Hauptmerkmale der geografischen Lage Vukovars

U povijesnom razvitku grada Vukovara prosperitetna razdoblja smjenjivala su se s onima u kojima je grad gubio na značenju i prostornom utjecaju. Kao posebno povoljno razdoblje ističe se 18. i 19. stoljeće, kada Vukovar uz Osijek i Zemun postaje jedno od tri najvažnija gradska središta istočne Hrvatske. U tom razdoblju Vukovar je ponajprije važno trgovačko i obrtničko središte, ali i važna dunavska luka. U 20. stoljeću glavni prometni tokovi u istočnoj Hrvatskoj odmiču se od Vukovara, pa je grad doživio stagnaciju, koja je dobrim dijelom posljedica položajne marginalizacije grada. No bez obzira na to Vukovar i dalje uživa neke položajne prednosti, prema kojima je Vukovar jedinstven grad ne samo u istočnohrvatskoj ravnici nego u Hrvatskoj u cjelini. Vukovar je jedini hrvatski grad i pristanište na Dunavu, a budući da Dunav Hrvatskom protječe rubno, to je Vukovar i grad na samoj međunarodnoj granici. Kao grad na Dunavu Vukovar je bez konkurencije u Hrvatskoj, što se, između ostaloga, vidi iz podataka o prometu riječnih pristaništa u Hrvatskoj. Kao grad na granici Vukovar je u 1990-im godinama iskusio negativne strane takva položaja, no ubuduće takav položaj može postati razvojna prednost toga grada.In the history of Vukovar there have been prosperous periods as well as periods of the town\u27s decreasing importance and spatial impact. As an outstandingly prosperous period remain the 18th and 19th centuries when Vukovar was among the three most important urban centres of Eastern Croatia, together with Osijek and Zemun. Vukovar was primarily the centre of trade and crafts but also became an important port on the Danube river. In the 20th century the most important transportation routes in the region moved further away and left Vukovar at the positional margin within the region. However, some positional characteristics have remained as advantages of Vukovar. Vukovar is the only Croatian town and river-port situated on the Danube. Due to the fact that the Danube river flows marginally through Croatia, Vukovar is also a town situated right on the international border. As a town on the Danube, Vukovar has no other town in Croatia to compete with, which is illustrated by figures of total cargo handled in Croatian river-ports. As a town situated on the international border, Vukovar was exposed to Serbian aggression in the 1990s and therefore suffered from the negative impacts of its position. The positive effects that may come out of Vukovar\u27s position of a border-town remain a possibility to be realised in the future.Im Laufe seiner historischen Entwicklung durchläuft Vukovar Zeiten des Aufschwungs, aber auch der Rezession, während derer die Stadt ihre Bedeutung und Wirkungskraft einbüßt. Ganz besonders vorteilhaft für die Stadtentwicklung sind das 18. und 19. Jahrhundert, als Vukovar neben Osijek und Zemun zu einem der wichtigsten städtischen Mittelpunkte Ostkroatiens wird. In dieser Zeit ist Vukovar zunächst ein bedeutendes Handelszentrum und Sitz zahlreicher Handwerker, aber auch ein wichtiger Donauhafen. Im 20. Jahrhundert gerät die Stadt immer mehr ins Abseits und stagniert, da die Hauptverkehrswege den Osten des Landes umgehen. Die geografische Lage Vukovars weist aber auch weiterhin bestimmte Vorteile auf, die ihm einen Sonderstatus nicht nur in der Tiefebene Ostkroatiens, sondern landesweit sichern. Vukovar ist der einzige Donauhafen Kroatiens und somit eine internationale Grenzstadt, da die Donau die nördliche Grenze des Landes markiert. Insofern hat diese Stadt hierzulande nicht ihresgleichen, was sich anhand des kroatischen binnenländischen Schiffsverkehrs bestätigen lässt. Zwar litt Vukovar in den 90er-Jahren unter den negativen Auswirkungen seiner spezifischen geografischen Lage, doch in der Zukunft kann diese sich für die Entwicklung der Stadt als Vorteil erweisen