ESZEK, Germ. Esseck or Essegg, Slav. Oszek, a fortified royal free town of Hungary, province of Croatia-Slavonia, situated on the right bank of the Drave, 13 miles from its confluence with the Danube,in 45° 33'N.lat., 18° 43'E. long. The town is divided by a wide esplanade into four parts, viz., the fortress or town proper, the upper, the lower, and the new town. The most important buildings are the barracks, capable of accommodating 3000 men, the town hall, and the old county hall. It has also Roman Catholic, Greek, and other churches, four silk-weaving factories, agymnasium, and a normal high school. A wooden bridge crosses the Drave and the swampy ground adjoining. There is steam communication with several places on the Upper Danube, and the trade in raw hides, cattle, and corn is very extensive. Eszék stands on the site of the ancient Roman town Mursia Aelia, founded by the emperor Hadrian, 125 a.d., and afterwards became the capital of Lower Pannonia. The town was made the seat of a bishopric by Constantine in 335, which, however, ceased to exist after the destruction of the colony by Attila in 447. The Slavonians settled there in the 6th century. In 1526 Eszék was occupied by the Turks, who having defeated the Germane there in 1537, remained for about a century and a half in possession of the town, which ultimately came under Austrian rule in 1687. Eszék surrendered to the Hungarians in October 1848, but was retaken by the Austrians on the 14th February 1849. It has been a royal free town since 1809. Population in 1870, 17,247.