The aim of this thesis is to describe the existing linguistic diversity and language policies in the city of Osijek. Linguistic diversity was primarily analysed as the habitus of multilingual children and young people in the city of Osijek and its surroundings, but also on the basis of the census data as well as the data obtained through interviews with stakeholders. Language policies in the thesis concern both - the official, de jure policies, but also hidden, de facto language policies, with the latter of greater concern. An analysis of language policies and linguistic diversity was conducted on the basis of ideologies present in the society, agency, as perceived through the language-as-responsibility orientation and finally through the account of the language ecology in the city. The research is mainly based on qualitative methods and includes semi-structured interviews with children, young people and the stakeholders. The basic conclusions of the study point to the marginalization of multilingual identities and misrecognition of these language resources as a valuable capital of the whole community. In addition, the research has displayed the sensitive nature of multilingualism due to the processes of reconstruction of the community which have not yet been completed. These challenges indicate the need for the transformation of the existing educational models and the prevalent monoethnic discourses. Finally, although multilingualism in the city of Osijek is perceived as a part of the city’s identity and represents the richness of the city of Osijek, it is clear that the languages that have played a part in the creation of the city’s identity will disappear from the language map if systematic and planned revitalisation measures are not taken.