A quaint European town on a meander of the Danube

Novi Sad Some 90 km from the historic city of Belgrade the Danube river once a longstanding frontier of the Roman Empire makes a winding curve to form an Sshaped meander Here lies the quaint town of Novi Sad with the Petrovaradin fortress overlooking the landscapeThe town has a sad history and the local people are quite emotional about it In 1941 erstwhile Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers and Novi Sad was annexed by Hungary During World War II about 5000 citizens of the town were murdered while several others were resettledHistorical records suggest that during the three days of the infamous Novi Sad Raid January 2123 1942 alone over a thousand people were killed and their corpses thrown into the icy waters of the Danube But it went through sudden industrialisation in the period between World War II and the breakup of Yugoslavia after the fall of the Soviet UnionNovi Sad is now the capital of Vojvodina a province of Serbia And it has moved ahead fast making a mark on the European tourist map It has been declared 2019s European Youth Capital and in 2021 it will become the first nonEuropean Union EU city to spend a year with the prestigious title of European Capital of CultureThe attraction that Novi Sad has for tourists is thus immense For starters there are no big revelations to be made or organised tourist attractions on offer On the contrary much like the rest of modernday Serbia the essence of Novi Sad comes alive in its vibrant culture and one can relish it best by indulging oneself in the local lifestyleAnother striking feature of the town is that most of its major venues can be accessed on foot or even better on a bicycle The Old Town is perhaps the best place to stay as it not only takes you a step closer to the authentic lifestyle of the local people but it also throws up an almost planned set of avenues and streets that cover most of the towns highlightsOne can kick off the tour with a visit to the Orthodox Cathedral of St George located on the Zmaj Jovina Street Built during the time of the Hapsburg Empire its architecture draws a lot from classical antiquity and is a stark departure from the more usual eastern orthodox style of churches Right next to it is the redbrick Bishops Palace quite impressive to the travellers eye with its superbly decorated facadeAlmost all roads lead to the Liberty Square the center of the town Numerous historical and cultural monuments of Novi Sad are on the streets and squares in this part of the town It is also its commercial and tourist centreAt the centre of the square is a sevenmetrehigh monument of Svetozar Miletic cast in bronze and mounted on a marble pedestal Opposite the square is a tall Name of Mary catholic church built in 1895 in the NeoGothic style On the west side is the Town Hall with a striking facade of Ionic and Corinthian columns And there are numerous cafes both indoors and in the open dotting the pavements on all sides Several small stalls selling local newspapers postcards and other items for travellers together give it a vibrant lookIf one pauses at the centre of the square and takes a 360 degree view of it the marvellous architecture of the buildings and monuments the cacophony created by passersby and the utter sense of happiness visible in their eyes is bound to leave one upliftedDunavski Park built on marshy land which was once flooded by the Danube is another mustvisit venue in Novi Sad Local people gather here quite often with their young children playing around One also learnt that there is a strange but quite romantic tradition of leaving one of their pets generally when they grow old in the area that is specially dedicated for the purpose in the park But the owners return almost regularly to feed them and keep an eye on how they are doingSeveral such customs make the Serbians interact with their immediate surrounding and nature a lot more than people do in many other parts of the world Novi Sad is easily accessible from Belgrade and hotels and hostels at decent rates throng the townCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever