thumb|left|[[Dudik Memorial Park]]]]

After 1941 [[Yugoslav coup d'état]] Luka Puljiz, editor of ''Srijemski Hrvat'', received advance instructions on the procedure of the town capture following the [[Invasion of Yugoslavia]].{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=122}} When the [[Independent State of Croatia]] was declared on 10 April 1941, following morning Puljiz group took control of Vukovar by seizing key locations such as the post office, police station, and town hall.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=111}} The Ustaša authorities across the NDH began issuing anti-Jewish and anti-Serb laws, effectively placing both groups outside the law.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=124}} On 10 April 1941, a decree barred Serbs and Jews from serving in the NDH army.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=126}} A subsequent decree on 17 April 1941, allowed for arrests based on "anti-Croat" activities without specifying exact crimes.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=126}} Further decrees on 18 April 1941, targeted Serbs and Jews, nullifying legal contracts involving Jews and preparing for the deportation of Serb agricultural colonists.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=126–127}} On 19 April 1941, the regime appointed commissioners to Jewish and Serb firms.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=126–127}} Additionally local Ustašas executed several individuals suspected of anti-Croat activities.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=126–127}} More decrees suspended judiciary staff and public employees, giving the state the power to dismiss Jews, Serbs, and Croats with Yugoslav affiliations.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=127–129}} ''Decree on the Prohibition of the Cyrillic Script'' was introduced on 25 April 1941.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=130}} Ustaša regime spread its ideology in Vukovar through various means, including the weekly newspaper ''Hrvatski Borac'' ("''Croat Fighter''"), which circulated from December 1941 to June 1942.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=135}} The paper was edited by Dr. Vilko Anderlić, a Catholic priest from a nearby village of [[Sotin]].{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=135}}

In the Vukovar area, Ustaša authorities did not immediately launch large-scale killings against Serb communities in the first mass killing phase from April to May 1941 which targeted area that lacked significant economic value.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=180–181}} Wealthier regions such as Vukovar saw a more restrained approach, as peace and order were crucial for the continuity of industry and agriculture.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=182}} Mass shootings in town began in late July 1941 after the first act of resistance in the Serb village of [[Bobota, Croatia|Bobota]].{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=182}} The following day, the Ustaša forces encircled the village, interrogated and terrorized the inhabitants, and arrested 45 people.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=183}} Thirty of them were sent to the [[Jadovno concentration camp]], while 15 were sentenced to death by a hastily convened traveling summary court and execution being carried at the Dudik site.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=183}} Over 500 people will be executed at the site during the war with the place being turned into the [[Dudik Memorial Park]] subsequently.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=183}} Repression led to further resistance and imprisonment of 500 residents of Bobota, [[Trpinja]] and [[Vera, Croatia|Vera]] in September 1941.{{sfn|Matijević|2024|pp=183}}

During [[World War II]] the city was bombed by the Allies. The first [[Yugoslav Partisans]] uprising in the district ({{lang|sh-Latn|kotar}}) of Vukovar happened on 26 August 1941, in the village of [[Bobota, Croatia|Bobota]] with subsequent continued dominant role of ethnic Serbs in the uprising who will constitute 75% of Yugoslav Partisans in the area as of late 1943.{{sfn|Filipović|2022|pp=293}} Today, [[Dudik Memorial Park]] commemorates 455 individuals who were executed by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia during the [[World War II in Yugoslavia]].<ref name="2009Identitet138">{{cite journal | language = sr |title = Skrnavljenje spomenika u režiji HDZ-a: o inicijativi za obnovu spomen kompleksa Dudik | first = Dragana | last = Zečević | publisher  = [[Serb Democratic Forum]] | journal = Identitet | number = 138 |date=September 2009 | location = [[Zagreb]] }}</ref> The monument at the Dudik Memorial Park, built from 1978 to 1980, is designed by [[Bogdan Bogdanović (architect)|Bogdan Bogdanović]], for which he won the [[International Piranesi Award]].<ref name="Sørensen Viejo-Rose Filippucci 2019 p. 194">{{cite book |last1=Sørensen |first1=M.L.S. |last2=Viejo-Rose |first2=D. |last3=Filippucci |first3=P. |title=Memorials in the Aftermath of Armed Conflict: From History to Heritage |publisher=Springer International Publishing |series=Palgrave Studies in Cultural Heritage and Conflict |year=2019 |isbn=978-3-030-18091-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ay7EDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA194 |access-date=3 June 2021 |page=194}}</ref> At least 1027 soldiers of the [[Bulgarian Armed Forces]] who fought on [[Syrmian Front]] died during the liberation of Vukovar and related fights and are today commemorated at the local [[Bulgarian Military Cemetery, Vukovar|Bulgarian Military Cemetery]].<ref name="Bulgarian Army">{{cite web |url=https://radio.hrt.hr/radio-osijek/vijesti/vukovar-odana-pocast-bugarskim-vojnicima-3752372 |title=Vukovar: Odana počast bugarskim vojnicima |publisher=[[Croatian Radiotelevision]] |access-date=26 April 2024 |language=hr |date=9 May 2021 |author=Marija Vukasović Petrinović }}</ref> An additional monument was erected in [[Borovo Naselje]] to commemorate the soldiers of the Yugoslav and the Soviet Red Army who lost their lives in the liberation of the region between 8 and 12 April 1944.<ref name="ZVO-Srbi.hr">{{cite web |url=https://srbi.hr/na-dan-pobede-setili-se-stradalih-u-drugom-svetskom-ratu/ |title=Na Dan Pobede setili se stradalih u Drugom svetskom ratu |publisher=[[Joint Council of Municipalities]] |access-date=26 April 2024 |language=sr |date=11 May 2020 |author=Dušan Velimirović }}</ref> The monument was built by workers from the Borovo factory.<ref name="ZVO-Srbi.hr"/> Vukovar's memorial ossuary contains the remains of 388 victims transferred from the Dudik memorial area, including 155 soldiers from the Fifth Vojvodina Strike Brigade and 62 Red Army soldiers.<ref name="ZVO-Srbi.hr"/> In 2008 an unexploded bomb was found in the city from this period.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vktel.com/v/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1363&Itemid=40 |title=Bombs from the II World War found in Vukovar |publisher=vktel.com |access-date=18 November 2010 |language=hr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129153637/http://www.vktel.com/v/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1363&Itemid=40 |archive-date=29 November 2010 }}</ref>

===SFR Yugoslavia===
Between 1945 and 1991, Vukovar was part of the [[Socialist Republic of Croatia]] within the new [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]]. During this period Vukovar developed into a multicultural community and an important industrial centre with a standard of living among the highest in Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Cvek|Račić|Ivčić|2019|pp=20}} One of the symbols of this industrialization was the [[Borovo (company)|Borovo]] company with over 22,000 employees in the late 1980s.{{sfn|Cvek|Račić|Ivčić|2019|pp=20}} The company already reached its prewar employment levels in 1949, with the number of employees growing to 5,215 in 1955 and 10,572 in 1965, many of whom were from surrounding villages as well as from the rest of Slavonia, Vojvodina and other parts of Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Cvek|Račić|Ivčić|2019|pp=28–29}} Separate production sites were open in [[Prijedor]], [[Sombor]], [[Donji Miholjac]], [[Odžak]] and [[Lovas, Croatia|Lovas]] with 622 shops all around the country.{{sfn|Cvek|Račić|Ivčić|2019|pp=32}} At its peak, the company contributed 3/4 of the municipal tax revenue.{{sfn|Cvek|Račić|Ivčić|2019|pp=33}} Following the [[1970s energy crisis]] the company started producing for other companies in the world including for [[Puma (brand)|Puma]] in 1979.{{sfn|Cvek|Račić|Ivčić|2019|pp=36}}
[[File:Borovo bata.jpg|thumb|right|Standard Bata factories and housing at „Bata-ville“, Vukovar borough [[1941]]. Today's [[Borovo Naselje]], local board, urban settlement 4 km from the Vukovar town center.]]

As the economic crisis in the country deepened workers from Borovo started their first strike action, which lasted between 19 and 24 August 1987.{{sfn|Cvek|Račić|Ivčić|2019|pp=55}} The "''Large Strike''" ({{langx|hr|Veliki štrajk}}) started on 2 July 1988, with daily rallies at the Republic Square in front of the [[Workers’ Hall, Vukovar|Workers’ Hall]].{{sfn|Cvek|Račić|Ivčić|2019|pp=58–60}} On evening of 5 July 1988, a group of workers decided to travel to [[Belgrade]] to share their dissatisfaction with the federal institutions, with formal union buses and trucks joining this action once the initial group already reached [[Tovarnik]].{{sfn|Cvek|Račić|Ivčić|2019|pp=60}} At 3&nbsp;am next day a group of 1,500 workers arrived at the [[Dom Sindikata]] where they kept trying to present their case until 9&nbsp;am, to no avail. They decided to move their action to the nearby building of the [[Parliament of Yugoslavia]] afterwards.{{sfn|Cvek|Račić|Ivčić|2019|pp=60}} After nobody addressed them for hours the group decided to push through the [[Kettling|police cordons]] and to enter the building of parliament while singing "''{{lang|sh-Latn|Druže Tito, da ti je ustati, pa da vidiš kako narod pati}}''" (''Comrade [[Josip Broz Tito|Tito]] if only you could raise and see how the people suffer'').{{sfn|Cvek|Račić|Ivčić|2019|pp=61}} They stayed in the building until 5&nbsp;pm, meeting with the President of the Presidency from SR Croatia [[Ivo Latin]], president of the [[Trade Union of Yugoslavia]] [[Marjan Orožen]] and the President of the Assembly [[Dušan Popovski]]. After that, they returned to Dom Sindikata from where they returned to Vukovar late at night.{{sfn|Cvek|Račić|Ivčić|2019|pp=61–62}}

