Novi Sad (Cyrillic: Нови Сад, IPA: ['nɔviː 'saːd]) is the capital of northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and administrative centre of the South Bačka District.

Novi Sad is Serbia's second largest city, after Belgrade. In mid-2005, city had a urban population of 255,071, and the municipal area at 333,895.<ref name=informatika>Information from city`s police registry, taken from "JP Informatika"</ref> The city is located on the southern border of Bačka region, on the banks of the Danube river and Danube-Tisa-Danube Canal, facing the northern slopes of Fruška Gora mountain.

Since it was founded, in 1694, Novi Sad became centre of Serbian culture and earned a nickname Serbian Athens. Today, Novi Sad is a large industrial and financial centre of Serbian economy; and it is also one of the biggest construction sites in the region.<ref>Glas javnosti article from March 2005; Stanove više nema ko da kupi (in Serbian)</ref>

[edit] Name

As a meeting place of cultures and peoples, Novi Sad came to have many different names in various languages. Nowadays, official names of Novi Sad are Град Нови Сад in Serbian-Cyrillic; Újvidéki Város in Hungarian; Mesto Nový Sad in Slovak; and Город Нови Сад in Rusyn. Other names for the city are: Novi Sad in Serbian-Latin, Croatian and Romanian; Neusatz (an der Donau) in German; and Neoplantae in Latin.

In its wider meaning, name Novi Sad refer to the "City of Novi Sad", which is one of the four city-level administrative units of the Republic of Serbia. In its narrower meaning, name Novi Sad refer to the Novi Sad municipality, one of the two urban municipalities that compose the City of Novi Sad (another municipality is named Petrovaradin). Name Novi Sad could also refer only to urban part of the City of Novi Sad (including "Novi Sad proper", and towns of Sremska Kamenica and Petrovaradin), as well as only to the historical core of urban Novi Sad, i.e. "Novi Sad proper" (excluding Sremska Kamenica and Petrovaradin).

[edit] History

Main article: History of Novi Sad

Image:Citadel Petrovaradin.jpg

Human settlement in the territory of present-day Novi Sad has been traced as far back as the Stone Age (about 4500 BC). This settlement was located on the right side of the river Danube in the territory of present day Petrovaradin. This region was conquered by Celts (in the 4th century BC) and Romans (in the 1st century BC). By the end of the 5th century, Byzantines had reconstructed the city and called it by the names Cusum and Petrikon. The city in time became conquered by the Ostrogoths, Gepids, Avars, Franks, Bulgarians, and again by the Byzantines.

This region was conquered by the Kingdom of Hungary (in the 12th century). In 1237, several settlements were mentioned to exist here: Vašaroš-Varad (Varadinci), Mrtvaljoš, Sent-Marton, Bakša (Bakšić), Sajlovo I, Sajlovo II, Bivalo (Bivaljoš), Rivica, and Čenej. <ref name=Curcin>Branko Ćurčin, Slana Bara nekad i sad, Novi Sad, 2002</ref> Etymology of these names show that most of them are of Slavic origin, thus that indicate that these settlements were initially inhabited by Slavs. From 1526, and until 1687, region was under Ottoman Empire.

[edit] The foundation of Novi Sad

Map of Novi Sad (Ratzen Stadt) from 1745

At the outset of the Habsburg rule, people of Orthodox faith were forbidden from residing in Petrovaradin, thus Serbs were largely unable to build homes in the city. Because of this, a new settlement was founded in 1694 on the left bank of the Danube. The initial name of this settlement was Serb City (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"). The edict that made Novi Sad a "free royal city" was proclaimed on February 1, 1748. The edict said:

“We, Maria Theresa, by the God's mercy Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Hungary, Bohemia and Duchess of Parma, Piacenza, Guastalla; cast this proclamation to anyone, who might concern...so that the famous Petrovaradinski Šanac, which lies on the other side of the Danube in Bačka province on Sajlovo land, by the might of our divine royal power and prestige...make this town a Free Royal City and to fortify, accept and sign it in 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 Neoplantae in Latin; Új-Vidégh in Hungarian; Neusatz in German and Novi Sad in Serbian.”

