Nova Gradiška is often referred to as The Youngest Town. The town of Nova Gradiška was founded in 1748 as an outpost in the Military Frontier and was first named Friedrichsdorf in German. Already in 1750 it was renamed Neu-Gradischka which later became Nova Gradiška in the Croatian language. The Hungarian name is Újgradiska. Before 1881, Nova Gradiška was part of the Austrian monarchy, in the Slavonian Military Frontier, Gradiskaner Regiment N°VIII. The first building constructed was the church of Saint Tereza, which is an important monument of baroque architecture in Slavonia. The old core of the town comprises the church of Saint Terezija and the old court house and prison from the 18th century. Between 1881 and 1918, Nova Gradiška was a district capital in the Požega County of the Kingdom.
Communications
The town is located on the M104 railway line, frequently served by passenger trains at the local Nova Gradiška railway station. The A3 motorway also passes nearby. The highway and railway are part of the Pan European corridor X. Bus traffic within the town as well as suburban traffic is very well developed. There is also a connection to Požega via the D51 road and the nearby border crossing to Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in Stara Gradiška.
Settlements
The administrative area of Nova Gradiška includes the following settlements:
Here are several hotels and other tourist resorts present. The Tourist board is also present and well developed in Nova Gradiška. There are a number of townfaires. Some of the most important ones are:
granted the rights for construction of the Roman Catholic Chapel of Teresa of Ávila in Nova Gradiška in 1756. The church was damaged by the forces of the Republic of Serbian Krajina during the Croatian War of Independence. In XIX century the new Church of Virgin Mary on the town square was initiated. Aulic Council prevented the authorities of the Slavonian Military Frontier from destroying the church with intention to build a school at its place. Historically, there were also two Serbian Orthodox Churches in Nova Gradiška, one of them destroyed during the World War II and one during the Croatian War of Independence. Those were the Church of Saint Nicolas and the Church of the Holy Trinity. The Church of the Holy Trinity was the central orthodox church located at the town square. It was erected in 1824 at the spot of an earlier wooden church from 1955. The church was destructed by quisling Ustasha regime in 1941. The new neo-Byzantine Church of the Holy Trinity was complete in 1982 but it was detonated 9 times and destroyed during the Croatian War of Independence. The second church of Saint Nicolas was constructed in 1818 on the local cemetery, it was reconstructed in 1866 but it was also destroyed during the Croatian War of Independence.
Today some furniture industry and beer industry exists in small parts. There is an initiative to extend the industry park. Before the Croatian War of Independence, there was metallurgy industry in the town, which went bankrupt.
