Novi Sad

Roman golden helmet, Museum of Vojvodina

Human habitation in the territory of present-day Novi Sad has been traced as far back as the Stone Age. Several settlements and necropolises dating to 5000 BC were unearthed during the construction of a new boulevard in Avijatičarsko Naselje.[12] A settlement was also identified on the right bank of the river Danube in present-day Petrovaradin.

In antiquity, the region was inhabited by Celtic tribes, most notably the Scordisci. Celts had been present in the area since the 4th century BC and founded the first fortress on the right bank of the Danube. Later, in the 1st century BC, the region was conquered by the Romans. During Roman rule, a larger fortress was built in the 1st century, named Cusum, and included in the Roman province of Pannonia.

In the 5th century, Cusum was devastated by Hunnic invasions. By the end of the century, the Byzantines had rebuilt the town and called it Petrikon or Petrikov (Greek: Πέτρικον) after Saint Peter. Slavic tribes such as the Severians, the Obotrites and the Serbs (including the subtribes of the Braničevci and the Timočani) settled the region around Novi Sad, mainly in the 6th and 7th centuries.[13] The Serbs absorbed the aforementioned Slavic groups as well as the Paleo-Balkanic peoples of the region.[13]

In the Middle Ages, the area was controlled by the Ostrogoths, Gepids, Avars, Franks, West Slavic groups, again by the Byzantines, and finally by the Hungarians. It became part of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary between the 11th and 12th centuries. Hungarians began to settle in the area, which before that time had been mostly populated by Slavs. The earliest known mention was as the Hungarian variant Peturwarad or Pétervárad (Serbian: Petrovaradin/Петроварадин), derived from the Byzantine variant, found in documents from 1237. That year, several other settlements were mentioned as existing in the territory of modern-day urban Novi Sad.

From the 13th century to the 16th century, the following settlements existed in the urban territory of the modern-day Novi Sad:[14][15]

• on the right bank of the Danube: Pétervárad (Serbian: Petrovaradin) and Kamanc (Serbian: Kamenica).
• on the left bank of the Danube: Baksa or Baksafalva (Serbian: Bakša, Bakšić), Kűszentmárton (Serbian: Sent Marton), Bivalyos or Bivalo (Serbian: Bivaljoš, Bivalo), Vásárosvárad or Várad (Serbian: Vašaroš Varad, Varadinci), Zajol I (Serbian: Sajlovo I, Gornje Sajlovo, Gornje Isailovo), Zajol II (Serbian: Sajlovo II, Donje Sajlovo, Donje Isailovo), Bistritz (Serbian: Bistrica). Some other settlements existed in the suburbs of Novi Sad: Mortályos (Serbian: Mrtvaljoš), Csenei (Serbian: Čenej), Keménd (Serbian: Kamendin), Rév (Serbian: Rivica).

An etymology of settlement names reveals that some designations are of Slavic origin, which indicates that the areas were initially inhabited by Slavs, particularly the West Slavs. For example, Bivalo (Bivaljoš) had a large Slavic settlement dating from the 5th–6th centuries.[14] Other names are of Hungarian origin (for example Bélakút, Kűszentmárton, Vásárosvárad, Rév), indicating that the settlements were inhabited by Hungarians before the Ottoman invasion in the 16th century.[15] Some settlement names are of uncertain origin.

Tax records from 1522 show a mix of Hungarian and Slavic names among the inhabitants of these villages, including Slavic names like Bozso (Božo), Radovan, Radonya (Radonja), Ivo, etc. Following the Ottoman invasion in the 16th–17th centuries, some of these settlements were destroyed. Most of the surviving Hungarian inhabitants retreated from the area. Some of the settlements persisted under Ottoman rule and were populated by ethnic Serbs.

Between 1526 and 1687, the region was under Ottoman rule. In 1590, the population of all villages in the territory of present-day Novi Sad numbered 105 houses, inhabited exclusively by Serbs. Ottoman records mention only those who paid taxes, so the number of Serbs who lived in the area (for example, those that served in the Ottoman army) was likely larger than was recorded.[16]

Habsburgs prohibited Orthodox Christians to settle in Petrovaradin. That policy pushed Serbs to form the Serb city which later became Novi Sad. The city was proclaimed to be a free royal city by Maria Theresa by 1748.