===Croatian War of Independence===
{{Too many photos|section}}
The conflict between Serbs and Croats spread to eastern Slavonia in early 1991. On 1 April, Serb villagers around Vukovar and other towns in eastern Slavonia began to erect barricades across main roads.<ref name="O'Shea11">{{harvnb|O'Shea|2005|page=11}}</ref> The [[White Eagles (paramilitary)|White Eagles]], a Serbian paramilitary group led by [[Vojislav Šešelj]], moved into the Serb-populated village of [[Borovo Selo]] just north of Vukovar.<ref name="Annex III">[[#Bassiouni-AnnexIII|Bassiouni, Annex III. December 28, 1994]]</ref> On 2 May in [[Battle of Borovo Selo]], Serb paramilitaries ambushed two Croatian police buses in the centre of Borovo Selo, killing 12 policemen and injuring 22 more.<ref name="O'Shea11" /> One Serb paramilitary was also killed.<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|1999|p=30}}</ref>

On 19 May 1991, a [[1991 Croatian independence referendum|Croatian nationwide referendum on sovereignty]] was held in which 94% voted in favor. Violence in and around Vukovar worsened after the independence referendum, with gun and bomb attacks reported in the town and surrounding villages in June 1991.<ref>{{cite news | title=Tense situation in Vukovar|last=Stankovic | first=Mirko | publisher=BBC | work=Summary of World Broadcasts | date=20 June 1991}}</ref> [[Borovo Naselje]], the Croatian-held northern suburb of Vukovar, sustained a significant shelling on 4 July.<ref name="MrksicVerdict12-13">[[#ICTY-Mrksic|''Prosecutor v. Mrkšić, Radić & Šljivančanin – Judgement'', September 27, 2007]], pp. 12–13.</ref> Serb paramilitaries expelled thousands of non-Serbs from their homes in the municipality.<ref>[[#BBCMon09-07-1991|BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, July 9, 1991]]</ref>

In the summer of 1991, [[Tomislav Merčep]], at the time a leading official in the [[Croatian Democratic Union]] (HDZ) and Secretary of People's Defense, was put in charge of the town. Ethnic Serbs in Vukovar were subjected to [[1991 killings of Serbs in Vukovar|forced interrogations, kidnappings and summary executions]] in addition to having their homes and cafes blown up.<ref name="iwpr">{{cite news |last1=Hedl |first1=Drago |title=Regional Report: Vukovar Serb Killings Investigated |url=https://iwpr.net/global-voices/regional-report-vukovar-serb-killings-investigated |work=Institute for War & Peace Reporting |date=29 April 2005}}</ref> NGOs in the city state that a total of 86 Serbs were killed or disappeared during Merčep's control of the town.<ref name="iwpr" /> Serbs have long voiced their concerns about the crimes committed against them in the months before the [[Yugoslav People's Army|JNA]] took over the town after its fall in November of that year and the lack of accountability for the perpetrators.<ref name="iwpr" /><ref name="tportal">{{cite web |last1=Polšak Palatinuš |first1=Vlatka |title=Vukovarski Srbi pitaju: Što je s našim ubijenima? Evo odgovora iz DORH-a |url=https://www.tportal.hr/vijesti/clanak/vukovarski-srbi-pitaju-sto-je-s-nasim-ubijenima-evo-odgovora-iz-dorh-a-foto-20181030 |website=tportal.hr |date=30 October 2018}}</ref> The matter has remained unresolved, with Merčep only being sentenced in 2017 for crimes committed by his units elsewhere. He died in November 2020.
[[File:Vukovar - Ovcara.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Ovčara camp|Ovčara Massacre Memorial]]'' to the murdered Croatian civilians at the site of the largest [[mass grave]] of the [[Croatian war of independence]], on the farm Ovčara near Vukovar, where  paramilitary units and members of the [[Yugoslav People's Army|JNA]] carried out a [[Vukovar massacre|mass slaughter]] of civilians from the [[Vukovar Hospital|"Dr Juraj Njavro" National Memorial Hospital]]]].

The [[Battle of Vukovar]] began on 25 August 1991, and lasted until 18 November 1991. During the battle for the town, 1,800 self-organised lightly armed defenders and civilian volunteers (the army of Croatia was still in its infancy at this time) defended the city for 87 days against approximately 36,000 troops of the Serb-dominated JNA equipped with heavy armour and artillery who lost 110 vehicles and tanks and dozens of planes during the battle. The city suffered heavy damage during the [[Battle of Vukovar|siege]] and was eventually overrun. It is estimated that 1,800 defenders of Vukovar and civilians were killed, 800 went missing and 22,000 civilians were forced into exile.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East |last=Tucker |first=Spencer |year=2010 |publisher=ABC-CLIO, LLC |location=Santa Barbara, California |isbn=978-1-85109-667-1 |page=2617}}</ref> Several war crimes were committed by Serb forces after the battle, including the [[Vukovar massacre]] of up to 264 wounded patients and medical staff, taken from the Vukovar hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.euronews.net/2010/11/04/serb-leader-apologises-for-croatian-massacre|title=Serb leader apologises for Croatian massacre|date=11 November 2010|publisher=Euronews|access-date=4 April 2011}}</ref> According to the [[Croatian Association of Prisoners in Serbian Concentration Camps]], a total of 8,000 Croatian civilians and [[Prisoner of war|POWs]] (many following the fall of Vukovar) went through Serb prison camps such as [[Sremska Mitrovica camp]], [[Velepromet camp]], [[Stajićevo camp]], [[Begejci camp]], [[Niš|Niš camp]] and many others where many were heavily abused and tortured. A total of 300 people never returned from them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/comexpert/ANX/VIII-10.htm|title=Annex VIII - Prison Camps|access-date=2020-05-06|archive-date=2011-01-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106010123/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/comexpert/ANX/VIII-10.htm}}</ref> A total of 4570 camp inmates have started [[legal action]] against the former [[Serbia & Montenegro|Republic of Serbia and Montenegro]] (now [[Serbia]]) for torture and abuse in the camps.<ref name="Vjesnik">{{cite news|url=http://www.vjesnik.hr/Html/2004/03/28/Clanak.asp?r=unu&c=6|language=hr|newspaper=[[Vjesnik]]|title=Danijel Rehak ponovno izabran za predsjednika Hrvatskog društva logoraša|date=28 March 2004|access-date=5 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040430144947/http://www.vjesnik.hr/html/2004/03/28/Clanak.asp?r=unu&c=6|archive-date=30 April 2004}}</ref>

The damage to Vukovar during the siege has been called the worst in Europe since [[World War II]], drawing comparisons with [[Stalingrad]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.index.hr/clanak.aspx?id=367100|title=Mesić nakon sastanka s Del Ponte: Netko mora odgovarati što je Vukovar pretvoren u Staljingrad|website=www.index.hr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Helen |last=Seeney |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2129420,00.html |title=Croatia: Vukovar is Still Haunted by the Shadow of its Past |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101117004539/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2129420,00.html |archive-date=17 November 2010 |website=Deutsche Welle |date=22 August 2006 |access-date=6 May 2009 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> The [[Vukovar water tower|city's water tower]], riddled with bullet holes, was retained by city planners to serve as a testimony to the events of the early 1990s.

On 18 November 2006, approximately 25,000 people from all over the country gathered in Vukovar for the 15th anniversary of the fall of the city to commemorate those who were killed during the siege. A museum dedicated to the siege was opened in the basement of a now rebuilt hospital that had been damaged during the battle.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8823/1/Tens-of-thousands-gather-for-15th-anniversary-of-Vukovar-siege-1991---2006.html |title=Tens of thousands gather for 15th anniversary of Vukovar siege 1991 – 2006 |publisher=Croatian World Network |agency=AFP |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719001620/http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8823/1/Tens-of-thousands-gather-for-15th-anniversary-of-Vukovar-siege-1991---2006.html |archive-date=19 July 2011 |access-date=18 November 2010 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

On 27 September 2007, the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] convicted two former JNA officers, [[Mile Mrkšić]] and [[Veselin Šljivančanin]], for their involvement in the [[Vukovar massacre]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7016290.stm |publisher=BBC News |title=Two jailed over Croatia massacre |access-date=18 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101013104849/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7016290.stm |archive-date=13 October 2010 |work=news.bbc.co.uk |date=27 September 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia's last remaining fugitive,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/serbia/8538468/Ratko-Mladic-arrested-Goran-Hadzic-last-remaining-major-figure-at-large.html|title=Ratko Mladic arrested: Goran Hadzic last remaining major figure at large|last=McElroy|first=Damien|date=26 May 2011|work=The Telegraph|access-date=29 May 2011|location=London}}</ref> Goran Hadžić, was captured by Serbian authorities in 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=Serbia arrests its last war crimes fugitive |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna43820382 |work=NBC News |date=20 July 2011}}</ref> Hadžić was indicted on 14 counts, including multiple related to Vukovar.<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite web |agency=Agence France-Presse |title=Goran Hadžić, last Yugoslav war fugitive arrested, dies |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/jul/13/goran-hadzic-last-yugoslav-war-fugitive-arrested-dies |website=The Guardian |language=en |date=13 July 2016}}</ref> The charges included criminal involvement in the "deportation or forcible transfer of tens of thousands of Croat and other non-Serb civilians" from Croatian territory between June 1991 and December 1993, including 20,000 from Vukovar; the [[forced labour]] of detainees; the "extermination or murder of hundreds of Croat and other non-Serb civilians" in ten Croatian towns and villages including Vukovar; and the "torture, beatings and killings of detainees", including 264 victims seized from Vukovar Hospital.<ref name="icty indictment">{{cite web|last1=Del Ponte|first1=Carla|title=The Prosecutor of the Tribunal against Goran Hadžić – Indictment|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/hadzic/ind/en/had-ii040716e.htm|publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia|access-date=14 July 2016|location=The Hague, The Netherlands|date=21 May 2004}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/uhicen-goran-hadzic.html|title=U bijegu su Goranu Hadžiću najviše pomagali crkveni krugovi|website=Dnevnik.hr}}</ref> His trial was abandoned in 2014 after being diagnosed with terminal [[brain cancer]]; he died two years later at the age of 57.

