highlights

Take a walk among the picturesque antique Austro-Hungarian streets of the city centre, explore one of the largest fortresses on the Danube river, stroll around the authentic middle ages Petrovaradin town, take a look at the frescoes in Almaska and Saborna church - the works of the great Serbian painters - or admire the stained glass windows of the Catholic church, a masterpiece from Hungarian and Czech craftsmen.... Don't miss upon the unusual architecture of the early 20th century Bishops' Court, the large synagogue in Jewish street, or walking up to the Clock tower to enjoy the scenic view of the city and the river...

history

 

The history of Novi Sad begins in 1694, when a bridge-head was built on the northern bank of Danube, opposite to the Petrovaradin fortress that was the stronghold of the Austrian army in their fights with the Turks.

Soon afterwards a settlement started to grow around the bridge-head, inhabited mostly by soldiers, craftsmen and traders.

In 1702 the Danubian Military Frontier was established and permanently inhabited by two hussar troops and one 'hajduk' troop. In 1708, Novi Sad becomes the seat of the Orthodox bishop of Backa.

In 1738, when it became obvious that Austria is losing the war and that Belgrade is about to fall to the Turks, Serbs and Germans started to shift their properties up the river Danube to Novi Sad, which was still called the Petrovaradin Rampart at the time.

On February 1st, 1748, this town acquires the status of the Queen's Free Town and is given the name Neoplanta (in Latin), Neusatz (German), Ujvidek (Hungarian) and Novi Sad (Serbian). The name can be translated as "The New Plant".

getting there

 

You can reach Novi Sad by car (E75 main road), bus or train.

Train station (phone +381 21 44 32 00) and the main (intercity) bus station (phone + 381 21 444 021) are situated at the crossroad of the Boulevard of Liberation ("Bulevar oslobodjenja") and Jase Tomica street, next to each other. The local bus station (+381 21 52 73 99) is the very centre of the town, next to the so called "Fish market" ("Riblja pijaca").

Buses to Belgrade leave from the main bus station, at the start of Bulevar Oslobodjenja street. During rush-hours, there is a bus at each 10 minutes and outside the rush-hours there are a couple of buses per hour, from 5am to 11pm. One way ticket costs about 5 Euros and the student/youth discounts are available depending on the transport company.

Buses to Subotica go between 6am and 11pm.

There are ten daily trains to Belgrade from 5:28am till 10:32pm and the one way ticket costs about 3 Euros.

Trains for Subotica leave from 4:34am till 10:10pm and there are ten lines during the day.

There is one daily train to Bar (Montenegro), leaving Novi Sat at 21:10.

As for the international trains, the train to Budapest and Vienna leaves every day at 11:45pm, and at 9:51am there is a train to Budapest that divides there into two lines - one for Kiev and Moscow and the other one for Gyor and Vienna.

things to see

 

Old City Centre

The narrowest centre of the town is divided between the streets of Zmaj Jova ("Zmaj-jovina"), Danube ("Dunavska") and King Alexander ("Kralja Aleksandra"). Most of the buildings in these streets were erected in 19th and early 20th century. In the very centre of the town there is the Town Hall, built under the Austro-Hungarian rule and opposite to it stands the Catholic church (affectionately known among the Novi Sad citizens as "the cathedral") dedicated to Virgin Mary, which was completed in 1895. The Church was built in neogothic style and there a clock on each side of the 76 metres high bell tower. The roof and the tower are covered in multicoloured tiles and the windows are decorated by the stained glass designed by Czech and Hungarian craftsmen. Next to the church, there is the building knows as the "Iron man", after the statue of an armour-clad soldier with a spear that is set in its upper facade.

Walking away from the church down the Zmaj-jovina street, which hosts many of the old Novi Sad houses, you reach the Bishops' Court ("Vladicanski dvor") from 1904. This is the seat the Orthodox Bishop of Backa, tiled in red stones in the style that is an interesting cross between the romanticism and the baroque. Left to the Court is the Pasiceva street, in which the "Assembly church", dedicated to St. George, renovated in 1905, with iconostasis by a famous painter Paja Jovanovic. Going a bit further down the Pasiceva street, you come across the Matica Srpska building. On the right from the Bishops' Court there is the Danube street, one of the oldest in town. At the beginning of this street there is a building known as the "White lion", erected in 1720. At the end of the pedestrian zone of this street is the Danube ("Dunavski") Park, with many different tree species and a miniature lake in which a family of swans lives. Walking further down the Danube street, past the Park, you reach the Museum of Vojvodina (Address: Dunavska 35-37. Open on Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm and on Sunday from 9am to 2pm. In July and August, it is open only from 9am to 2pm. Ticket price: 0.6 Euros or 0.3 Euros for students). The Museum contains archaeological, ethnological, art history, zoological, botanical, geological and mineralogical collections. Going a little further down Dunavska street will take you to the bank of Danube.