Habsburg rule was aligned with the Roman Catholic doctrine and, as it took over this area near the end of the 17th century, the government prohibited people of Orthodox faith from residing in Petrovaradin. Unable to build homes there, the Serbs of the area founded a new settlement in 1694 on the left bank of the Danube. They initially called it the 'Serb city' (German: Ratzen Stadt). Another name used for the settlement was Petrovaradinski Šanac. In 1718, the inhabitants of the village of Almaš were resettled to Petrovaradinski Šanac, where they founded Almaški Kraj ('the Almaš quarter').

According to 1720 data, the population of Ratzen Stadt was composed of 112 Serbian, 14 German, and 5 Hungarian houses. The settlement officially gained the present names Novi Sad and Újvidék (Neoplanta in Latin) in 1748 when it became a 'free royal city', in German language it was called Neusatz.

The edict that made Novi Sad a 'free royal city' was proclaimed on 1 February 1748. The edict reads:

' We, Maria Theresa, by the grace of God Holy Roman Empress,
Queen of Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Carinthia, [...]
cast this proclamation to anyone, whom it might concern... so that the renowned Petrovaradinski Šanac, which lies on the other side of the Danube in the Bačka province on the Sajlovo land, by the might of our divine royal power and prestige...make this town a Free Royal City and to fortify, accept and acknowledge it as one of the free royal cities of our Kingdom of Hungary and other territories, by abolishing its previous name of Petrovaradinski Šanac, renaming it Neoplanta (Latin), Új-Vidégh (Hungarian), Neusatz (German) and Novi Sad (Serbian) '

In the 18th century, the Habsburg monarchy recruited Germans from the southern principalities of the Holy Roman Empire to relocate to the Danube valley. They wanted both to increase the population and to redevelop the river valley for agriculture, which had declined markedly under the Ottomans. To encourage such settlement, the government ensured that the German communities could practice their religion (mostly Catholicism) and use their original German dialect.

Serb uprising of 1848–49, Serbian patriarch Josif Rajačić is giving a blessing to the army of Serbian Vojvodina in 1848.

For much of the 18th and 19th centuries, Novi Sad remained the largest city inhabited by Serbs. The reformer of the Serbian language, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, wrote in 1817 that Novi Sad was the 'largest Serb municipality in the world'. It was a cultural and political centre for Serbs (see also Serbian Revival), who did not have their own national state at the time. Due to its cultural and political influence, the city became known as the 'Serbian Athens' (Srpska Atina in Serbian). According to 1843 data, Novi Sad had 17,332 inhabitants, of whom 9,675 were Orthodox Christians, 5,724 Catholics, 1,032 Protestants, 727 Jews, and 30 adherents of the Armenian church. The largest ethnic group in the city were Serbs, and the second largest were Germans.

During the Revolution of 1848–49, Novi Sad was part of Serbian Vojvodina, a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire. In 1849, the Hungarian garrison, located at the Petrovaradin Fortress, bombarded and devastated the city, which lost much of its population. According to the 1850 census, there were only 7,182 citizens left in the city, compared to 17,332 in 1843. Marija Trandafil and her husband paid for some of the rebuilding including two churches.[17] Between 1849 and 1860, Novi Sad was part of a separate Austrian crownland known as the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar. After the abolishment of this province, the city was included into the Batsch-Bodrog County. The post office was opened in 1853.

Following the compromise of 1867, Novi Sad was located within the Kingdom of Hungary, the Transleithania, which comprised half of the new Austro-Hungarian Empire. During this time, the Magyarization policy of the Hungarian government drastically altered the demographic structure of the city as the formerly predominantly Serbian population became one with a more mixed character. In 1880, 41.2% of the city's inhabitants used the Serbian language most frequently and 25.9% employed Hungarian. In the following decades, the percentage of Serbian-speakers decreased, while the number of Hungarian-speakers increased. According to the 1910 census, the city had 33,590 residents, of whom 13,343 (39.72%) spoke Hungarian, 11,594 (34.52%) Serbian, 5,918 (17.62%) German and 1,453 (4.33%) Slovak. It is not certain whether Hungarians or Serbs were the larger ethnic group in the city in 1910, since the various ethnic groups (Bunjevci, Romani, Jews, other South Slavic people, etc.) were classified in census results only according to the language they spoke.[18]

Postcard of Novi Sad with a picture of Lajos Kossuth Street (early 20th century)

Similar demographic changes can be seen in the religious structure: in 1870, the population of Novi Sad included 8,134 Orthodox Christians, 6,684 Catholics, 1,725 Calvinists, 1,343 Lutherans, and others.[19] In 1910, the population included 13,383 Roman Catholics and 11,553 Orthodox Christians, while 3,089 declared themselves as Lutheran, 2,751 as Calvinist, and 2,326 as Jewish.[20]

Great Assembly of Serbs, Bunjevci, and other Slavs proclaimed the unification of Vojvodina region with the Kingdom of Serbia in Novi Sad in 1918.