===Vukovar under Serb control and subsequent UNTAES administration===

The battle exhausted the JNA and proved a turning point in the [[Croatian War of Independence]]. A ceasefire was declared a few weeks later. Vukovar served as de facto seat of the [[self-proclaimed]] [[Serbian Autonomous Oblast]] [[SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia]], the entity which joined the separatist  self-declared [[proto-state]] [[Republic of Serbian Krajina]] (RSK) in 1992 as an exclave. [[Vojislav Stanimirović (politician)|Vojislav Stanimirović]] served as a mayor of Vukovar at that time. Croat refugees from the town were located at refugee centers around the country and the community published the ''Vukovarske Novine (Vukovar Newspaper)'' outside of the town.<ref name="Put do Erduta">{{cite journal | title = Put do Erduta-Položaj Hrvatske u međunarodnoj zajednici 1994.-1995. i reintegracija hrvatskog Podunavlja | first = Albert | last = Bing | journal = Scrinia Slavonica | volume = 7 | pages = 371–404 | publisher = Hrvatski institut za povijest | location = Zagreb | year = 2007 | url = http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=42842&lang=en }}</ref>
When the main portion of the RSK was defeated in 1995 [[Operation Storm]] the new agreement was reached for peaceful settlement of the conflict in Vukovar and the rest of Croatian [[Podunavlje]] area known as the [[Erdut Agreement]]. By 1996, Vukovar became demilitarised after local Serb units demobilised and transferred their heavy weapons across the border to Yugoslavia.<ref>{{cite book |title=Croatia at the United Nations, October 21, 1993 – January 16, 1998 |date=1998 |publisher=Permanent Mission of the Republic of Croatia to the United Nations}}</ref> The agreement led to the establishment of the [[United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium]] (UNTAES) which effectively governed the region from its seat in Vukovar until 1998 when the region was fully reintegrated into Croatia.
[[File:Croatian War 1991 Vukovar destruction.jpg|right|thumb|Vukovar during the occupation, under the administration of the [[Republic of Serbian Krajina]].]]

UNTAES headquarters were initially located at the [[United Nations Protection Force]] headquarters in [[Zagreb]] but the idea of priority of the administration was to move it to [[eastern Croatia]].<ref name="Global Governance">{{cite journal|title=The Political Challenges of Administering Eastern Slavonia|journal = Global Governance|volume = 10|issue = 1|first= Derek|last= Boothby| publisher= [[Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations]] |pages= 37–51 (15 pages)|date= Jan–Mar 2004| doi=10.1163/19426720-01001005 |jstor = 27800508}}</ref> [[Croatian Government]] offered [[Osijek]] for that purpose but the administration refused it since it wanted to locate it on the territory under its control leading to selection of Vukovar.<ref name="Global Governance" /> [[United States Secretary of State]] [[Madeleine Albright]] visited Vukovar in early 1996 to express her support to the process of reintegration where she was attacked by the Serbian population with eggs and stones at the local market.<ref name="USA-Podunavlje">{{cite journal|url= http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=68736 |title=Sjedinjene Američke Države i reintegracija hrvatskog Podunavlja|journal=Scrinia Slavonica|volume=8|issue=1|first= Albert|last= Bing| publisher= Scrinia Slavonica, Vol.8, Croatian Institute of History|format=PDF |pages= 336–365|date= April 2016|access-date=2016-09-12}}</ref> UNTAES facilitated reintegration by gradual transition and invitation of Croatian officials so that in late 1996 [[President of Croatia]] [[Franjo Tuđman]] visited Vukovar for the first time where he participated in the meeting between Serb and Croat delegation.<ref name="Kosor">{{cite book |first= Jadranka |last= Kosor |author-link= Jadranka Kosor |date=2020 |title=Premijerka : Zapisci one koja nije htjela biti zapisničarka |publisher=Ljevak |isbn=978-953-355-408-2 }}</ref> President Tuđman visited Vukovar again on 8 June 1997, in what was known as the ''Train of Peace''.

As a result of the conflict, a deep ethnic divide exists between the Croat and Serb populations. [[OSCE Mission to Croatia]] was active in Vukovar and surrounding areas until 2007.

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
| title   = Historical population<br /> of Vukovar
| shading = off
| source  = Naselja i stanovništvo Republike Hrvatske 1857–2001, DZS, Zagreb, 2005 & Popis stanovništva 2011
|1857 |8162
|1869 |9453
|1880 |10234
|1890 |11205
|1900 |11557
|1910 |12149
|1921 |12116
|1931 |12738
|1948 |18994
|1953 |20616
|1961 |25763
|1971 |38830
|1981 |41959
|1991 |46735
|2001 |31670
|2011 |27683
|2021 |23536

}}
[[File:Crkva sv. Filipa i Jakova u Vukovaru.jpg|thumb|left|Franciscan monastery with [[Church of Saints Philip and James, Vukovar|Church of Saints Philip and James]]]]
In the years from 1948 until 1991 Vukovar's population increased quickly due to industrial development. Primarily it was immigration that fed the growth in the Vukovar region and in the town particularly. The region's population distribution changed notably too when the town of [[Ilok]] became the second largest town in the region.

{{Croatian population data graph|popisi=HRV|upisano=2022-06-04|područje=City of Vukovar|p1857=8162|p1869=9453|p1880=10234|p1890=11205|p1900=11557|p1910=12149|p1921=12116|p1931=12738|p1948=18994|p1953=20616|p1961=25763|p1971=38830|p1981=41959|p1991=46735|p2001=31670|p2011=27683|p2021=23175}}
[[File:The Cross at the confluence of the Vuka and Danube Rivers 2015-04-29 (151937).jpg|thumb|right|''The Central Memorial Cross'' was erected in the honour of all fallen defenders for Croatian freedom in October 1998 at the estuary of river Vuka. The work of Šime Vidulin. It is symbolically made of stone from [[Brač]] and [[Istria]], with an inscription in [[glagolitic]]: "Navik on živi ki zgine pošteno" ("The one who dies honestly, lives forever "), verses sung by [[Fran Krsto Frankopan]], and the words, "To all the victims for Free Croatia"]]
The most significant change was the forced [[Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950)|displacement and internment of the German civilian population]] after [[World War II in Yugoslavia|World War II]]. The confiscated houses and properties were given to [[Croats|Croat]] and [[Serbs of Vukovar|Serb]] colonists during the years of [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Socialist Yugoslavia]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+National structure of the population of Vukovar:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vukovar.hr/e-usluge/ostalo/pitanja-i-prijedlozi/255-nekategorizirano/2814-stanovnistvo-grada-vukovara|title=Stanovništvo grada Vukovara|language=hr|access-date=4 May 2013|archive-date=27 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100227063149/http://www.vukovar.hr/index.php/informacije-mainmenu-89/stanovnistvo.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dzs.hr/Hrv/censuses/Census2001/Popis/H01_02_02/H01_02_02_zup16.html |title=SAS Output |publisher=Dzs.hr |access-date=23 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dzs.hr/Hrv/censuses/census2011/results/htm/H01_01_04/H01_01_04_zup16.html |title=Državni zavod za statistiku Republike Hrvatske |publisher=Dzs.hr |access-date=12 March 2013}}</ref>
! Year !! Total !! colspan="2" |Croats !! colspan="2" |Serbs !! colspan="2" |Germans !! colspan="2" |Hungarians !! colspan="2" |Others
|-
| 2021 || align="right" |23,536 || align="right" |14,605 || align="right" |63.02% || align="right" |6,890 || align="right" |29.73% || align="right" |45|| align="right" |0.19% || align="right" |220|| align="right" |0.95% || align="right" |1,776|| align="right" |7.55%
|-
| 2011 || align="right" |27,683 || align="right" |15,881 || align="right" |57.37% || align="right" |9,654 || align="right" |34.87% || align="right" |58|| align="right" |0.21% || align="right" |347|| align="right" |1.25% || align="right" |1,743|| align="right" |6.30%
|-
| 2001 || align="right" |31,670 || align="right" |18,199 || align="right" |57.5% || align="right" |10,412 || align="right" |32.9% || align="right" |58|| align="right" |0.2% || align="right" |387|| align="right" |1.2% || align="right" |2,614|| align="right" |8.3%
|-
| 1990 || align="right" |44,639 || align="right" |21,065 || align="right" |47.2% || align="right" |14,425 || align="right" |32.3% || align="right" |94|| align="right" |0.2% || align="right" |694|| align="right" |1.5% || align="right" |8,361|| align="right" |18.8%
|-
| 1971 || align="right" |30,222 || align="right" |14,694 || align="right" |48.6% || align="right" |9,132 || align="right" |30.2% || align="right" |60|| align="right" |0.2% || align="right" |835|| align="right" |2.8% || align="right" |5,501|| align="right" |18.2%
|-
| 1948 || align="right" |17,223 || align="right" |10,943 || align="right" |63.5% || align="right" |4,390 || align="right" |25.5% || align="right" |54|| align="right" |0.3% || align="right" |913|| align="right" |5.3% || align="right" |923|| align="right" |5.3%
|-
| 1931 || align="right" |10,242 || align="right" |5,048 || align="right" |49.6% || align="right" |1,702 || align="right" |16.6% || align="right" |2,670|| align="right" |26.1% || align="right" |571|| align="right" |5.6% || align="right" |215|| align="right" |2.0%
|-
| 1910 || align="right" |10,359 || align="right" |4,092 || align="right" |39.5% || align="right" |1,628 || align="right" |15.7% || align="right" |3,503|| align="right" |33.8% || align="right" |954|| align="right" |9.2% || align="right" |183|| align="right" |1.8%
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
|+National structure of the population in the municipality of Vukovar:{{clarify|reason=The municipality of Vukovar was significantly reduced in size between 1991 and 2001|date=July 2012}}
! Year of census !! total !! [[Croats]] !! [[Serbs of Vukovar|Serbs]]!! Others
|-
| align="center" | 2001 || 31,670 || 18,199 (57.46%) ||10,412 (32.88%) || 3,059 (9.66%)
|-
| align="center" | 1991 || 84,024 || 36,910 (43.93%) || 31,910 (37.98%) || 15,204 (18.09%)
|-
| align="center" | 1981 || 81,203 || 30,157 (37.14%) || 25,146 (30.97%) || 25,903 (31.89%)
|-
| align="center" | 1971 || 76,602 || 34,629 (45.21%) || 28,470 (37.17%) || 13,593 (17.09%)
|-
| align="center" | 1961 || 54,707 || 24,527 (44.83%) || 22,774 (41.63%) || 7,406 (13.54%)
|}