For much of the 18th and 19th centuries, Novi Sad was the largest city populated with ethnic Serbs. The reformer of the Serbian language, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, wrote in 1817 that Novi Sad is the "largest Serb municipality in the world". It was a cultural and political centre of Serbs, who did not have their own national state at the time. Because of its cultural and political influence, Novi Sad became known as the Serbian Athens (Srpska Atina in Serbian). According to the 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 1848-1849, Novi Sad was part of Serbian Vojvodina, a Serbian autonomous region within Habsburg Empire. In 1849 the Hungarian army located on the Petrovaradin fortress bombarded and devastated the city, which lost much of its population. According to 1850 census there were only 7,182 citizens in the city. After 1867, Novi Sad was located within the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary. During this time, the Magyarization policy of the Hungarian government drastically altered the demographic structure of the city, i.e. from the predominantly Serbian, the population of the city became ethnically mixed.

Since December 1, 1918, Novi Sad is part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes; and in 1929, Novi Sad became the capital of the Danube Banovina, a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

In 1941, the Kingdom of 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. In a 1942 raid alone, Hungarian police killed 1,246 citizens, among them more than 800 Jews, and threw their corpses into the icy waters of Danube <ref>Hungarian Is Faced With Evidence of Role in ’42 Atrocity By Nicholas Wood and Ivana Šekularac, Published October 1, 2006 The New York Times</ref>. The partisan forces from Syrmia and Bačka entered the city on October 23, 1944, and Novi Sad became part of the new socialist Yugoslavia.

Since 1945, Novi Sad has been the capital of Vojvodina, a province of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and 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 1999 NATO bombing in Yugoslavia, during the Kosovo War of 1999, Novi Sad was left without all of its three Danube bridges, communications, water, and electricity. Its oil refinery was bombarded daily, causing severe pollution and widespread ecological damage. See also: 1999 NATO bombing in Novi Sad.

[edit] Geography

Image:NoviSad Sat.png

Novi Sad is located in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, with land area of 699 km² and urban 129.7 km². City lies on the river Danube and one small section of Danube-Tisa-Danube Canal.

Novi Sad's landscape is divided into two parts, one is situated in the Bačka region and another in the Syrmia region. The river Danube is a natural border between them. Bačka's side of the city lies on one of the southern lowest parts of Pannonian Plain, while Fruška Gora's side (Syrmia) is a horst mountain. Alluvial plains along Danube are well formed, especially on the left bank, in some parts 10 km from the river. Large part of Novi Sad lies on terrace deposit with elevation of 80-83 m. Northern part of Fruška Gora is comprised of massive landslide zones, but they are not active, except in Ribnjak neighborhood (between Sremska Kamenica and Petrovaradin fortress).

[edit] Climate

Novi Sad has a moderate continental climate, with four seasons. Autumn is longer than spring, with long sunny and warm periods. Winter is not so severe, with an average of 22 days of sub-zero temperature. January is the coldest month, with an average temperature of -1.9 °C. The spring is usually short and rainy, while the summer arrives abruptly. Coldest temperature ever recorded in Novi Sad was -30.7°C (-19.3°F) on January 24, 1963; and the hottest temperature of 41.5ºC (110.7°F) on July 6, 1950.<ref>Climate in Novi Sad</ref>

The southeast-east wind Košava, which blows from the Carpathians and brings clear and dry weather, is characteristic of the local climate. It mostly blows in autumn and winter, in 2-3 days intervals. The average speed of Košava is 25-43 km per hour but certain strokes can reach up to 130 km/h. In winter time followed with a snow storm it can cause snowdrifts.

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high °C (°F)	2.5 (36.5)	5.7 (46.3)	11.5 (56.7)	17.2 (67)	22.5 (76.5)	25.2 (81.4)	27.2 (85)	27.2 (85)	23.7 (78.7)	18 (68.4)	10.3 (54.5)	4.5 (44)	16.3 (65.3)
Avg low temperature °C (°F)	-4.4 (28.8)	-2.3 (31.9)	1.2 (38.2)	5.8 (46.4)	10.6 (55.1)	13.6 (60.5)	14.7 (62.5)	14.2 (61.6)	11.2 (56.2)	6.3 (47.4)	2.2 (40)	-1.9 (32.6)	5.9 (46.7)
Rainfall mm (in.)	38 (1.5)	35 (1.4)	41 (1.6)	47 (1.8)	57 (2.2)	82 (3.2)	61 (2.4)	55 (2.2)	36 (1.4)	35 (1.4)	46 (1.8)	44 (1.7)	577 (22.7)
Source: Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia

