Petrovaradin Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in May)

The 'Gibraltar' of the Danube—Petrovaradin Fortress

Novi Sad is a city in northern Serbia and the second largest city in Serbia. The landmark of Novi Sad is the Petrovaradin Fortress, which is located on a volcanic rock on the right bank of the Danube River. Due to the extremely important strategic position of the fortress, located at the confluence of the Danube River and the Bacska Canal, it naturally forms a barrier to the gorge that guards the northern gate of the former Yugoslavia, known as the 'Gibraltar on the Danube'. In 1687, the Austrian army captured the Petrovaradin Fortress, which had been controlled by the Ottoman Turks for 150 years, and from 1692 the Austrians began to demolish the old fortress and build new defensive works, which took a long 94 years to complete. The fortress is not only situated on high ground, making it easy to defend but hard to attack, but also has a complex system of winding and interlacing tunnels underground, truly a defensive fortress in every sense. It is said that in 1813, during the resistance against Napoleon's invasion, Emperor Francis I of Austria once hid his crown in this fortress, which is claimed to be the most perfect and impregnable in the world. The clock tower on the fortress is its iconic sight (Picture 6), characterized by the reversal of the lengths of the hour and minute hands, with the hour hand being longer than the minute hand. It is said that this was done so that fishermen could see the time from a distance on the water. Next to the clock tower is an observation deck, from which one can overlook the panoramic view of the Danube and the cityscape of Novi Sad. At a glance, the red bricks and green trees are filled with the romantic European charm. The fortress has been damaged in countless wars, rebuilt, damaged again, and rebuilt again. The mottled bricks and tiles, and the numerous scars record the vicissitudes it has experienced. Under these walls, it is unknown how many lives have been buried. Additionally, the fortress is also the venue for the annual 'EXIT Music Festival', which takes place around July-August each year. In the 1990s, Serbia was in turmoil, and the first Exit Music Festival originated from a student movement in the University Park in 2000, to protest for democracy and freedom in Serbia and the Balkans. The festival initially had an anti-war meaning, as Serbians hoped to find an exit to break through the blockades of war and the shackles of thought, and this exit was music. It is now known as one of the best major music festivals in Europe. 📝tips: Coming down from the castle, you can wait for bus 61 or 62 by the roadside to go to Sremski Karlovci, commonly known as the wine town. If you are staying in the old town area, you can plan to visit these two attractions together in one day, as they are in the same direction.

Here are a few things you must know before traveling to Serbia~ Especially don't miss Novi Sad!