On 25 November 1918, the Assembly of Serbs, Bunjevci and other Slavs of Vojvodina in Novi Sad proclaimed the union of the region of Vojvodina with the Kingdom of Serbia. From 1 December 1918, Novi Sad was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes; and in 1929, it became the capital of the Danube Banovina, a province of the newly named Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In 1921, the population of Novi Sad numbered 39,122 inhabitants, 16,293 of whom spoke the Serbian language, 12,991 Hungarian, 6,373 German, 1,117 Slovak, etc.[21]

In 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded and partitioned by the Axis powers, and its northern parts, including Novi Sad, were annexed by Hungary. During World War II, about 5,000 citizens were murdered and many others were resettled. During the three days of the Novi Sad raid (21–23 January 1942) alone, Hungarian police killed 1,246 citizens, among them more than 800 Jews, and threw their corpses into the icy waters of the Danube.

Monument dedicated to the victims of Novi Sad raid, which took place during the Hungarian occupation in WWII

The total death toll of the raid was around 2,500.[22][23] Citizens of all nationalities—Serbs, Hungarians, Slovaks, and others—fought together against the Axis authorities.[23] In 1975 the whole city was awarded the title People's Hero of Yugoslavia.

The Yugoslav Partisans of Syrmia and Bačka entered the city on 23 October 1944. During the military administration of Banat, Bačka and Baranja (17 October 1944 – 27 January 1945), the Partisans killed tens of thousands, mostly Serbs, Germans, and Hungarians, who were perceived as opponents to the new regime.[24]

Novi Sad became part of the new Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Since 1945, Novi Sad has been the capital of Vojvodina, a province of the Republic of Serbia. The city went through rapid industrialization and its population more than doubled in the period between World War II and the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.

After 1992, Novi Sad became a part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Devastated by NATO bombardment during the Kosovo War of 1999, Novi Sad was left without any of its three Danube bridges (Žeželj Bridge, Varadin Bridge and Liberty Bridge), communications, water, and electricity. Residential areas were cluster-bombed several times while the oil refinery was bombarded daily, causing severe pollution and widespread ecological damage. In 2003, FR Yugoslavia was transformed into the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. These two states separated in June 2006 (following the May 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum), leaving Novi Sad part of the Republic of Serbia.

Novi Sad has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa)[27] closely bordering on humid continental climate (Dfa) with a January mean of 0.7 °C (33.3 °F). The city experiences four distinct seasons. Autumn is drier than spring, with long sunny and warm periods. Winter is not so severe, with an average of 22 days of complete sub-zero temperature, and averages 22 days of snowfall. January is the coldest month, with an average low of −2.5 °C (27.5 °F). Spring is usually short and rainy, while summer arrives abruptly. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Novi Sad was −30.7 °C (−23.3 °F) on 24 January 1963, and the hottest temperature ever recorded was 41.6 °C (106.9 °F) on 24 July 2007.

Panoramic view from the Petrovaradin Fortress

The east-southeasterly wind, known as Košava, blows from the Carpathians and brings clear and dry weather. It mostly blows in autumn and winter, in 2 to 3-day intervals. The average speed of Košava is 25 to 43 km/h (16 to 27 mph), but certain strokes can reach up to 130 km/h (81 mph). In wintertime, accompanied by snow storms, the winds can cause large snow-drifts.

Zmajeva street

Some of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city are Stari Grad (Old Town), Rotkvarija, Podbara, and Salajka. The areas of Sremska Kamenica and Petrovaradin, located on the right bank of the Danube, were separate towns in the past, but today belong to the urban area of Novi Sad. Liman, as well as Novo Naselje, are neighbourhoods built during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, with contemporary style buildings and wide boulevards (Liman was divided into four sections, numbered I–IV).

New neighbourhoods, like Liman, Detelinara and Novo Naselje, emerged from the fields and forests surrounding the city. Following World War II, tall residential buildings were constructed to house the huge influx of people leaving the country side. Many old houses in the city centre, from the Rotkvarija and Bulevar neighbourhoods, were torn down in the 1950s and 1960s, to be replaced by multi-story buildings. Since the city has experienced a major construction boom in the last 10 years, some neighbourhoods like Grbavica have completely been transformed.