[edit] Cityscape

Image:NoviSad001.jpg

Urban area of Novi Sad has a population of 216,583 and is generally divided into three parts: "Novi Sad proper" (with population of 191,405), situated on the left bank on the Danube, and Petrovaradin (with population of 13,973) and Sremska Kamenica (with population of 11,205), on the right bank of the Danube.

Novi Sad is a typical Central European town. There are only few buildings dating before 19th century, because city was almost totally destroyed during revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas, so the architecture from 19th century dominates the city centre. Around the center, old small houses used to dominate the cityscape, but they are being replaced by modern multi-story buildings.

During the socialist period, new blocks with wide streets and multi-story buildings were built around the city core. Fortunately, not many communist-style high-rise buildings were built, and the total number of 10+ floor buildings remained at 20-30, most of the rest being 3-6 floor apartment buildings. Two new boulevards (today's Bulevar oslobođenja and Bulevar Mihajla Pupina) were cut through the old housings in 1962-1964, establishing major communication lines. Several more boulevards were subsequently built in a similar manner, creating an orthogonal network over what used to be mostly radial structure of the old town. Those interventions paved the way for a relatively unhampered growth of the city, which almost tripled its population since 1950s, and traffic congestions (except on a few critical points) are still relatively mild despite the huge boost of car numbers, especially in later years.

See also: Famous buildings in Novi Sad and Religious architecture in Novi Sad

[edit] Neighborhoods

Image:Novi sad quarters.png

Main article: Neighborhoods of Novi Sad

Some of the oldest neighborhoods in the city are Stari Grad (Old Town), Rotkvarija, Podbara and Salajka which merged in 1694, in the time when the city was formed. Sremska Kamenica and Petrovaradin, on the right bank of the Danube, were separate towns in the past, but today are parts of the urban area of Novi Sad. Liman (divided into four parts, numbered I-IV), as well as Novo Naselje are neighborhoods built during 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. with modern buildings and wide boulevards.

New neighborhoods, like Liman, Detelinara, and Novo Naselje, with modern high residential buildings emerged from fields and forests surrounding the city to house the huge influx of people from the countryside following the World War II. Many old houses in the city centre, Rotkvarija and Bulevar neighborhoods were torn down in the 1950s and 1960s to be replaced with multi-story buildings, as the city experienced a major construction boom during the last 10 years; some neighborhoods, like Grbavica have completely changed their face.

Neighborhoods with newer individual housing are mostly located away from the city center; Telep in the southwest is the oldest such quarter, while Klisa on the north, as well as Adice, Veternička Rampa and Veternik on the west significantly expanded during the last 10 years, partly due to an influx of Serb refugees during the Yugoslav wars.

[edit] Suburbs

Image:City of Novi Sad 1.PNG

Besides urban part of the city (which include "Novi Sad proper", Petrovaradin and Sremska Kamenica), there are 12 more settlements and 1 town in Novi Sad's municipal area. 23.7% of total City's population live in suburbs, the largest being Futog (18,582), and Veternik (18,626), which are over the years, especially in the 1990s grown and physically merged to the city.

Most isolated and the least populated village in the suburb is Stari Ledinci (823). Ledinci, Stari Ledinci, and Bukovac are located on Fruška Gora slopes and the last two have only one paved road, which connect them to other places. Besides the urban area of Novi Sad, the suburb of Futog is also officially classified as "urban settlement" (a town), while other suburbs are mostly "rural" (villages).

No.	Name	Population (census 2002)	No.	Name	Population (census 2002)
I	Begeč	3,335	II	Futog	18,582
III	Veternik	18,626	IV	Rumenka	5,729
V	Kisač	5,471	VI	Stepanovićevo	2,214
VII	Čenej	2,115	VIII	Kać	11,166
IX	Budisava	3,825	X	Kovilj	5,599
XI	Bukovac	3,585	XII	Stari Ledinci	823
XIII	Ledinci	1,641

Some towns and villages in separate municipalities of Sremski Karlovci, Temerin and Beočin which border City of Novi Sad, share the same public transportation and are also economically connected to Novi Sad.