The Croats were in the majority in most villages and in the region's eastern part, whereas the Serbs dominated in the northwest. Vukovar's population was ethnically mixed and had 28 ethnic groups before the war. Since the boundaries of the municipality have changed a few times, there are significant differences in the population census between 1961 and 1971, and 1991 and 2001.

Particularly since the war in Croatia, much of the native Croat population has moved to other areas of Croatia or emigrated to Western Europe (notably Germany or Austria) and many Serbs have either moved to Serbia or to Canada and Western Europe.

Fifteen years after the war, in 2006, the city's ethnic makeup showed equal percentages of Croat and Serb residents.<ref>[http://www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes-article.php?mm=11&dd=18&yyyy=2006 Vukovar: Day of remembrance] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113011259/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes-article.php?mm=11&dd=18&yyyy=2006 |date=13 November 2010 }}, B92, 18 November 2006. Retrieved 2 October 2007.</ref> The city remains very divided, as a deeper sense of reconciliation has failed to take root. The ethnic communities remain separated by mistrust, divided institutions and disappointment. Separate schooling for Croat and Serb children remains in place. Incidents involving Croats and Serbs occur regularly, and public spaces have become identified not by the services they offer but by the ethnicity of those who gather there. Even coffee shops are identified as Croat or Serb.<ref name="Vukovar still divided 15 years on">[http://www.b92.net/eng/insight/opinions.php?nav_id=38241 Vukovar still divided 15 years on], B92, 27 November 2006. Retrieved 2 October 2007.</ref>

In 2013, the government's intention to implement in Vukovar the Constitutional Law on the Rights of Ethnic Minorities in Croatia that allowed for minorities, where they made up more than a third of a city's population, to be entitled to have their language used for official purposes,<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20899868 Croatia plans Cyrillic signs for Serbs in Vukovar] [[BBC]], 3 January 2013.</ref> provoked considerable popular opposition.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

===Minority languages===
{{further|Serbs of Vukovar|Anti-Cyrillic protests in Croatia|Minority languages of Croatia}}
[[File:Hrvatska-Vukovar 2021.jpg|thumb|[[Neogothic]] Paunović Family Mausoleum.]]
According to the [[2011 Croatian census]], the [[Serbs of Vukovar|Serb population]] of the city has exceeded one third, which is the legal prerequisite for the [[Serbian Cyrillic alphabet]] to gain constitutionally protected co-official status. In 2013, this re-ignited political discussion on the matter, which had already arisen in 2009 after the local promulgation of Serbian Cyrillic as available for public use.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.jutarnji.hr/ekskluzivna-reportaza-iz-vukovara-cirilica-ce-nevidljivi-zid-koji-dijeli-hrvate-i-srbe-pretvoriti-u-betonski/1082568/ | language = hr | title = Ekskluzivna reportaža iz Vukovara – Ćirilica će nevidljivi zid koji dijeli Hrvate i Srbe pretvoriti u betonski | first = Drago | last = Hedl | newspaper = [[Jutarnji list]] | date = 1 February 2013 | access-date = 9 February 2013 | author-link = Drago Hedl | archive-date = 4 February 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130204222324/http://www.jutarnji.hr/ekskluzivna-reportaza-iz-vukovara-cirilica-ce-nevidljivi-zid-koji-dijeli-hrvate-i-srbe-pretvoriti-u-betonski/1082568/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> According to the 2021 census, Serbs make up less than one third which removes constitutional guarantees on the official status of Serbian Cyrillic in the town.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/broj-srba-u-vukovaru-pao-ispod-30-posto-izgubili-pravo-na-cirilicu-1619296| language = hr | title = Broj Srba u Vukovaru pao ispod 30 posto, izgubili pravo na ćirilicu | author =  | newspaper = [[Vecernji list]] | date = 22 September 2022 | access-date = 2 September 2022| author-link = }}</ref> Croatian law, however, explicitly permits<ref name="Pravobraniteljica">{{cite web | url = https://www.ombudsman.hr/hr/prava-nacionalnih-manjina-3/| language = hr | title = Prava nacionalnih manjina | author =  | publisher = [[Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia]] | date = 12 April 2022 | access-date = 6 October 2022| author-link = }}</ref> local authorities to introduce co-official languages even when there is less than one third of minority population (notably, but not exclusively, [[Istria County]]<ref name="Pravobraniteljica"/>) with domestic and internal stakeholders calling upon the town of Vukovar to consider this option even before 2011 census.<ref name="ombudsman.hr">{{cite web|url=http://www.ombudsman.hr/dodaci/058_report-national-minorities-in-croatia-hrc-april-2005.pdf|title=The Position of National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia–Legislation and Practice, page 18|publisher=ombudsman.hr|access-date=19 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924060051/http://www.ombudsman.hr/dodaci/058_report-national-minorities-in-croatia-hrc-april-2005.pdf|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Following the publication of 2021 census results, mayor of Vukovar nevertheless announced intention to scrap the minority language protections with some commentators criticizing the abolition of already acquired rights including the President of the [[Constitutional Court of Croatia]] [[Miroslav Šeparović]].<ref name="AJB-Šeparović">{{cite web | url = https://balkans.aljazeera.net/opinions/2022/10/2/franjina-new-age-drzava-popis-stanovnistva-u-hrvatskoj-razotkrio-protumanjinsko-raspolozenje| language = sh | title = Franjina 'new age' država": Popis razotkrio protumanjinsko raspoloženje | first =Boris | last =Pavelić | publisher = [[Al Jazeera Balkans]] | date = 2 October 2022 | access-date = 6 October 2022| author-link = }}</ref> In November 2023, the [[Government of the Republic of Croatia]] decided to declare an end to mandatory bilingualism in Vukovar on the basis of the 2021 census, which showed the Serbian population fraction had fallen below the required one third, at 29.73%.<ref name="VRH2023">{{cite web |publication-date=2024-11-28 |date=November 2023 |title=Izvješće o provođenju Ustavnog zakona o pravima nacionalnih manjina i o utrošku sredstava osiguranih u Državnom proračunu Republike Hrvatske za 2023. godinu za potrebe nacionalnih manjina |url=https://vlada.gov.hr/UserDocsImages//2016/Sjednice/2024/Listopad/28_sjednica_VRH//28%20-%2015.docx?lang=ro |website=Vlada Republike Hrvatske |archive-date=2025-04-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250430005044/https://vlada.gov.hr/UserDocsImages//2016/Sjednice/2024/Listopad/28_sjednica_VRH//28%20-%2015.docx?lang=ro |language=hr}}</ref>{{rp|2}} Preserving traditional Serbian place names and assigning street names to Serbian historical figures had been legally mandated and carried out.<ref name="VRH2023" />{{rp|135}}

==Cultural heritage==
Among a number of notable buildings, severely damaged in the recent war, are the [[Eltz Manor]] of the [[Eltz]] noble family from the 18th century, [[Baroque]] buildings in the centre of the town, the [[Franciscan]] monastery with the [[Church of Saints Philip and James, Vukovar|parish church of Sts. Philip and James]], the [[Vukovar water tower|water tower]], the birth house of [[Nobel prize]] winner [[Lavoslav Ružička]], the [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] [[Church of St Nicholas, Vukovar|church of St Nicholas]], the [[palace of Syrmia County]] etc. Since the peaceful reintegration under Croatian control in 1998, many buildings have been rebuilt, but there are many ruins still in the town.

Outside the town, on the banks of the [[Danube]] toward [[Ilok]], lies a notable archaeological site, [[Vučedol]]. The ritual vessel called the [[Vučedol Dove]] (''vučedolska golubica'') is considered the symbol of Vukovar. Vučedol is also an excursion destination, frequented by anglers and bathers, especially the sandy beach on ''Orlov Otok'' (Eagle's Island).{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

[[Vukovar Synagogue]] was built in 1889, and was devastated by the Nazis in 1941. The ruins stood until they were demolished in 1958.