The Quay is the long promenade by the Danube river, and it stretches along the whole length of the town's riverbank. The part opposing the Fortress is called the Raid Victims' Quay and there is a monument to the Novi Sad citizens killed in the Big Raid that took place on Christmas 1942. On that day, numerous families were thrown under the Danube ice. By crossing the bridge there, you reach the oldest part of the city, called Petrovaradin, where the famous Fortress is located.

Going away from the Catholic church and passing by the Town Hall from the right side, you arrive to the large square on which the vast building of Serbian National Theatre is placed, built in the socialist style. When you pass the Theatre, you enter the Jewish street (Jevrejska ulica) and a couple of hundred metres further you will find the Novi Sad synagogue on your left. It was built in 1909, on the location of an older building. Above the door, there is a golden sign in Hebrew saying "This is the place of prayer for all nations". On the facade there is a memorial plate saying that all local Jews were collected in this synagogue in order to be taken to concentration camps. Today, the synagogue is used as a concert hall.

Another interesting place is Almaska Church (address: 15, Almaska Street), erected in late 18th century in neo-classicist style. The woodcarving work was done by Aksentije Markovic, and icons and part of the wall paintings were done by Aksentije Teodorovic. The icon on the Holy Mother's throne, The Holy Mother with Christ, was painted by Uros Predic in 1905.

Petrovaradin

Petrovaradin was created in 12th century and it played an important role in trade between the Byzantine Empire and Hungary. Bela IV, Hungarian king, bestowed Petrovaradin in 1237 to the Cistercite monastery, whose remnants have recently been dug out on the Fortress and can be seen right next to the museum. After the Tatar invasion (1247-1252) the Cistercites built a fortification to defend themselves.

The old Petrovaradin town today still looks exactly the same as it did several centuries ago. Houses are mostly one or two stories high, with many interesting archaeological details. The street that leads from the bridge into town is the main Petrovaradin street and goes to the mini tunnel or arch called the Belgrade gate. Beyond that gate lays the newer part of Petrovaradin.

The church of the Lady of Snow, on Tekije, at the exit from Petrovaradin on the road to Karlovci was built on the location of a great battle in which the Austro-Hungarian army under the command of the Eugene of Savoy defeated the Turks in 1716 and it has been renovated in 1881. It was built in gothic style, has two towers and inside there are altars for three Christian branches: Catholic in the front and the Orthodox and Protestant on either sides of the entrance. In front of the Church there is a crucifix created in 1910.

Petrovaradin Fortress

The construction of this fortress started in 1247. In 1526 Turks took it over from the Austrians, under the rule of Suleiman II the Magnificent.

Austrian army regains possession of the Fortress in 1691, under the command of the lord Ludwig of Baden. The construction continues according to the project of a French military architect, Sebastian Voban.

In 1694 the Austrians build, on the other side of the Danube, a triangle-shaped bridgehead around which Novi Sad will later grow. This bridgehead can still be seen and the monument for the victims of the Raid is placed on it.

The Fortress today presents a pleasant place for taking a walk. The long staircase that passes through a couple of wide tunnels reaches a plateau with a splendid view of the city. There is also the clock tower which is considered as the symbol of Novi Sad. The clock originates from Alsace and it was given to the city by the Queen Maria Theresia in early 18th century and it has worked accurately ever since.

The Fortress spreads over 112 hectares (about 230 acres) with a unique system of underground hallways, some of which remain unexplored even today. Visiting a part of these halls is possible in a guided tour (10am-5pm, closed on Mondays). On the Fortress there is the Novi Sad city museum (open daily 9am-5pm), whose permanent exhibition displays old furniture, art paintings and everyday house objects from these areas in 18th-20th century.

Museums and galleries

Except for the Museum of Vojvodina (in the old town centre) and the Novi Sad City Museum (at the Fortress), the Nature Science Museum (address: Radnicka Street 20a, open daily 8am-7pm) can be of interest, although its permanent exhibition isn't very large.

As for the galleries, the most important ones are at the Gallery Square ("Trg galerija"), at the beginning of Vase Stajica street, in the very centre of the town. The Gallery of Matica Srpska (Trg galerija 1, open Tue-Thu and Sat 10am-8pm, Fri 12am-8pm, on Saturday for pre-arranged visits only) contains paintings from Vojvodina, dating from 17th to 20th century. The Memorial Collection of Pavle Beljanski (Trg galerija 2, open Wed and Fri-Sun 10am-6pm, Thu 1pm-9pm) holds the Serbian painters' work from the first half of 20th century. Another interesting place is the Donation Collection of Rajko Mamuzic (Vase Stajica street 1, open Wed-Sun 9am-5pm) which holds the pieces of post-WW2 Yugoslav paintings and sculptures.