[edit] Politics

Main article: Politics of Novi Sad

Image:NoviSadCityHall.jpg

City`s administration bodies are comprised of city assembly as representative body, mayor and city government as executive body. Members of the city assembly and mayor are elected at direct elections. City assembly has 78 seats, while city government has 11 members. The mayor and members of city's assembly are elected to four-year terms; and city government is elected on mayor’s proposal by the city assembly by majority of votes.

From local elections in 2004, mayor of Novi Sad is Maja Gojković, from Serbian Radical Party; while in the city assembly majority have coalition of: Serbian Radical Party, Democratic Party of Serbia and Socialist Party of Serbia.

Since 2002, when the new statute of Novi Sad came into effect, City of Novi Sad is divided into 46 local communities within two urban municipalities, Novi Sad and Petrovaradin, whose borders are defined by geographic boundaries (Danube river).

[edit] Twin cities

Novi Sad is good relationship with many twin cities. One of the main streets in City centre is named after Modena in Italy; and the Novi Sad Friendship Bridge in Norwich, United Kingdom, by Buro Happold, was named in honour of Novi Sad. Beside twin cities, Novi Sad has many signed agreements on joint cooperation with many European cities (see also: Twin cities of Novi Sad). As of 2006, Novi Sad`s twin cities are:

[edit] Demographics

See also: Demographic history of Novi Sad

Novi Sad is the largest city in Vojvodina, and second largest in Serbia (after Belgrade). Since its founding, the population of the city has been constantly increasing. According to the 1991 census, 56.2% of the people who came to Novi Sad from 1961 to 1991 were from other parts of Vojvodina, while 15.3% came from Bosnia and Hercegovina and 11.7% from Central Serbia.

The city's urban population was 216,583 in 2002 and 299,294 with the surrounding inhabited places of the municipalities included. In the end of 2004, there were 306,853 inhabitants in the greater city area, published on December 31, 2004 by statistical office of Serbia. From city`s registry in April 2005, population of the urban area of Novi Sad is 255,071, and the municipal area at 333,895.<ref name=informatika>Information from city`s police registry, taken from "JP Informatika"</ref> The city has an urban population density of 1,673.7/km² (4,340.3/sq mi) (census 2002).

According to the 2002 census, the population of the greater city area of Novi Sad (including both municipalities) is composed of: Serbs (75.50%), Hungarians (5.24%), Yugoslavs (3.17%), Slovaks (2.41%), Croats (2.09%), Montenegrins (1.68%), and others. Most of the inhabited places in the municipalities have an ethnic Serb majority, while the village of Kisač has an ethnic Slovak majority. The population of the city of Novi Sad proper (excluding the rest of the municipal area) is composed of: Serbs (73.91%), Hungarians (6.03%), Yugoslavs (3.69%), Montenegrins (2.23%), Croats (1.84%), and others.

[edit] Economy

Image:Slike 002.jpg

Novi Sad is economic centre of Vojvodina—the most fertile agricultural region in Serbia. The city also belongs to the group of the largest economic and cultural centres in Serbia and in former Yugoslavia.

Like the rest of Serbia, during the 1990s, the city was severely affected by an internationally imposed trade embargo and hyperinflation of the Yugoslav dinar, which also decimated the city's economy. The embargo and mismanagement lead to a decay or demise of once big industrial combines, such as Novkabel (electric cable industry), Pobeda (metal industry), Jugoalat (tools), Albus and HINS (chemical industry). Practically the only viable remaining large facility is the oil rafinery, located northeast of the town (along with the thermal power plant), near the settlement of Šangaj.

