Bilje is a village and municipality on the outskirts of nature park

Nature park

A nature park is a landscape protected by means of long-term planning, use and agriculture. These valuable landscapes are preserved in their present state and promoted for touristic purposes....

 Kopački Rit

Kopacki Rit

Kopački Rit , is a nature park in eastern Croatia. It is located northwest of the confluence of the Drava and the Danube, situated at the border with Serbia. It comprises many backwaters and ponds along the Danube...

 in the region of Baranja, Osijek-Baranja County

Osijek-Baranja County

Osijek-Baranja county is a county in Croatia, located in northeastern Slavonia and Baranja. Its center is Osijek; other cities include Đakovo, Našice, Valpovo, Belišće, Beli Manastir.-Administrative divisions:Osijek-Baranja county is divided into:...

, Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, situated 8 km northeast of Osijek

Osijek

Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...

.

Geography

The municipality of Bilje include following settlements and population (2001 census):

• Bilje
  Bilje
  Bilje is a village and municipality on the outskirts of nature park Kopački Rit in the region of Baranja, Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia, situated 8 km northeast of Osijek.-Geography:...
  
   - 3,224
• Kopačevo
  Kopacevo
  Kopačevo is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Bilje municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 608 people.-See also:*Osijek-Baranja county*Baranja...
  
   - 608
• Kozjak
  Kozjak, Bilje
  Kozjak is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Bilje municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 93 people.-See also:*Osijek-Baranja county*Baranja...
  
   - 93
• Lug
  Lug, Bilje
  Lug is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Bilje municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 852 people....
  
   - 852
• Podunavlje
  Podunavlje, Bilje
  Podunavlje is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Bilje municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 2 people.-See also:*Osijek-Baranja county*Baranja...
  
   - 2
• Tikveš
  Tikveš, Bilje
  Tikveš is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Bilje municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 29 people.-See also:*Osijek-Baranja county*Baranja...
  
   - 29
• Vardarac
  Vardarac
  Vardarac is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Bilje municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 660 people.-References:...
  
   - 660
• Zlatna Greda
  Zlatna Greda
  Zlatna Greda is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Bilje municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 12 people.-See also:*Osijek-Baranja county*Baranja...
  
   - 12

Demographics

There are 5,480 inhabitants in the municipality (2001 census), including: http://www.dzs.hr/Hrv/censuses/Census2001/Popis/H01_02_02/H01_02_02_zup14.html

• 55.11% Croats
  Croats
  Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
  
  
• 35.05% Hungarians
• 4.49% Serbs
  Serbs
  The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
  
  
• 1.13% Roma
• 1.08% Germans
  Germans
  The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
  
  

Features

Chief occupations among the population are farming, livestock breeding and food processing (a mill). The manor with the park represents the major tourist attraction; the park is protected as a horticultural monument.

The neighbouring village of Mece is the centre of one of the oldest industrial-agricultural cooperative farms in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 Belje.

Kopački Rit

Kopacki Rit

Kopački Rit , is a nature park in eastern Croatia. It is located northwest of the confluence of the Drava and the Danube, situated at the border with Serbia. It comprises many backwaters and ponds along the Danube...

, situated at the confluence of the Drava

Drava

Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...

 and the Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

, the unique preserved wetland area in this part of Europe is not far from Mece. The area surrounding Kopački Rit offers rich hunting grounds for high game (deer in particular) and equally opulent fishing grounds.