Neighbourhoods with single family homes are mostly located away from the city centre. Telep, situated in the southwest, and Klisa, in the north, are the oldest such districts. Adice and Veternik, both located west of the downtown area, have significantly expanded during the last 15 years, partly due to an influx of Serb refugees fleeing the Yugoslav wars.

While Novi Sad's urban municipalities, which include Petrovaradin, Sremska Kamenica and Novi Sad proper, have a combined population of about 277,000, its suburban areas have approximately 65,000 inhabitants. Some 23.7% of the administrative city's total population resides in the suburbs, which consist of 12 settlements and 1 town.[31] The largest numbers live in Futog (pop. 20,000) and in Veternik (pop. 17,000) to the west. Both places have grown bigger over the years, especially during the 1990s, and have physically merged with the city.

Suburbs like Futog are officially classified as an 'urban settlement' (town), while other suburbs are mostly considered to be 'rural' (village). Ledinci, Stari Ledinci and Bukovac are all villages located on Fruška Gora’s slopes, with the last two having only one paved road. Stari Ledinci is the most isolated and least populated village belonging to Novi Sad's suburban areas.

Towns and villages in the adjacent municipalities of Sremski Karlovci, Temerin and Beočin share the same public transportation system and are economically tied to Novi Sad.

City of Novi Sad:

  City Municipality of Novi Sad

  City Municipality of Petrovaradin

The ethnic composition in the city administrative area (last three censuses):

All of the inhabited places in the municipalities have an ethnic Serb majority, while the village of Kisač has an ethnic Slovak majority.

According to the 2011 census, the population of the administrative area of Novi Sad (comprising both municipalities) included 270,831 Orthodox Christians, 21,530 Catholics, 8,499 Protestants, 4,760 Muslims, 84 Jews, and others. The city is the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Bačka, the seat of the Bishop of the Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia and of the Muftiship of Novi Sad of the Islamic Community in Serbia.

Name of Mary Church

Typical Serbian food can be found in Novi Sad, including traditional dishes like ćevapi, burek, kajmak, kiseli kupus, kiflice and pasulj, as well as fish dishes, local cheeses and charcuterie.[45] Restaurants and farmsteads offer fresh produce from local farmers and also regional vintages from Fruska Gora's wineries.[45][46] Modern alternatives are available at some of the city's top restaurants, which prepare traditional fare with an updated twist.[47][48] Pastry shops serve local specialties such as layered cakes made from ground nuts and cream, referred to as 'torta' in Serbian. Desserts also often include raspberries, one of the region's largest exports, and historic Dunavska Street is home to many ice cream parlors.[49][50]

Index sandwich, named after university student index books, is a popular local street food since the 1980s.[51] It is made out of a bread roll stuffed with melted cheese, ham, mushrooms and lashings of sauce.[52][53][54]

Museum of Vojvodina is an art and natural history museum.

The city has several museums and galleries, both public and privately owned. The best known institution in the city is the Museum of Vojvodina, founded in 1847,[55] which houses a permanent collection of Serbian culture and life in Vojvodina since ancient times.[44] The Museum of Novi Sad, located in the Petrovaradin Fortress,[56] has a permanent collection featuring the history of the old fortress.

The Gallery of Matica Srpska is the largest and most respected exhibition space in the city, with two galleries in the city centre. Other museums include The Gallery of Fine Arts – Gift Collection of Rajko Mamuzić and The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection, featuring one of the most extensive collections of Serbian art from the 1900s until the 1970s.

Petrovaradin Fortress during the Exit festival

Since 2000, the number of tourists visiting Novi Sad each year has steadily risen. During the annual EXIT music festival in July, the city is full of young people from all over Europe. In 2017, over 200,000 visitors from 60 countries came to the festival, attending about 35 concerts.[57][58]

Other events include shows and congresses organized by Novi Sad Fair, a local management company, bringing in many businesspersons and entrepreneurs to the city. Every May, Novi Sad is home to the largest agricultural show in the region, having attracted 600,000 attendees in 2005.[59] The tourist port, near Varadin Bridge in the city centre, welcomes cruise boats from across Europe that travel the Danube river.

The most recognized structure in Novi Sad is the Petrovaradin Fortress, which dominates the skyline and also offers scenic views of the city. The nearby historic neighbourhood of Stari Grad has many monuments, museums, cafes, restaurants and shops. Also in the vicinity, is the Fruška Gora National Park, approximately 20 km (12 mi) from the city centre.

University of Novi Sad

Gymnasium Jovan Jovanović Zmaj is one of the oldest educational institutions in Serbia.

