СРБИЈА SRBIJA | SERBIA |
Аутономна Покраіина Војводина – Autonomna Pokrajina Vojvodina | Autonomous Province of Vojvodina |
Јужнобачки округ – Južnobački okrug | South Bačka district |
Novi Sad, is located at an elevation of 78 m on the left bank of the river Danube in northern Serbia. Novi Sad is city with a relatively young history. Although archeological finds demonstrate the presence of early settlers more than 1,000 years ago, the modern settlement was only founded in 1694 as a garrison supporting the fortress of Petrovaradin (Pétervárad, Peterwardein) on the opposite, right, bank of the Danube. Petrovaradin is much older and had been first mentioned in 1237. It was occupied by the Ottoman Empire in 1526 and it took until 1688 that Austria could liberate the fortress. On the 1st of February 1748, Novi Sad obtained the status of a Royal free town within the Kingdom of Hungary. At the same time it received a new name, in Latin: Neoplanta (Serbian: Novi Sad, Hungarian: Újvidék, German: Neusatz). During the Hungarian War of Independence (1848–1849) Novi Sad suffered heavy damages. During the late 19th century the town became an important industrial and economical centre of the Vojvodina region and also became known as a centre of the Serbian Literary Revival movement. After World War I Novi Sad became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. During World War II the town was occupied by the fascist Horthy regime of Hungary. During a three-day raid by fascist forces about 1,500 Serbs and Jews were killed or deported. After the liberation of Novi Sad in 1944, the town finally became part of Yugoslavia in 1947. The town of Petrovaradin had been incorporated into the municipality of Novi Sad in 1945. During the Kosovo War of 1999 Novi Sad was severely hit by air raids by NATO forces. Today, Novi Sad is Serbia's second-largest city with a population of about 190,000. Novi Sad is also the administrattive seat of the autonomous province Vojvodina. Novi Sad was chosen as a European Capital of Culture for 2021 (together with Timișoara, Romania; see list of other European Capitals of Culture depicted on glasses of this collection).
The Roman-Catholic parish church of The Name of Mary [left] is often referred to as "cathedral". However, the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of the Bačka region in fact is located in Subotica, the second-largest city of the Vojvodina provinve. The first Roman Catholic church in Novi Sad was built in 1742. This church was destroyed during the Revolution of 1848. The church was restored at first. However, the members of the parish did notlike the restored building. It was decided, therefore, to build an entirely new, representative church. The new church was designed in Gothic revival style by the architect György (Georg) Molnár. Building works started in 1891 and were completed in 1894. The church is a three-nave building, with gothic arches. The altar is made of carved wood from Tyrol, the windows with stained glass from Budapest and the roof tiles were made of Zsolnay ceramics. The spire has a height of 72 m, which makes the church the highest in the Bačka region.
The City Hall [right] in Freedom Square (Trg slobode) was built in 1895 in representative Renaissance revival style
by the Austrian architect Alois Kitzweger.