Having already traveled through the central, northern, and western parts of the country~ I have a general understanding, so let me summarize: Serbia, a country located in southeastern Europe, is a landlocked country on the Balkan Peninsula, bordering eight countries, four of which are former Yugoslav members. In recent years, Serbia's economy has grown rapidly, and it has gradually become one of the popular travel destinations in Europe. In 2015, it was rated by Lonely Planet as one of the 'top ten travel destinations worth visiting'. Serbia is one of the places with the most intact natural ecological protection in Europe, with exceptionally rich natural scenery, orchards, forests, grasslands, peaks, canyons, lakes, rivers, vineyards and vineyards everywhere, with very little pollution and fresh air~ The Danube, the European river that flows through the most countries, one-fifth of which is in Serbia. I visited four cities in total: Belgrade, Novi Sad, Subotica, and Zlatibor~ Let me share about Novi Sad! Last time I came to Novi Sad it was early spring, the flowers were in full bloom~ everything was reviving, a scene full of vitality Walking around the central square of Novi Sad in winter, I think it fits more with the tenacious character of Serbia Novi Sad, which experienced the turmoil of the European Revolution in 1848, had already become the cultural center of Serbia in that era, and was given the beautiful name 'Athens of Serbia'~ Historically, Novi Sad has always maintained the characteristics of multi-ethnic cohabitation and coexistence of multiple cultures, with Serbs, Hungarians, and Germans being the main ethnic groups in the city Today's Novi Sad is still a city where multiple ethnic groups live together, it has a unique charm and diverse culture, in addition to the Serbs~ there are also Hungarians, Slovaks, Czechs, Romanians, Croatians and other ethnic groups Other places I recommend not to miss when coming to Serbia: The capital of Serbia, Belgrade~ This is one of the oldest cities in Europe, located at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers, it is known as the 'crossroads of the eastern and western worlds'. When you get to Belgrade, be sure to visit the city's most famous commercial street, Knez Mihailova Street, where representative European buildings from the late 19th century line both sides of the street~ At the end of this street is the Kalemegdan Fortress located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, it is the best witness to the history of Belgrade, and also a landmark attraction and leisure place in Belgrade. Although the castle has undergone several renovations and expansions, the architectural styles of ancient Rome and the Austro-Hungarian Empire can still be seen today, and most of the remaining ruins were mainly built during the Turkish rule. A park has now been built around the Kalemegdan Fortress, where you can overlook the Danube and the former battlefield. Belgrade also has the largest Orthodox church in the world, one of the top ten churches in the world, the Church of Saint Sava~ In addition, the Zemun town on the outskirts of Belgrade is a good place for locals to relax~ There are many good restaurants along the Danube in the town~ Climbing to the top of the Millennium Tower in the town, you can overlook the entire town with its Central European style red-roofed buildings, and looking along the Danube, you can also see the cityscape of Belgrade. Subotica, a border city in northern Serbia, is full of local art buildings with Hungarian colors. This is a city rich in art, and it is also a city where multiple ethnic groups are integrated: 25 ethnic groups, 6 languages. Due to its proximity to the Hungarian border, it is popular to decorate local buildings with famous Hungarian Zsolnay ceramics, Subotica also has a museum that carries the treasures of new art, the famous local resort Lake Palic is like a fairy tale world to me, and there is a fairly large zoo in the fairy tale world, which makes the fairy tale world more vivid and vivid~ In addition, if you like wine, you can also go to Serbia's famous ZVONKO BOGDAN winery and vineyard, which is also near Lake Palic. The western border city of Zlatibor is located in the border area between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina~ Serbia has 5 national parks, more than 30 natural parks and special nature reserves, and Tara National Park in Zlatibor State is a very distinctive one, with Tara Mountain and Drina River intertwined~ There are wooden villas for accommodation at the foot of the mountain, the scenery along the hiking trail is beautiful, the small wooden house standing on the rocks of the Drina River for nearly half a century, has been constantly exploding on various social media in the past two years~ The real thing is indeed dreamy~ The rich resources of the Zlatibor mountain area can let people experience the real fun of outdoor adventure. Hiking, boating, mountain climbing in summer and skiing in winter are all popular activities here, Kopaonik Mountain is a famous skiing resort in Eastern Europe~ Although it is bathed in sunshine for more than 200 days a year, miraculously, it is snowy from November to May every year, even though its reputation may not be as good as Switzerland, France and other European skiing resorts, but its 44 kilometers of ski slopes and 20 kilometers of ski cable cars make many traditional ski resorts pale in comparison~ In addition, the Wooden Village located in the Zlatibor mountain area was built by a famous Serbian director for the filming of the movie 'Life is a Miracle'~ All the buildings from the ground to the houses are made of wood and decorated with colorful oil paintings~ Today's Wooden Village has also become a famous resort, not only with museums and galleries, sports halls and restaurants and cafes, but also a cinema that can accommodate 100 people, you can also take a small train to tour the Zlatibor mountain area in the Wooden Village, as one of the few narrow-gauge railways in the world, the train itself is a museum, with four carriages of completely different styles and layouts, it is very worth experiencing~ The entire route takes two and a half hours to cross 10 bridges and 22 tunnels, taking in the beautiful and tranquil mountain scenery...

Novi Sad is less than a two-hour drive from Belgrade Airport and is the capital of the province of Vojvodina in northern Serbia. It guards the transportation of the upper and lower reaches of the Danube and the two sides of the strait, just like the throat of the "European Crossroads" in Serbia. In the era of underdeveloped traffic, it was a battleground for the military. The Petrovaradin Fortress, standing on the right bank of the Nauru, is a window to the history of Novi Sad. As early as the Roman Empire, there were already large-scale fortifications. The fortress was easy to defend and difficult to attack. For many centuries, it has been a battleground for military strategists. After many wars, it has now become a tourist attraction.

The fortress on the outskirts of the city, next to the Danube, the fortress that existed from the Roman period, is the second largest fortress in Europe. As long as you climb the fortress, you know why they are building a fortress here. It is located at the cross of the river and is easy to defend. The Danube is not blue or romantic here, but the clouds in the sky are blossoming like cotton candy. Very good looking. Because I caught up with Sunday, plus the sun shining, the weather is very good, I feel that people from half a city come here to gather together. Everyone is in a circle, watching Serbian children dance. This famous fisherman's lighthouse is crowded like this, but it is no less than the Chinese. The hour and minute hands of the lighthouse are the opposite, and it is said that the fishermen can see the approximate time from a long distance.