Novi Sad is the second largest city of Serbia and the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina as well as an important industrial and cultural centre. In the 19th century it earned the nickname Serbian Athens (Serb. Srpska Atina) due to its relevance for the local trade and culture.
The city of Novi Sad was founded in 1694 as a settlement of Serb merchants across the Danube from the Petrovaradin Fortress located on the opposite bank of the river. On 1st of February 1748 the city gained its modern name. It was also granted a royal privilege and proclaimed “free royal city” by Her Imperial Majesty Maria Theresa. The day is celebrated every year to commemorate that event of great importance to Novi Sad. In the late 19th century Novi Sad already possessed a brewery, a silk factory and a tobacco company. In 1849 Matica Srpska, the main cultural-scientific institution of modern Serbia was moved to Novi Sad, twenty years after its foundation in Budapest. The city was bombarded and devastated by the Hungarian troops operating from the Petrovaradin Fortress during the Springtime of the Peoples and was subsequently deserted as the result of the cholera epidemic in 1849. After the Second World War the area of the city was enlarged after the swamps surrounding the Fortress had been dried. In 1999 the NATO bombing destroyed many buildings, the Danube bridges and the urban waterworks that were to be rebuilt in the following years.
Novi Sad is a multicultural city inhabited by many ethnic groups- Serbs, Hungarians, Slovaks, Montenegrins and others. In the city there is also a multilingual radio station as well as Serb language public and private schools for foreigners. Nowadays, Novi Sad is a fast-growing city. The areas and the bridges destroyed during the civil war have been reconstructed and many new buildings are being erected. The number of tourist visiting Novi Sad is constantly growing. In the neighbouring picturesque countryside there is a mountain called Fruška Gora where the Fruška Gora National Park has been established.
Tourist Attractions:
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Petrovaradin Fortress – built on the right bank of the Danube river. For centuries, it used to be a fortified defensive structure. Nowadays it is the seat of the Novi Sad City Museum (Muzej Grada Novog Sada) that deals with collecting antique objects from Prehistoric times to nowadays. In the Fortress itself, there is a big number of small artistic studios and rooms for artists located within the maze of military pavements and secret passageways. Apart from them, visitors will find bars, clubs and restaurants inside the Fortress as well as a little astronomy observatory and a planetarium
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The Old Town with its beautifully renovated town houses and numerous coffee houses and restaurants
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The Fruska Gora Monasteries – located in the area of the Fruška Gora National Park. For centuries, the area has been the centre of monastic life of The Serbian Orthodox Church. 17 of its monasteries have survived until our time
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Dvorac Dundjerski – a palace complex located in the northern part of the city
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Salaši tourist farms – farmlands with traditional 18th and 19th century farm houses
Higher education
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Novi Sad University (Serb. Univerzitet u Novom Sadu) – second largest Serbian university with over 47 000 students. It was founded in 1960 and is currently composed of 14 faculties.
Culture
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Novi Sad City Museum (Serb. Muzej Grada Novog Sada) – established in 1954. It provides visitors with a general view on the city's history form the times of its foundation to nowadays : http://www.museumns.rs/ (English version in progress)
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Vojvodine Museum (Serb. Muzej Vojvodine) – established in 1947r. It is one of the oldest museums in Serbia and also one of the biggest. It collects priceless pieces of arts belonging to Vojvodine's cultural heritage. The permanent exhibition comprises 6000 showpieces on 3000 square metres. Foreign visitors are provided with English-speaking guides http://www.muzejvojvodine.org.rs/?eng
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Museum of Contemporary Art of Vojvodina (Serb. Muzej Savremene Umetnosti Vojvodine) – established in 1966. Its mission is to collect, preserve and promote
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the artistic and cultural heritage of the modern Vojvodina. http://www.msuv.org/
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Matica Srpska Gallery (Serb. Galerija Matice Srpske) – it history can be traced back to 1847, the year of its foundation in Pest under the auspices of the Matica Srpska, Serbian oldest literary, cultural and scientific society. The permanent exhibition comprises works of arts of great national importance to the modern (17th- 20th century) Serbian history and culture in Vojvodina. http://www.galerijamaticesrpske.rs/index-en.html
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Cultural Centre of Novi Sad (Serb. Kulturni Centar Novog Sada) – one of the most prominent cultural institutions of interdisciplinary and modern character. It is responsible for cinema, theatre and visual arts promotion (projects, happenings, multimedia events). It organizes numerous art exhibitions as well as cultural and academic events in interdisciplinary studies and social and human sciences. It hosts various prestigious international theatre events such as “Proza fest” (literature and prose festival in April), “INFANT” (International Alternative and New Theater Festival in June), “Novi Sad Film Festival” (November) and “Euro-In” (a European and independent film festival held in December) . It also publishes “Polia”, a literature magazine.
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Vojvodinian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Serb. Vojvođanska akademija nauka i umetnosti) http://vanu.org.rs/eng/
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The Serbian National Theatre (Serb. Srpsko Narodno Pozorište) – founded in 1861. It is one of the most prestigious theatres in Serbia. http://www.snp.org.rs/static/ENGL/snp-istorijat-engl.html
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Youth Theatre (Serb. Pozorište Mladih) – http://pozoristemladih.co.rs/ (in Serbian)
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Novi Sad Theatre (Serb. Novosadsko Pozorište, Hung. Újvidéki Színház) – a local Hungarian theatre founded in 1974. The performances are simultaneously translated to Serbian language: http://www.uvszinhaz.co.rs/index_en.php
