Novi Sad is the capital of Vojvodina, the northern Autonomous Province of Serbia. It is an industrial and financial centre of the Serbian economy, as well as a major cultural center.
The Fruska Gora Mountain is a welcome getaway for city locals with its many winemakers on the slope, around 16 Serbian Orthodox Monasteries scattered on the mountain, hiking trails, restaurants and the proximity to the Fruska Gora National Park.
The city was founded in 1694, when Serb merchants formed a colony across the Danube from the Petrovaradin fortress, a Habsburg strategic military post. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it became an important trading and manufacturing centre, as well as a centre of Serbian culture of that period, earning the nickname Serbian Athens. The city was heavily devastated in the 1848 Revolution, but it was subsequently restored.
The city has several museums and galleries, public and privately owned. The most well known museum in the city is Museum of Vojvodina, founded in 1847, which houses a permanent collection of Serbian culture and a life in Vojvodina through history.
Gallery of Matica Srpska is the biggest and most respected gallery in the city, which has two galleries in the city centre. There is also The Gallery of Fine Arts - Gift Collection of Rajko Mamuzic and The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection - one of the biggest collections of Serbian art from the 1900s until 1970s.
Another popular site in Novi Sad is the Petrovaradin fortress on the Danube River, which has many underground passages, and more recently, a museum on the history of fortresses.
The biggest attraction of Novi Sad is Exit, the largest summer music festival of the country, attracting thousands of visitors to the city. This annual five-day festival takes place in July at the Petrovaradin fortress.While Exit is undoubtedly one of Europe's foremost music events. Other popular events include Infant Festival, Novi Sad Fair and the Novi Sad Jazz Festival.
Photo: wikipedia.org
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