==Politics==
===Local Government===
[[File:County Court in Vukovar - Županijski sud Vukovar - Жупанијски суд Вуковар 02.jpg|thumb|left|Palača pravde – Palace of justice, the County Court in Vukovar]]
Following the [[2021 Croatian local elections]] the Assembly of the City of Vukovar is composed of 19 elected representatives.<ref name="Lokalni izbori 2021">{{cite web|url=https://www.izbori.hr/site/UserDocsImages/2021/Lokalni%20izbori%202021/Rezultati/Z16_VUKOVARSKO_SRIJEMSKA_ZUPANIJA.pdf|title=Rezultati izbora u Vukovarsko-srijemskoj županiji|publisher=The State Electoral Commission (DIP)|access-date=4 September 2021}}</ref> Out of a total of 23,138 eligible voters 11,160 or 48.23% participated in the elections and there were 10,808 or 96.85% valid ballots.<ref name="Lokalni izbori 2021"/> Right wing Ivan Penava's Independent List got 4,516 or 41.78% ballots and 9 elected representatives, [[Croatian Democratic Union]] got 2,347 or 21.71% ballots and 5 elected representatives, [[Independent Democratic Serb Party]] got 1,222 ballots or 11.30% and 2 elected representatives, former Social-Democrat major Želko Sabo's Independent List got 712 or 6.58% ballots and 1 elected representative, [[Democratic Alliance of Serbs]] got 631 or 5.83% ballots and 1 elected representative, coalition of the [[Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats]], [[Croatian Peasant Party]], [[Croatian Social Liberal Party]] and Active Independent Pensioners got 599 or 5.54% ballots and 1 elected representative.<ref name="Lokalni izbori 2021"/> Parties which failed to reach 5% of votes required for allocation of seats in the City Assembly were the [[Social Democratic Party of Croatia]] with 3.91%, Serb politician [[Dragan Crnogorac (politician)|Dragan Crnogorac]]'s Independent List with 1.72% and Pavao Josić's Independent List with 1.59%.<ref name="Lokalni izbori 2021"/>

The mayor of Vukovar was elected in the second round of the elections after nobody among 5 candidates received over 50% of votes.<ref name="Lokalni izbori 2021"/> In the second round right wing candidate Ivan Penava was elected with 5,392 votes, while losing candidate from the [[Croatian Democratic Union]] Nikola Mažar got 4,529 votes.<ref name="Lokalni izbori 2021"/> Deputy Mayor from the [[Serbs of Vukovar]] community was elected in the first round with [[Independent Democratic Serb Party]]'s candidate Srđan Kolar receiving 1,128 votes and the losing candidate from the [[Democratic Alliance of Serbs]] Srđan Milaković receiving 781 vote.<ref name="Lokalni izbori 2021"/>

{{election table|title=Summary of the [[2021 Croatian local elections]] for the City Assembly}}
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center
!colspan=2|Party
!Votes
!%
!Seats
|-
| width=5px bgcolor=#36454F|
|align=left valign=top|Ivan Penava's Independent List||4,516 ||41.78||9
|-
| bgcolor=#4D4DFF|
|align=left valign=top|[[Croatian Democratic Union]]||2,347||21.71||5 
|-
| bgcolor=#89CFF0|
|align=left valign=top|[[Independent Democratic Serb Party]]||1,222||11.30||2
|-
| bgcolor=#D44500|
|align=left valign=top|Željko Sabo's Independent List||712||6.58||1
|-
| bgcolor=#BF4F51|
|align=left valign=top|[[Democratic Alliance of Serbs]]||631||5.83||1
|-
| bgcolor=#A7FC00|
|align=left valign=top|[[Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats]]<br />[[Croatian Peasant Party]]<br />[[Croatian Social Liberal Party]]<br />Active Independent Pensioners||599||5.54||1
|-
| bgcolor=#E60026|
|align=left valign=top|[[Social Democratic Party of Croatia]]||423||3.91||0
|-
| bgcolor=#C3B091|
|align=left valign=top|[[Independent politician]] [[Dragan Crnogorac (politician)|Dragan Crnogorac]]'s list||186||1.72||0
|-
| bgcolor=#F4CA16|
|align=left valign=top|Pavao Josić's List||172||1.59||0
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Invalid/blank votes||352|| 3.15||—
|-
|align=left colspan=2|'''Total'''||'''11,160'''||'''100'''||—
|-
|align=left colspan=2|Registered voters/turnout||23,138||48,23||—
|-
|align=left colspan=8|
[[File:Assembly of the City of Vukovar (2021 local elections).png|250 px|center]]
|-
|align=left colspan=8|Source<ref name="Lokalni izbori 2021"/>{{in lang|hr}}
|}

==Institutions==
[[File:Županijska palača Vukovar - Жупанијска палата Вуковар.jpg|thumb|right|[[Palace of Syrmia County]], seat of the [[Vukovar-Syrmia County]].]]
Vukovar is the seat of several local organisations and institutions such as [[Vukovar-Syrmia County]], [[Polytechnic Lavoslav Ružička Vukovar]], [[Gymnasium Vukovar]], etc. It is also the seat of several organisations and institutions of the Serb minority in Croatia such as the [[Joint Council of Municipalities]], the [[Association for Serbian language and literature in the Republic of Croatia]], the [[Independent Democratic Serb Party]], the [[Party of Danube Serbs]] as well as the seat of the [[Consulate General of Republic of Serbia in Vukovar]].

===Minority councils and representatives===
Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting tasks for the local or regional authorities in which they are advocating for minority rights and interests, integration into public life and participation in the management of local affairs.<ref name="T-Portal">{{Cite web |url=https://www.tportal.hr/vijesti/clanak/manjinski-izbori-prve-nedjelje-u-svibnju-krecu-i-edukacije-20230313 |title=Manjinski izbori prve nedjelje u svibnju, kreću i edukacije |date= 13 March 2023 |author= |publisher=[[T-portal]] |access-date=2 May 2023}}</ref> At the [[2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives elections]] [[Hungarians of Croatia|Hungarians]], [[Pannonian Rusyns]] and [[Serbs of Vukovar]] fulfilled legal requirements to elect 15 members minority councils of the City of Vukovar while [[Ukrainians of Croatia]] elected their individual representative.<ref name="VSŽ-Manjine-2023">{{cite web | url=https://www.izbori.hr/site/UserDocsImages/2023/Manjinski%20izbori%202023/Rezultati/Z16_VUKOVARSKO_SRIJEMSKA_ZUPANIJA.pdf | title=Informacija o konačnim rezultatima izbora članova vijeća i izbora predstavnika nacionalnih manjina 2023. XVI. VUKOVARSKO-SRIJEMSKA ŽUPANIJA | date=2023 | author= | publisher=Državno izborno povjerenstvo Republike Hrvatske | pages=9–10 | language=hr | access-date=3 June 2023 | archive-date=3 June 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603112238/https://www.izbori.hr/site/UserDocsImages/2023/Manjinski%20izbori%202023/Rezultati/Z16_VUKOVARSKO_SRIJEMSKA_ZUPANIJA.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Museums==

===Vukovar Municipal Museum===
[[Vukovar Municipal Museum]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/Gradski-muzej-Vukovar-Vukovar-Municipal-Museum-866079006746945/|title=Gradski muzej Vukovar / Vukovar Municipal Museum|website=www.facebook.com|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref> was founded in 1948 by a donation of Roman money, furniture, weapons, and paintings given to his city by Dr. [[Antun Bauer (museologist)|Antun Bauer]]. The museum started in the Coach Post Building in the old [[baroque]] centre, but was moved to [[Eltz Manor|Castle Eltz]] in 1966. Up until 1991 the museum had about 50 thousand exhibits in four separate divisions:

The Heritage Museum displayed the history of Vukovar from prehistory to modern times and some of its most important collections included the items excavated at the [[archaeological site]] Vučedol and the Culture and History Collection, which contained documents, furniture, and pieces of art, and provided an authentic display of the life of the citizens of Vukovar and the [[Eltz]] family.

For its work on the cultural restoration of Vukovar, revitalizing the devastated city and involving the local community in its work, the Vukovar Municipal Museum received the prestigious European Silletto award – EMYA 2016, awarded by the [[European Museum Forum]] in San Sebastian, Spain.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.topictolosa.com/emya/winners/|title=Winners – EMYA 2016}}</ref>

'''Bauer Collection and Art Gallery''' contained the most complete overview of modern Croatian art from the end of the 19th and the early 20th century with special emphasis on the period between the two world wars. Among more than one thousand pieces of art the Collection contained the works of [[Vlaho Bukovac]], [[Mato Celestin Medović]], Ico Kršnjavi, [[Ivan Meštrović]], Fran Kršinić, [[Emanuel Vidović]], and many others.

[[File:20230429.Ansichten von Vukovar.-038.3.jpg|thumb|right|Bauer Gallery on the banks of the [[Danube]] with the Old Red Water Tower, the oldest of the 3 Vukovar Water Towers.]]

'''Memorial Museum of the [[Lavoslav Ružička|Nobel Prize Winner Lavoslav Ružička]]''', located in the house where he was born, it displayed original documents and medals from the life and work of the Nobel Prize winner, who received this prestigious award in 1939 for [[chemistry]].

Memorial Museum of the [[League of Communists of Yugoslavia|2nd Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia]] was located in the Workers' Hall building, former Grand Hotel, where the congress was held in 1920. The materials connected to the development of the [[labour movement]] and the founding of the [[Communist Party of Yugoslavia]] was exhibited and presented here.

During [[Croatian War of Independence]], Castle [[Eltz]] suffered significant damage and the collections which were kept there were also damaged: some of the exhibits were completely destroyed, some have disappeared and cannot be recovered, and some of them were taken to Serbia. After years of effort and diplomatic activity by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia that part of the collection was returned to Vukovar on 13 December 2001. In the period from 1991 to 1997 the Vukovar City Museum was operating in the [[Mimara Museum]] in [[Zagreb]].

Near the end of 1992 a collection was founded with the name Vukovar Museum in Exile which began the creation of a collection of donations by Croatian, and soon after also European, artists for the City of Vukovar. To this day that collection has gathered over 1400 pieces of modern Croatian and [[Art of Europe|European art]]. This collection represented the beginning of the cultural restoration of Vukovar and it is displayed at the restored Castle [[Eltz]] today, along with other museum collections which are part of the permanent collection of the museum.