The economy of Novi Sad has mostly recovered from that period and it has been growing strongly since 2001, shifting from industry-driven economy to tertiary sector. The processes of privatization of state and society-owned enterprises, as well as strong private incentive, rised the number of privately-owned companies to over 95% in the district, and small and medium-size enterprises took over the city's economic development. <ref name="pkns2">Regional Chamber of Commerce Novi Sad, Basic data</ref>

The significance of Novi Sad as a financial center is proven by numerous banks such as Vojvođanska Bank, Erste Bank, Kulska Bank, Meridian Bank, Metals Bank, NLB Continental Bank and Panonska Bank;<ref>National Bank of Serbia - List of Banks opperating in Serbia</ref> and second largest insurance company in Serbia DDOR Novi Sad. The city is also home to the state-owned oil company Naftna Industrija Srbije. It is also the seat of the wheat market.

In October 2006, the average gross salary in Novi Sad amounted to 39,403 Serbian dinars (about 490 euros or 650 US dollars) one of the highest in Serbia. The average net salary was 26,931 Serbian dinars (approximately € 330 or US $ 445 ).<ref>Statistical office of Serbia, Salaries in Serbia for October 2006</ref> The region contributes to about 11% of the total national GDP, and its national income per capita is 60% over the national average. <ref name="pkns2"/>

[edit] Society and culture

Matica Srpska, most prominent cultural institution in the City and whole Serbian culture

In the 19th century, city was the capital of Serbian culture, earning the nickname Serbian Athens. In that time, almost every Serbian novelist, poet, jurist, and publicist at the end of 19th century and at the beginning of 20th century had lived or worked in Novi Sad some time of his career. Among others, these cultural workers include Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, Mika Antić, Đura Jakšić, etc. Matica Srpska, the oldest cultural-scientific institution of Serbia, was moved from Budapest to Novi Sad in 1864, while Serbian National Theatre, the oldest professional theatre among the South Slavs, was founded in Novi Sad in 1861.

Today, Novi Sad is the second cultural centre in Serbia (besides Belgrade) and city`s officials try to make the city more attractive to numerous cultural events and music concerts. Since 2000, Novi Sad is home to the EXIT festival, the biggest music summer festival in Serbia and the region; and also the only festival of alternative and new theatre in Serbia - INFANT, most prominent festival of children literature - Zmaj Children Games, Sterijino pozorje, Novi Sad Jazz Festival, and many others. <ref>Cultural events calendar</ref> Besides Serbian National Theatre, the most prominent theatres are also Youth Theatre, Cultural centre of Novi Sad, and Novi Sad Theatre. Novi Sad Synagogue also houses many cultural events in the City.

[edit] Museums & galleries

City has a couple of museums, and many galleries, public and privately owned through Novi Sad. The most well known museum in the city is Museum of Vojvodina, founded by Matica Srpska in 1847, which houses a permanent collection of Serbian culture and a life in Vojvodina through history. Museum of Novi Sad in Petrovaradin fortress has a permanent collection of history of fortress.

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 Mamuzić and The Pavle Beljanski Memorial Collection - one of the biggest collections of Serbian art from 1900s until 1970s. Archive of Vojvodina also has its headquarters in the City, which collect many documents from Vojvodina dating from 1565.

[edit] Education

Image:Jovina gimnazija02.jpg

Main article: Education in Novi Sad

Novi Sad is one of Serbian most important centers of higher education and research, with four universities, numerous professional, technical, and private colleges, and a couple of research institutes.

Novi Sad is home to two universities and four private faculties. <ref>Ministry of education, list of private universities and faculties</ref> Largest educational institution in the city is University of Novi Sad with approximately 38,000 students and 2,700 in staff. It was established in 1960 with 9 faculties in Novi Sad in modern university campus. In Novi Sad there are 36 elementary schools (33 regular and 3 special) with 26,000 pupils. <ref>List of elementary schools in Novi Sad</ref><ref name=stat>Serbian statistical office</ref> The secondary school system consists of 11 vocational schools and 4 gymnasiums with almost 18,000 students. <ref>List of secondary schools</ref><ref name=stat>Serbian statistical office</ref>

[edit] Media

Novi Sad has two major daily newspapers, Dnevnik and Građanski list, both in Serbian. Until 2006, Magyar Szó, a newspaper in Hungarian, had its headquarters in Novi Sad, but it was moved to Subotica. The city is home to the main headquarters of the regional public broadcaster Radio Television of Vojvodina - RTV and city`s public broadcaster Apolo, as well as a few commercial TV stations, Kanal 9 and Most. Novi Sad has many local commercial radio stations, dominant being Radio 021 and Radio As.

