"THE GIBRALTAR ON THE DANUBE"

On the slopes of Fruška Gora, on the right bank of the Danube, above the largest curve of the river, one of the largest fortresses in Europe - Petrovaradin has been located for centuries. This tourist attraction at the European level is a symbol of Vojvodina and Novi Sad, an excursion place, an art center, a place of night fun and holding of the worldwide music festival 'Exit'.

The area, at which the present Petrovaradin Fortress is located , was settled already in the Neolithic era. During centuries, it was crossed by the Byzantines, Huns, Avers and Slavs. The Old Fortress, constructed in the period from 1247 to 1252, got its name by the settlement with the same name on the left bank of the Danube - Petrovaradin (Peter's Little Fortress).

In the 16th century, Petrovaradin belonged to the Turks and in the 17th century it goes over to the Austrian Empire. Based upon the principles of fortress construction by the French military architect Sebastienne Vobanne, which followed the new achievements of the war technique, and, first of all, due to a great use of fire arms and artillery, Petrovaradin was reconstructed, as well. The construction was followed, in addition to the engineers and military commanders, also by Eugene of Savoy, Count Caraffa and the future Tzar Joseph II. The fortress got its final shape after the Belgrade Peace Treaty, in 1739, when the border between Turkey and Austria was fixed on the Sava and the Danube. At that time, in the second half of the 18th century, in addition to the military ones, also civil houses in the Baroque style were constructed there. On the impressive 112 hectares, on a steep rock above the river, with a unique system of underground corridors, 16 km long, Petrovaradin became the real "Gibraltar on the Danube". It was the crossing of the Tzar's roads leading to Szeged, Timisoara, Pančevo and Pest.

At present, Petrovaradin is the center of institutions within science, culture and arts. Museums, galleries, a planetarium, artists' ateliers, cafes and numerous sculptures, the best known of which is 'A Deer Battle' by the sculptor Jovan Soldatović, wait for the fortress visitors. The trade mark of the Gibraltar on the Danube and the city of Novi Sad itself is a clock tower, located above the bastion of Ludwig von Baden. It confuses the tourists, since it shows the opposite to the usual, the short clock hand shows hours and the long one minutes. It was done, in order to let all citizens of Novi Sad and Petrovaradin, and first of all those sailing on the Danube, could see what time it was from a great distance, when the weather was nice. The clock mechanism is winded manually every day.

Each August, Petrovaradin is also the place of the music festival 'EXIT', which gathers more than 300,000 young people from the whole world. The Gibraltar on the Danube is still the connecting crossroads.

Contact: Tourist / Information Center Novi Sad +381 21/421 812 , 451 481