Now that it is renovated, the Castle Eltz complex represents a unique museum and [[Art gallery|gallery]], science, and [[multimedia]] centre, which preserves and presents [[cultural heritage]] as an element of [[national identity]] and the continuity of life in this area.

In 2013 the Vukovar City Museum won a prestigious Anton Štifanić Award for special contributions to the development of tourism in the Republic of Croatia and in 2014 won the Simply the Best award.

===Vučedol Culture Museum===
[[File:Vucedol Culture Museum.jpg|thumb|The [[Vučedol Culture Museum]] and Archaeological Site bears testimony to one of the earliest [[Proto-Indo-European society|Indo-European cultures]]. In 2022 museum was the winner of the prestigious European "Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism" award.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.croatiaweek.com/vucedol-culture-museum-in-vukovar-wins-prestigious-european-award/#:~:text=Vu%C4%8Dedol%20Culture%20Museum%20in%20Vukovar%20wins%20prestigious%20European%20award,-by%20croatiaweek&text=The%20Vu%C4%8Dedol%20Culture%20Museum%20in,Sustainable%20Cultural%20Tourism%202022%E2%80%9D%20award | title=Vučedol Culture Museum in Vukovar wins prestigious European award| date=October 25, 2022| access-date=2023-11-30}}</ref>]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.waytocroatia.hr/en/component/k2/vukovar-home-of-the-vucedol-dove.html|title=Vukovar – Home of the Vučedol Dove – Way to Croatia|work=waytocroatia.hr|access-date=13 September 2015|archive-date=27 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927213409/http://www.waytocroatia.hr/en/component/k2/vukovar-home-of-the-vucedol-dove.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> is open on the tenth of June 2015. Is one of the most modern [[List of museums in Croatia|museums in Croatia]].

The museum is positioned on one side almost at the very [[Danube]] riverbank and on the other side, on four floors, in the hill, while its flat green roof is a [[promenade]] which leads to the archaeological site. As for the content, the permanent exhibition is displayed in 19 rooms on almost 1200 square metres. In addition to using state of the art technologies, multimedia and interactive content, the way of life on Vučedol culture localities, spreading through 12 European countries, is displayed.

==Events==
In Vukovar during the year there are many cultural events. Certainly the most important is the Danube region [[Vukovar Film Festival]].
*The [[Vukovar Film Festival]] is unique due to many things. It is the only film festival of the community of [[Danube]] region countries and the only one held literally on the Danube. It is designed to promote and spread the creative development of filmmakers from the region and it is organised with the intent to contribute to cultural [[Building restoration|restoration]] in the city destroyed in the [[Croatian War of Independence|Homeland War]]. The theme of the festival, the films from the Danube region countries, is logically connected to Vukovar as a centre of the Croatian part of the community of the Danube region. Cultural influences have always spread along the Danube. Since the Vukovar film festival is the only film festival focused on this region, on the international level it seeks to connect filmmakers from the Danube region countries, whose film making industries are some of the most vital in the world.[[File:20230429.Ansichten von Vukovar.-042.jpg|thumb|left|Winter port, Vukovar]]
*The Vukovar [[Chamber music]] Festival is held in the first half of June at the area of Castle [[Eltz Manor|Eltz]], the Chapel of Saint Rok, and the [[Church of Saints Philip and James, Vukovar|Church of Saint Filip and Jakov in Vukovar]], and it traditionally starts with a concert by the [[Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra]]. The guests of the festival are solo performers and [[chamber music|chamber]] ensembles from Croatia and Europe.
*The [[Vukovar Puppet Spring Festival]] was founded in 1996 as a national theatre conference. There are around 15 puppet theatres performing every year and in the five days of the festival they give around 100 performances in the towns and municipalities of Vukovarsko-Srijemska County. The centre of the festival is the town of Vukovar where 16 performances are played and where various workshops and an awards ceremony are held (for the award for life achievement in contribution to Croatian puppetry). The festival is held at the same time every year, the week before the [[Holy Week]] before Easter. In 2011 there were 16 puppet theatres from Croatia and abroad ([[Pécs|Pecs]], [[Mostar]]) that participated the festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.assitej-international.org/festival/vukovar-puppets-spring-2/|title=Vukovar puppets spring – Assitej International|website=www.assitej-international.org|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://vinkovci.com.hr/vinkovci/hrvatska/na-lutkarsko-proljece-dolaze-84-predstave|title=Na Lutkarsko proljeće dolaze 84 predstave, Vinkovci|website=Portal Vinkovci|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Vukovar2020 kolona sjecanja.jpg|thumb|right|''[[National Memorial Cemetery of The Victims of Homeland War in Vukovar]]'' during the [[Remembrance Day (Croatia)|National Remembrance Day]], public holiday on November 18, for all the victims of the war in [[Croatia]] and the [[Vukovar massacre]], one of the symbolic and crucial events in the [[Croatian War of Independence]] 1991.]]*[[Vincent of Saragossa|Saint Vinko's Day]] in Vučedol is an event held traditionally every year on 22 January at the Goldschmidt farm grounds. This event marks the beginning of the year's work in the [[vineyards]] and it starts with a blessing of the vineyards. Sausages and other cured meat products are hung on the vines, because of a tradition that by hanging large sausages on the vines, the grape vines will be more fruitful and the grape clusters will be large. The same legend claims that if on that day, before noon, icicles or snow melts and creates puddles in which a sparrow can bathe, the year will be fruitful and there will be so much wine that people can bathe in it. Along with an accompanying culture and art programme, this event represents a true vineyard experience, with mulled wine and delicacies that the [[Tourism|visitors]] may taste or prepare for themselves, on the fire.
*Bonofest is held every year in the middle of May. It is a festival of [[Spiritual (music)|spiritual music]] held in the [[Church of Saints Philip and James, Vukovar|church of Saint Filip and Jakov]]. The two evenings of the festival feature musicians who were selected by a committee of professionals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.turizamvukovar.hr/vukovar_eng.php?stranica=183|title=VUKOVAR TOURIST BOARD – Bonofest|work=turizamvukovar.hr|access-date=13 September 2015|archive-date=30 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930014912/http://www.turizamvukovar.hr/vukovar_eng.php?stranica=183|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*The Ethno fair is organised each year by the Vukovar City Tourist Board and takes place in September in the city centre in the "Hotel Grand" building. Various [[master craftsmen|craftsmen]], [[winemaker]]s and other manufacturers sell their handmade products which represent the heritage of this part of Croatia.
*The Vukovar Advent Festivities start four weeks during Advent during which a series of musical and performance events are organised. Each event is special as the traditional lighting of the candles is performed.
*Silent night in Vukovar is a traditional [[Christmas music|Christmas concert]] of [[Croatian Radiotelevision|Croatian National Television]]. It is held during Vukovar's Advent Festivities in the [[Church of Saints Philip and James, Vukovar|Church of St. Philip and James]]
*The [[Christmas Fair]] is held a couple of days before Christmas.
*‘SVI zaJEDNO HRVATSKO NAJ’, festival of non-material Croatian cultural heritage, held as part of the Vukovar City Day celebration at the beginning of May.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.croatiaweek.com/5th-svi-zajedno-hrvatsko-naj-festival-to-take-place-in-vukovar-on-5-7-may/|title=5th 'SVI zaJEDNO HRVATSKO NAJ' festival to take place in Vukovar on 5–7 May|publisher=Croatia Week|date=28 March 2023|access-date=29 June 2023}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[Port of Vukovar]] is situated on {{convert|1335|km|abbr=off}} of the downstream flow of Danube river, on its right coast, and is the biggest official concessioner in the Vukovar region. The Company focuses its business on the transshipment of general and bulk cargo. The Port (850m long and 45m wide) is conveniently situated on the main current of the river, enabling navigation throughout the whole year regardless of water level.
The Port recorded productivity growth and increase in cargo transshipment from 123,570 tons in 2009 to 295,199 tons in 2011. The majority of transshipment was in the category of bulk cargo (237,119 tons in 2011), while packaged goods and heavy cargo accounted for a total of 58,080 tons.

The economy of Vukovar is based on agriculture, trade, [[viticulture]], [[food industry]], [[textile industry]], building materials industry, footwear industry and tourism. Vukovar is the largest Croatian town and river port on the [[Danube]]. Its economy is based on trade, farming, [[viticulture]], livestock breeding, textiles, the food-processing industry, the footwear industry and tourism.
[[File:Startasice.jpg|thumb|right|[[Startas]] sport shoes, the [[flagship product|flagship]] brand of the [[Borovo (company)|Borovo shoe manufacturer.]] former member of the famous [[Bata Corporation|Group Bata]], the world first shoe producer. Brand Startas was born in 1976 thanks to the new techniques of rubber [[vulcanization]] invented in the 70s. Historically designed for Table tennis players.]]

However, the port infrastructure in Vukovar, only partly reconstructed, still does not meet the requirements of the market. The layout of the port area, particularly the access to railway tracks and the quay operational area, are technologically inappropriate and not compatible with market standards. There is also a lack of warehouse capacity. Altogether, it affects the quality of the service provided in the Port and thus decreases the port competitiveness.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.aik-invest.hr/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/PortVukovarEN.pdf |access-date=2023-11-30 | title=Port of Vukovar, Vukovar}}</ref>
[[File:Danube port of Vukovar, Croatia (by de.user.Perun).jpg|thumb|left|[[Port of Vukovar]] is Croatia's biggest river port.]]

