Novi Sad and Its Surroundings

If you set out from the Petrovaradin Fortress to visit Mt. Fruska Gora, you will soon come to the town of Sremski Karlovci, old Serbian Orthodox spiritual center, with the oldest grammar school (f. 1791), and a theological seminary. Karlovci is also famed for its wine cellars. The green slopes of Mt. Fruska Gora are barely over 500 meters high and well known for their vineyards. The mountain is also referred to as ”the Holy Fruska Mountain”, due to the score of famous Serbian monasteries (Krusedol, Hopovo, Grgeteg...) that were built therein in the time of Serbian flight before Turkish terror. On the bank of the Danube opposite to Sremski Karlovci, there lies the famous village of Kovilj, with yet another renowned Serbian monastery. The Kovilj Marshland, rich in rare plants and a bird sanctuary, provides exquisite fishing and hunting grounds. There are also famed czárda-resta - urants where you can taste fish soups and paprikash, drink a cold Spritzer (wine and soda), and enjoy the music of a tamburitza band. If you choose to go along the Danube upstream, towards Futog and Begec, you will find some more fishing and hunting grounds there; farther on, Celarevo awaits you with a famous archeological site that yielded finds of Khazar culture, Dundjerski Villa and a major brewery. And so on. Novi Sad and its vicinity form an indivisible and authentic urban and rural entity, with about 400,000 inhabitants; those are hospitable people, eager to meet all the well-meaning travelers of whatever culture, language or smile.