[edit] Tourism

Image:EXIT 2006.jpg

Number of tourists started to increase from 2000, when Serbia started to open to Western Europe and USA. In the beginning of July, when State of EXIT begins, city is full of young people from Europe. In 2005, 150,000 people had visited this festival, which put Novi Sad on the map of summer festivals in Europe.<ref>History of EXIT festival</ref> Besides EXIT festival, Novi Sad Fair attract many business people into the city; in May city is home to the biggest agricultural show in the region, which in 2005 visited 600,000 people. <ref>About agricultural fair in 2006 (in Serbian)</ref> There is also a tourist port near Varadin Bridge in the city centre welcoming various river cruise vessels from across Europe who cruise on Danube river.

The most recognized structure in Novi Sad is Petrovaradin fortress, which dominates the city and with scenic views of the city. Besides the fortress, there is also historic neighborhood of Stari Grad, with many monuments, museums, caffes, restaurants and shops. There is also a National Park of Fruška Gora nearby, approx. 20 km from city centre.

[edit] Sport

Sport started to develop in 1790 with the foundation of "City Marksmen Association". However, its serious development started after the establishment of the Municipal Association of Physical Culture in 1959 and after 1981, when Spens Sports Center was built. Today, about 220 sports organisations are active in Novi Sad. <ref name="sport">Sport in Novi Sad, City official site</ref> Novi Sad is the second best developed sports city in Serbia (after Belgrade).

Most popular sport in the city is definitely football. There are many football pitchs in many Novi Sad's neighborhoods, and in every town and village in the suburbs. Besides FK Vojvodina, which is in the first league, there are many smaller clubs in the national second and third league. Most well known are: FK Novi Sad, FK Kabel, FK Mladost, FK Slavija, etc.

Citizens of Novi Sad participated in the first Olympic Games in Athens. The largest number of sportsmen from Novi Sad participated in the Atlanta Olympic Games - 11, and they won 6 medals, while in Moscow - 3, and in Montreal and Melbourne - 2.<ref name="sport">Sport in Novi Sad, City official site</ref>

Novi Sad was the host of the European and World Championships in table tennis in 1981, 29th Chess Olympiad in 1990, European and World Championships in sambo, Balkan and European Championships in judo, final match in the Cup of European Basketball Champions and final tournament of the European Cup in volleyball. Apart from that Novi Sad is the host of the World League in volleyball and traditional sport events such as Novi Sad marathon, international swimming rally and many other events. Between the 16th and 20th of September 2005, Novi Sad co-hosted the 2005 European Basketball Championship.

Club	Sport	Founded	League	Venue
FK Vojvodina	Football	1914	Meridian Superliga	Stadium of Vojvodina
KK Vojvodina	Basketball	/	Sinalco Superleague	Spens Sports Center
KK Novi Sad	Basketball	1985	Sinalco Superleague	Spens Sports Center
OK Vojvodina	Volleyball	1946	/	Spens Sports Center

[edit] Recreation & leisure

Apart from the culture of attending sports events, people from Novi Sad participate in a wide range of recreational and leisure activities. Football and basketball are the most popular participation team sports in Novi Sad. Cycling is also a very popular in Novi Sad. Novi Sad's flat terrain and extensive off-road paths in the mountainous part of town, in Fruška Gora is conducive to riding. Hundreds of commuters cycle the roads, bike lanes and bike paths daily.

Lake of Ledinci on Fruška Gora, popular summer retreat

Close proximity to the Fruška Gora National Park attract many people from the city on weekends in many hiking trails, restaurants and monasteries on the mountain. In the first weekend of May, there is a "Fruška Gora Marathon", with many hiking trails for hikers, runners and cyclists. <ref>Fruška Gora Marathon</ref> During the summer, there is Lake of Ledinci in Fruška Gora, but also there are numerous beaches on the Danube river, largest being Štrand in the Liman neighborhood. Novi Sad has also one small nudist beach. There are also a couple of small recreational marinas on the river.