Novi Sad is one of the most important centres of higher education and research in Serbia, with four universities overall and numerous professional, technical, and private colleges and research institutes, including a law school with its own publication.[69] The largest educational institution in the city is the University of Novi Sad, a public school established in 1960. As of 2012, it has 14 faculties, 9 of which are located on the main university campus.[70] It is attended by more than 50,000 students and has a total staff of nearly 5,000.[70]

Business Academy University and EducoNS University are private schools also located in the city.[71][72] Other educational institutions include Novi Sad Open University, offering professional courses in adult education, and the Protestant Theological Seminary.

There are 36 elementary schools (33 regular and 3 special) with about 26,000 students.[73] The secondary school system consists of 11 vocational schools and 4 gymnasiums with almost 18,000 students.[73]

Novi Sad has one major daily newspaper, Dnevnik, and among the periodicals, the monthly magazine Vojvodjanski magazin stands out. The city also houses the headquarters of regional public broadcaster, Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV), and municipal public broadcaster, Novosadska televizija,[74] as well as a few commercial TV stations such as Kanal 9,[75] Panonija[76] and RTV Most.[77] Major local commercial radio stations include Radio AS FM and Radio 021.[78]

Novi Sad is also known for being a publishing centre. The most important publishing houses are Matica srpska, Stilos and Prometej. Well-known journals, in literature and art, include Letopis Matice srpske, the oldest Serbian Journal, Polja,[79] which is issued by the Cultural centre of Novi Sad, and Zlatna greda, published by the Association of Writers of Vojvodina.[80]

The city hosts an annual literature conference, Book Talk.[81]

Founded in 1790, the 'City Marksmen Association' became the first sporting organization in Novi Sad. Founded on 28 March 1885, VK Danubius 1885 is the oldest rowing club in former Yugoslavia.[82] A more widespread interest in competitive sports developed after the Municipal Association of Physical Culture was created in 1959 and when the Spens Sports center was built in 1981. Today, about 220 sports organizations are active in Novi Sad.

Professional sports in Novi Sad mostly revolve around the Vojvodina multi-sport association. Having won two championships in 1966 and 1989, the FK Vojvodina football club represents the 3rd all-time best team in Serbia, right behind its two Belgrade rivals, Red Star and Partizan. With 13 championship titles, OK Vojvodina is the top volleyball team in the country. As for handball, RK Vojvodina has won the national championship on multiple occasions.[83]

Athletes from Novi Sad had the honour of participating in the first Olympic Games in Athens. The largest number of Novi Sad competitors, to participate in the Olympics, was at the Atlanta Games. Eleven athletes won 6 medals there. Three also competed at the 1980 Moscow Games, while two participated in the 1976 Montreal Games and the 1956 Melbourne Games.

Spens Sports centre

Karađorđe Stadium

Many national and international competitions are held in the city. Novi Sad played host to the European and World Championships in table tennis in 1981[84] and the 29th Chess Olympiad in 1990. It also welcomed the European and World Championships in sambo, the Balkan and European Championships in judo, the 1987 final match of the Saporta Cup in European basketball,[84][85] and the final tournament of the European volleyball cup.[84] Furthermore, Novi Sad co-hosted the 2005 European Basketball Championship, as well as hosting the 2017 Volleyball World League matches.[84][86] The year 2018 saw the city welcome the Senior European Fencing Championships and the European Senior Karate Championships.[84][86][87][88]

The city also holds traditional sporting events such as the Novi Sad marathon, international swimming competitions and many other events. The very first 'MTB Petrovaradin Fortress Cup' took place in 2018, allowing national and regional cyclists to compete. It is also the first mountain bike competition to be held in Serbia.[89]

Štrand, popular beach on the Danube river

Fruška Gora National Park

Novi Sad's inhabitants engage in a wide range of recreational and leisure activities. With regards to team sports, football and basketball have the highest numbers of participants. Cycling is also popular due to the city's flat terrain and the extensive off-road network, found in nearby mountainous Fruška Gora. Hundreds of commuters cycle the roads, bike lanes and bike paths daily.

Proximity to the Fruška Gora National Park attracts many city dwellers on the weekends. They enjoy the numerous hiking trails, restaurants and monasteries located in and around the mountain area. Occurring on the first weekend of every May, the Fruška Gora Marathon lets hikers, runners and cyclists take advantage of the many hiking trails.[90] During the summer months, citizens from Novi Sad visit Lake Ledinci in Fruška Gora, as well as the numerous beaches situated along the Danube, the largest being Štrand in the Liman neighbourhood. There are also several recreational marinas bordering the river.