The town’s narrow brickwork streets and tall rammed earth walls with wooden doors still preserve the authentic old-town atmosphere.
Petrovaradin is located on the Srem side of the Danube (Petrovaradin, Petrovaradinska tvrdjava). It has almost entirely been absorbed by Novi sad, although it has its own government and municipality. The town was named after Peter, son of Gurwey, who lost of his life and lands after the murder of queen Gertrude in 1213. The second part of the town’s name means small fort. The town’s narrow streets with brickwork, tall-walled rammed earth buildings with wooden doors and clerestories still have the old-town atmosphere today.
The Petrovaradin Fortress is the town’s symbol and is one of Europe’s largest and most well-preserved baroque-style military buildings. It is an interesting and renowned place, a tourist attraction, and a rare historical monument in Vojvodina. Turkish forces occupied the town on 15 July 1526, although the siege of the fortress lasted 12 days and only succeeded on July 27. The current fortress was built between 1692 and 1780.
If you take a walk around this compelling building from a bygone era, you can enjoy a truly fantastic view. You can explore the tunnel system and all the nooks and crannies which were once part of the military fortress during the Ottoman wars. The 16 kilometer, 4-level tunnel system was built after the 1750s for defensive purposes; this took 88 years to finish. This complex route is best to explore through an organized trip accompanied by a tour guide. The fortress’ most well-known building, the clock tower, can be seen from far away. It is also known as the inverted (or drunken) clock, because the hours are indicated by the long hand, and the minutes are indicated by the short hand. There are two reasons for this: first, the crew of ships sailing on the Danube can see the time more easily this way; second, the fortress guards’ shifts changed on the hour, so minutes were less important.
The central area of the fortress is home to an important building of the Novi Sad City Museum. It has two permanent exhibitions, one of which showcases the history of the fortress, while the other one explores the history of Novi Sad’s citizens from the 18th through 20th centuries. The balcony of the fortress’ café offers a spectacular panoramic view of the Novi Sad cityscape and the Danube.