Borovo, a manufacturer of footwear located in Vukovar, ended up devastated and demolished in 1991 during the war.  In its prime it employed 24,000 employees and tried to break into foreign markets with innovations in the manufacture of footwear, but today there are fewer than 1000 employees.

On 7 June 1931, Borovo was founded by [[Czechs|Czech]] industrialist [[Tomáš Baťa]]. Borovo Factory was one of the few Bata Shoes factories in the world. In 1933, the production of rubber and technical goods started, and Bata in the gum industry became one of the first companies in the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Between 1947 and the end of the 1980s, Borovo grew into the largest and most economically most powerful company in the production and sale of footwear and rubber in this part of Europe. Borovo Factory produced more than 20 million pair of [[shoes]] a year, thousands of tons of auto-rubber and rubber-technical goods, 22,000 people were employed at today's factories with more than 600 stores across the country. This time was marked by the significant export to European and other countries.

The Business Innovation Centre BIC-Vukovar is a rounded concept for the support of innovative, technologically oriented entrepreneurship independent of the size or maturity of the company. The goal of this centre is to attract or provide incentives for the creation and growth of technologically oriented companies in all phases of their life-cycle and provide them with a complete package of services to support their businesses, from workspaces, support for innovations, growth and export, as well as various intellectual and administrative services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bic-vukovar.hr/web/bic/index.php/en/2016-01-25-15-51-54/o-projektu|title=About project|website=bic-vukovar.hr|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref>

Since the end of the war, much of the infrastructure in Vukovar has remained unrestored and unemployment is estimated to stand at 40 percent.<ref name="Vukovar still divided 15 years on"/> Vukovar is underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the [[Areas of Special State Concern (Croatia)|First Category Area of Special State Concern]] by the [[Government of Croatia]].<ref name="ASSC-Hrčak-Lovrinčević">{{cite journal|url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?id_clanak_jezik=24709&show=clanak|last1=Lovrinčević |first1=Željko |last2=Davor |first2=Mikulić |last3=Budak |first3=Jelena |publisher=Ekonomski pregled, Vol.55 No.5-6 |title=AREAS OF SPECIAL STATE CONCERN IN CROATIA- REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIFFERENCES AND THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND EDUCATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS |journal=Ekonomski Pregled |volume=55 |issue=5–6 |pages=389–411 |date=June 2004 |access-date=25 August 2018 }}</ref>

==Transport==
[[File:Borovo Naselje - Train Station - panoramio.jpg|thumb|right|Main [[Vukovar-Borovo Naselje railway station]].]]

Vukovar is located in the northeastern part of the Republic of Croatia (45 ° 20 'north latitude and 16 ° 40' east longitude) and is the seat of the Vukovar-Srijem County. It lies at the mouth of the River Vuka in the Danube River (Luka Vukovar – Rkm 1335) and has a border position on the Danube River towards Serbia in Vojvodina. Due to the particularity of its geographical position, primarily marked by the international waterway – Danube River, Vukovar represents a significant traffic hub of the main roads.

There is a good traffic connection with the neighbouring countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary and Serbia. Vukovar is 16&nbsp;km away from the town of Vinkovci, the largest railway hub in Croatia. It is well connected by state road D55 via Vinkovci, 39&nbsp;km away from the node of Županja on the A3 Zagreb-Lipovac motorway. The 33&nbsp;km distant Osijek is connected by the state road D2, via which Vukovar is connected to Corridor Vc (motorway A6).

With [[Osijek Airport]], 20&nbsp;km north–west of Vukovar this area is also included in air traffic.

The city's position is very good for access to other markets within Central and South-Eastern Europe because it is located on or near the following trans-European corridors:

*Pan-European Transport Corridor VII – River [[Danube]] (Luka Vukovar)
*[[Osijek Airport]] -> 16&nbsp;km away
*Pan-European Transport [[Pan-European Corridor X|Corridor X]] – railway -> 14&nbsp;km from Vinkovci hub (largest regional railway hub)
*Highway [[A3 (Croatia)|A3]] -> 42&nbsp;km away
*The [[European route E73]] – the A5 and the A5 motorway -> 31&nbsp;km away

==Education and media==
===History and today===

In accordance with its position in the economic and [[Public administration|administrative]] terms of Vukovar developed in educational, cultural and health centre. For the 1730th Vukovar has developed popular education. From the [[Franciscan]] School has developed elementary school in Old Vukovar. New Vukovar has its own school.
[[File:Veleučilište_Vukovar_-_Висока_школа_Вуковар_02.jpg|thumb|Palace Jirkovsky, Vukovar School of Economics]]

They worked and denominational schools for children and [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish religion]], and schools in the German, [[Serbs|Serbian]] orthodox and [[Hungarians|Hungarian]]. Apprentice school was established in 1886. year, a gymnasium 1891st.

The first doctor with a diploma has been working in Vukovar since 1763, and the [[pharmacy]] was opened in 1791. The first small hospital was opened only in 1857.

Printing was opened in 1867 when they first came out and Vukovar in German newspaper ''Der Syrmier-Bote''.

Vukovar has seven primary schools and five high schools, including one [[gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]] ([[Gymnasium Vukovar]]) and one music school. The city is also home to the [[Polytechnic Lavoslav Ružička Vukovar|Lavoslav Ružička polytechnic]], which offers study opportunities in the fields of economics and trade, law and [[Kinesiology|kinesitherapy]]. Additionally, the [[University of Split]] runs dislocated studies in information technology, economics and law in Vukovar. Similarly, the [[University of Osijek]] offers programmes in economics and law.

In the period up to the [[First World War]], about 30 societies were active in Vukovar. Singing, [[reading]], sports and support societies had their own reading rooms, organized concerts and parties. Societies were often organized on a national basis. The first performance in the Croatian language was held in 1821, it was a dramatic work by the guardian of the Franciscan monastery Grga Cevapovic. The most influential Croatian society is the "[[Dunav]]" singing society. In 1922, the Croatian Home was opened in Vukovar, a place for all cultural events.<ref name=":1" />

==Sport==
[[File:Ruder-EM 2016 7.jpg|thumb|right|[[Damir Martin]] Croatian rower, the double Olympic silver medalist, who was born in Vukovar, already had two [[World Cup]] gold medals, winning in 2010 and 2013. ]]

Major sports facilities in the city of Vukovar are: [[Borovo Sports Hall]] (capacity 3,000 spectators) opened for maintenance International Table Tennis [[Championship]] of [[Yugoslavia]] (Borovo 1978),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.delcampe.net/page/item/id,136421530,var,Table-Tennis--Championship-of-Yugoslavia-Borovo-1978,language,E.html|title=Table Tennis – Championship of Yugoslavia Borovo 1978|work=delcampe.net|access-date=15 September 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060431/http://www.delcampe.net/page/item/id,136421530,var,Table-Tennis--Championship-of-Yugoslavia-Borovo-1978,language,E.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[HNK Vukovar '91|stadium FC Vukovar '91]], sport and recreation center "Lijeva Bara" with a hall for martial arts, Borovo naselje Tennis Centre, Sports Centre "Hrgović", with tennis courts and horse riding, firing range, "Hill-7" as well as several football stadiums including Vukovar City Stadium and the FC Vuteks Sloga Stadium.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Currently the most modern swimming pool complex in Croatia is open in March 2017 in Vukovar. Pool complex is located about 5&nbsp;km from city centre of Vukovar. Available is indoor swimming pool 50 x 25 metres. Also there are two smaller outdoor pools 22x12 metres and 25x12 metres. Inside swimming complex is also fitness room, sauna, dressing rooms, restaurant. Inside same sport complex is also sport hall available for all indoor sports, boxing, gym, fitness, bowling.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

==Use in popular culture==

*The [[siege of Vukovar]] is an important part in the background of the 2005 novel [[The Redeemer (novel)|''The Redeemer'']] by popular [[Scandinavian noir|Norwegian crime-writer]] [[Jo Nesbø]], in whose plot traumatized survivors of the siege arrive in [[Oslo]] and play a major role in the murder mystery which Inspector [[Harry Hole]] must solve.
* ''[[Harrison's Flowers]]'' is a French war drama from 2000, directed by Elie Chouraqui based on the novel "Diable à l' avantage" by [[Isabel Ellsen]]. The story takes place during the battle of Vukovar, in the middle of which an American woman ([[Andie MacDowell]]) searches for her missing husband, a journalist named Harrison, who disappeared during the siege. The film was shot in the United States and the Czech Republic. Starring: Andie MacDowell, [[Elias Koteas]], [[Brendan Gleeson]], [[Adrien Brody]] and [[David Strathairn]].
*During the Republic of Serbian Krajina occupation of the city, Serbian director [[Boro Drašković]] filmed ''[[Vukovar, jedna priča]]'' (''Vukovar: A Story'', also known as ''Vukovar poste restante''). The film was selected as the Serbian entry for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] at the [[67th Academy Awards]], but was not accepted as a nominee. It has been alternately characterised as an [[anti-war film]] and as [[war propaganda]].<ref name="jutarnji-2009">{{cite news | url = https://www.jutarnji.hr/kultura/film-i-televizija/j.-pavicic-film-me-iznervirao-zbog-te-vrste-politicke-retorike-2844575 | first = Jurica | last = Pavičić | author-link = Jurica Pavičić | title = J. Pavičić: Film me iznervirao zbog te vrste političke retorike | work=[[Jutarnji list]] | language = hr | date = 23 October 2009 | access-date = 22 February 2021}}</ref>
*The 1991 siege and [[Ovčara massacre|hospital massacre]] by [[Yugoslav People's Army|JNA]] paramilitaries is remembered in Croatian singer-songwriter [[Nenad Bach]]'s song "Vukovar."
*Dr. [[Luka Kovač]], the ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]'' character played by [[Goran Višnjić]], lived in Vukovar before his arrival in the US, which was motivated by deaths of his wife and children in the [[Siege of Vukovar]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO3KifNZFMM|title=Luka Talks About How His Family Died|publisher=YouTube (channel ER – Emergency Room)|date=5 January 2021}}</ref>
*Since 1984, there is [[Croatian Australians]]' Folklore ensemble "Vukovar" in [[Sydney]].<ref>{{cite web|language=hr|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/croatian/hr/podcast-episode/vukovar-proslavio-40-obljetnicu-pred-odusevljenom-publikom/i67hoz663|title="Vukovar" proslavio 40. obljetnicu pred oduševljenom publikom|trans-title="Vukovar" celebrated its 40th anniversary in front of delighted public|publisher=SBS|date=5 November 2024}}</ref>
==Gallery==
{{wide image|20230429.Donau.zwischen km 1255 und 1333.-076.1.jpg|800px|align-cap=center|Panoramic view of Vukovar.}}
{{wide image|Dvorac Eltz 08.jpg|800px|align-cap=center|The [[Eltz Manor|Eltz Family Manor]] Complex. [[Eltz Manor|Castle Eltz]], today's Vukovar Municipal Museum, was the main residence of the German [[Rhineland|Rhenish]] dynasty [[Eltz]] until [[1944]].}}
{{wide image|20230429.Donau.zwischen km 1255 und 1333.-032.1.jpg|800px|align-cap=center|Tourist [[Cruise ship]] on the [[Danube]] river, near Vukovar.}}

