NOVI SAD, BELGRADE, ĐERDAP. . . Oh Danube, by you my heart stands still T he first major modern set- tlement on this stretch of the river is the brewery town of Apatin, after which the course of the great riv- er leads us to Novi Sad, which is watched over by Petrovaradin Fortress, one of the most beautiful fortifications on the Dan- ube, while Novi Sad itself is a must-see city. A city tailored to the traditionally rich Pannonian Plain, where everything thrives – from preserved Art Nouveau buildings to postmodern architecture – its most popular contemporary trade- mark is the EXIT music festival, while it also remains home to foundational in- stitutions of Serbian culture like Mati- ca Srpska culture centre, the Serbian Na- tional Theatre, the Sterija Pozorje theatre festival etc. Novi Sad is a mini metropo- lis; a city where differences are perceived as advantages. Around ten kilometres further along, the Danube carries us to Sremski Karlovci. A small town that boasts a wealth of cul- ture and history, it is renowned for offer- ing the highest quality wines. The next stop is Stari Slankamen, where the Riv- er Tisza empties into the Danube and where legend has it that Attila the Hun was buried. We next witness the most beautiful love story of two rivers, the spot where the Danube and the Sava are locked in their eternal kiss, in perhaps one of the world’s most beautiful cities, the capital of Ser- bia, the one and only Belgrade. The im- pressive view from the vantage point of the river encompasses the city's Kalemeg- dan area, which isn’t only Belgrade’s larg- est and most beautiful park, but also hap- pens to be the country’s most important cultural and historical complex, domi- nated by the fortress that rises above the confluence. The Turks also called Kale- megdan Fićir-bajir, which means “hill for
thinking”. Occupying the right bank of the Danube before it enters the city is a place with an unusual ancient atmosphere: Zemun. This former standalone town’s trade- mark symbol is Gardoš Tower, which of- fers one of the most beautiful views over Belgrade. You also shouldn’t miss a stroll along the Zemun quay promenade, which stretches from the heart of Zemun all the way to the city centre. The Danube al- so boasts an oasis of wild nature here in the form of Great War Island, which pro- vides a habitat for a large number of rare birds. The city’s famous neighbourhood of Dorćol is, of course, also on the Dan- ube, but you can read about that in a sep- arate article... The Danube nonetheless flows onwards, inexorably, and we must go with it, via Vinča, to the city of Smederevo. Tower- ing over the right bank of the Danube here is the mighty Smederevo Fortress, constructed by Serbian despot Đurađ Branković. Once the capital of Serbia, Smederevo is today a city that provides a reminder of the powerful days of the Ser- bian medieval state. Before the river leads
us on to Silver Lake, check out the Otto- man fortress of Ram. Not much is known about the history of this fortress, but it is an extremely valuable monument among the fortifications of the Danube. Leav- ing it behind, we reach Silver Lake, the watery neighbour of Đerdap Gorge, also known as the Iron Gates of the Danube. The Đerdap Iron Gates Gorge is Europe’s largest river gorge, while the area is al- so home to Đerdap National Park, repre- senting the largest national park in Ser- bia. After just a two-hour drive, you’ll arrive in one of Serbia’s most beautiful and famous destinations, where you can almost reach out and touch Romania. Well, if you have a miraculous arm that’s around six kilometres long, which is how wide the Danube is at this point, making it the widest point along the entire course of the great river from the Black Forest to the Black Sea. There, at the entrance to Đerdap Gorge, where the Iron Gates have preserved the history of these lands for centuries, you’ll get the impression that you’ve arrived at the seaside. It’s unlikely that there’s a more dramatic contrast in the charac-
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