[edit] Infrastructure

Image:Most Slobode 1.jpg

Main article: Infrastructure of Novi Sad

Novi Sad is connected by motorway to Subotica and Zrenjanin, by highway to Belgrade; and by railroad to major European cities, such as Vienna, Budapest, Kiev and Moscow. One of the most famous structures in the city are the bridges over river Danube, which were destroyed in every war and then rebuilt. The city is about 90 minutes drive from Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, which connects with metropolises across Europe.

[edit] Public transportation

The main public transportation system in Novi Sad consists of bus lines. In urban area of Novi Sad there are 20 bus lines, as well as 33 lines which connect places in the suburbs, but also places in surrounding municipalities of Beočin, Temerin and Sremski Karlovci. Bus transportation is operated by Javno gradsko saobraćajno preduzeće (JGSP). [1] In addition, there are various taxi companies serving the city.

[edit] Further reading

Boško Petrović - Živan Milisavac, Novi Sad - monografija, Novi Sad, 1987
Milorad Grujić, Vodič kroz Novi Sad i okolinu, Novi Sad, 2004
Jovan Mirosavljević, Brevijar ulica Novog Sada 1745-2001, Novi Sad, 2002
Jovan Mirosavljević, Novi Sad - atlas ulica, Novi Sad, 1998
Mirjana Džepina, Društveni i zabavni život starih Novosađana, Novi Sad, 1982
Zoran Rapajić, Novi Sad bez tajni, Belgrade, 2002
Đorđe Randelj, Novi Sad - slobodan grad, Novi Sad, 1997
Enciklopedija Novog Sada, sveske 1-26, Novi Sad, 1993-2005
Radenko Gajić, Petrovaradinska tvrđava - Gibraltar na Dunavu, Novi Sad, 1994
Veljko Milković, Petrovaradin kroz legendu i stvarnost, Novi Sad, 2001
Veljko Milković, Petrovaradin i Srem - misterija prošlosti, Novi Sad, 2003
Veljko Milković, Petrovaradinska tvrđava - podzemlje i nadzemlje, Novi Sad, 2005
Agneš Ozer, Petrovaradinska tvrđava - vodič kroz vreme i prostor, Novi Sad, 2002
Agneš Ozer, Petrovaradin fortress - a guide through time and space, Novi Sad, 2002
30 godina mesne zajednice "7. Juli" u Novom Sadu 1974-2004 - monografija, Novi Sad, 2004
Branko Ćurčin, Slana Bara - nekad i sad, Novi Sad, 2002
Branko Ćurčin, Novosadsko naselje Šangaj - nekad i sad, Novi Sad, 2004
Zvonimir Golubović, Racija u Južnoj Bačkoj 1942. godine, Novi Sad, 1991
Petar Jonović, Knjižare Novog Sada 1790-1990, Novi Sad, 1990
Petar Jonović - Dr Milan Vranić - Dr Dušan Popov, Znameniti knjižari i izdavači Novog Sada, Novi Sad, 1993
Ustav za čitaonicu srpsku u Novom Sadu, Novi Sad, 1993
Sveske za istoriju Novog Sada, sveske 4-5, Novi Sad, 1993-1994

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Novi Sad travel guide from Wikitravel

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Novi Sad

Novi Sad - Official site (Serbian) (English)
Tourist Information Centre Novi Sad (Serbian) (English)
Happynovisad - Club scene in the city (Serbian)

City of Novi Sad
Neighborhoods Adamovićevo Naselje • Adice • Almaški Kraj • Avijatičarsko Naselje • Banatić • Bistrica • Bulevar • Detelinara • Gornje Livade • Grbavica • Jugovićevo • Klisa • Liman • Mali Beograd • Mišin Salaš • Pervazovo Naselje • Petrovaradin • Podbara • Rimski Šančevi • Rotkvarija • Sajlovo • Sajmište • Salajka • Satelit • Slana Bara • Sremska Kamenica • Stari Grad • Šangaj • Telep • Veliki Rit • Veternička Rampa • Vidovdansko Naselje</small> Suburbs Begeč • Budisava • Bukovac • Čenej • Futog • Kać • Kisač • Kovilj • Ledinci • Rumenka • Stari Ledinci • Stepanovićevo • Veternik