Baranya or Baranja (Hungarian: Baranya, pronounced [ˈbɒrɒɲɒ]; Croatian: Baranja, pronounced [bǎraɲa]; German: Branau) is a geographical region between the Danube and the Drava rivers. Its territory is divided between Hungary and Croatia. In Hungary, the region is included into Baranya county, while in Croatia, it is included into Osijek-Baranja county.
The name of the region come from the Slavic word 'bara', which means 'marsh', 'bog', thus the name of Baranya means 'marshland'. Even today large parts of the region are swamps, such as the natural reservation Kopački Rit in its southeast. Another theory states that the name of the region come from the Slavic and Hungarian word 'bárány', which means 'lamb'.
During the history, the region of Baranya was part of the Roman Empire, the Hunnic Empire, the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, the Kingdom of the Lombards, the Avar Kingdom, the Frankish Empire, the Balaton Principality, the Bulgarian Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire and the Austria-Hungary. Since 1918/1921, the region was divided between Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as Yugoslavia).