==Notable people==
{{Multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = vertical
| width     = 
| image1    = Lavoslav_Ružićka_1939.jpg
| width1    = 150
| alt1      = Leopold Ružička
| caption1  = [[Leopold Ružička|Leopold Ružička, winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry]]
| image2    = Ivana_Bodrožić_2020_01.jpg
| width2    = 150
| alt2      = Ivana Bodrožić
| caption2  = [[Ivana Bodrožić]]
| image3    = 
| width3    = 
| alt3      = 
| caption3  = 
| image4    = Siniša_Mihajlović.JPG
| width4    = 150
| alt4      = Siniša Mihajlović
| caption4  = [[Siniša Mihajlović]]
}}
<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->
{{Div col}}
* [[Nikola Andrić]], Croatian writer, philologist and translator
* [[Károly Unkelhäusser]], Hungarian politician
* [[Marko Babić (soldier)|Marko Babić]], Croatian soldier
* [[Rudy Baker]], official of the Communist Party of the United States of America
* [[Franjo Benzinger]], Croatian pharmacist
* [[Damir Bičanić]], Croatian handballer
* [[Zoran Bognar]], Serbian poet and writer
* [[Dražen Bošnjaković]], Croatian politician
* [[Aleksandar Čavrić]], Serbian footballer
* [[Saša Drakulić]], Serbian footballer
* [[Jakob Eltz]], German nobleman and former member of Croatian parliament
* [[Milan Gajić (footballer, born 1996)|Milan Gajić]], Serbian footballer, [[2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup|U-20 World]] champion
* [[Jovan Gavrilović]], politician and [[regent]] to adulthood of King [[Milan I of Serbia]]
* [[Siniša Glavašević]], Croatian reporter
* [[Dinko Jukić]], Austrian swimmer, European champion 
* [[Mirna Jukić]], Austrian swimmer, European champion and Olympic Games bronze medalist
* [[Damir Kreilach]], Croatian footballer
* [[Milan Mačvan]], Serbian basketball player, Olympic Games and Eurobasket silver medalist
* [[Damir Martin]], Croatian [[rower]]
* [[Tomislav Merčep]], Croatian politician and paramilitary leader
* [[Predrag Matić]], Croatian politician
* [[Siniša Mihajlović]], Serbian footballer, [[1990–91 European Cup|European Cup]] champion
* [[Tomislav Mikulić]], Croatian footballer
* [[Ante Miše]], Croatian footballer
* [[Petar Mlinarić]], Member of Croatian parliament
* [[Josip Mrzljak]], Croatian prelate, bishop of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Varaždin|Varaždin]]
* [[Zaharije Orfelin]], Serbian polymath
* [[Pavao Pavličić]], Croatian novelist
* [[Leopold Ružička]], [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]]
* [[Vladimir Štengl]], Former Member of the [[Croatian Parliament]] and former mayor of Vukovar
* [[Blago Zadro]], Croatian Army general
* [[Dario Zahora]], Croatian footballer
* [[Club Nation|Tezija Zararić]], Croatian musician
{{Div col end}}

==International relations==
{{See also|List of diplomatic missions in Croatia|List of twin towns and sister cities in Croatia}}

===Foreign representatives===
* {{flagicon|SER}} The [[Consulate General of Republic of Serbia in Vukovar|Consulate General of Republic of Serbia]] in the city of Vukovar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vukovar.mfa.gov.rs/lat/|title=Consulates- Vukovar, Croatia|work=mfa.gov.rs}}</ref>

===Twin towns – sister cities===
Vukovar is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref name=twins>{{cite web|title=Gradovi prijatelji|url=https://www.vukovar.hr/332-gradovi-prijatelji|publisher=Vukovar|language=hr|access-date=2021-12-06|archive-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331005220/https://www.vukovar.hr/332-gradovi-prijatelji|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Dubrovnik]], Croatia 1993
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Podstrana]], Croatia 1995
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Sinj]], Croatia 2011
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Šibenik]], Croatia 2011
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Trogir]], Croatia 2011
*{{flagicon|SRB}} [[Bač, Serbia|Bač]], Serbia 2011
||
*{{flagicon|BIH}} [[Mostar]], Bosnia and Herzegovina 2012
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Dugopolje]], Croatia 2014
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Škabrnja]], Croatia 2015
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Makarska]], Croatia 2015
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Knin]], Croatia 2015
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Varaždin]], Croatia 2017
*{{flagicon|BIH}} [[Odžak]], Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018
||
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Imotski]], Croatia 2018
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Karlovac]], Croatia 2018
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Split, Croatia|Split]], Croatia 2019
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Krk]], Croatia 2020
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Omiš]], Croatia 2022
*{{flagicon|SVK}} [[Partizánske]], Slovakia 2021<ref>{{cite web|title=Potpisan Memorandum o razumijevanju i uspostavi partnerstva s gradom Partizánske|url=https://www.vukovar.hr/vijesti/sve-vijesti/upravni-odjeli/289-upravni-odjel-za-gospodarstvo-poljoprivredu-i-medunarodnu-suradnju/11637-potpisan-memorandum-o-razumijevanju-i-uspostavi-partnerstva-s-gradom-partizanske|publisher=Vukovar|language=hr|access-date=2021-12-06|archive-date=30 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630201922/https://www.vukovar.hr/vijesti/sve-vijesti/upravni-odjeli/289-upravni-odjel-za-gospodarstvo-poljoprivredu-i-medunarodnu-suradnju/11637-potpisan-memorandum-o-razumijevanju-i-uspostavi-partnerstva-s-gradom-partizanske|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|}

== Explanatory notes ==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Barišić Bogišić |first=Lidija |title=O neslavenskom stanovništvu na vukovarskom području |publisher=Hrvatska sveučilišna naklada  |isbn= 978-953-169-497-1 |date=2022 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Cresswell|first1=Peterjon|last2=Atkins|first2=Ismay|last3=Dunn|first3=Lily|title=Time Out Croatia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZweAAAACAAJ|access-date=10 March 2010|date=10 July 2006|publisher=Time Out Group Ltd & Ebury Publishing, [[Random House|Random House Ltd.]] |edition=First|location=London, Berkeley & Toronto|isbn=978-1-904978-70-1}}
* {{cite book|last1=Cvek|first1=Sven|last2=Račić|first2=Jasna|last3=Ivčić|first3=Snježana |date=2019 |title=BOROVO U ŠTRAJKU: rad u tranziciji 1987. - 1991. |url=http://borovo1988.radnickaprava.org/system/articles_document/doc/22/BOROVO_U_STRAJKU_compressed_WEB.pdf |publisher=[[Rosa Luxemburg Foundation]] |location=[[Zagreb]] |isbn=978-953-58721-3-9}}
* {{cite journal | language = hr | title = Srpska pobuna u selima vukovarske općine 1990. - 1991. | trans-title = Serb Rebelion in the Villages of Vukovar Municipality 1990. - 1991. | first = Vladimir | last = Filipović | journal = Scrinia Slavonica | volume = 22 | number = 1 | year = 2022 | pages = 291–319 | publisher = Department for the History of Slavonia, Srijem and Baranja of the Croatian Institute of History | doi = 10.22586/ss.22.1.9 | doi-access = free }}
{{refend}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Matijević |first=Danijel |date=2024 |title=Ustašism as Ideology and Practice: Mass Violence and Genocide in Vukovar District, Croatia, 1939–1945 |type=Doctor of Philosophy |publisher=[[University of Toronto]] |hdl=1807/138059 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/1807/138059 |access-date= 26 April 2024}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Vukovar}}
{{wikivoyage|Vukovar}}
* [http://www.vukovar.hr/ Official site] {{in lang|hr}}
* [http://www.turizamvukovar.hr/index.php?lang=en Tourist office Vukovar]
* [http://see-croatia.com/index.php?level=album&id=45 Photo Gallery of Vukovar]

{{Vukovar}}
{{Subdivisions of Vukovar-Srijem County}}
{{County seats of Croatia}}
{{Croatian cities}}
{{Danube}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Vukovar| ]]
[[Category:13th-century establishments in Croatia]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Croatia]]
[[Category:Populated places in Syrmia]]
[[Category:Populated places in Vukovar-Srijem County]]
[[Category:Populated places on the Danube]]
[[Category:Syrmia County]]