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Петроварадин
Petrovaradin

hu: Pétervárad de: Peterwardein
el: Πετροβαραντίν

Petrovaradin is situated at an elevation of 81 m on the right bank of the river Danube, opposite of the town of Novi Sad. Petrovaradin itself has a population of about 14,800 (2011) and is part of the greater municipality of Novi Sad.

etrovaradin was founded by the Celts, but its original name is unknown. During Roman administration it was known as Cusum. After the Romans conquered the region from the Celtic tribe of Scordisci, they built the Cusum fortress where present fortress of Petrovaradin now stands. In addition, the town received its name from the Byzantines, who called it Petrikon or Petrikov, presumably after Saint Peter. In documents from 1237, the town was first mentioned under the name Peturwarod, named after Hungarian lord Péter, son of Töre. Petrovaradin was known under the name Pétervárad during Hungarian administration, Varadin or Petervaradin during Ottoman administration, and Peterwardein during Austrian Habsburg administration. During the Habsburg administration, Petrovaradin was part of the so-called 'Military Frontier'. With the abolishment of the Military Frontier in 1881, the town was included into the Syrmia County of the kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, which was a (nominally) autonomous kingdom within the Austro-Hungian empire, associated with the kingdom of Hungary. In 1918, the town firstly became part of the 4433 Петроварадин / Petrovaradin State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, then part of the Kingdom of Serbia and finally part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as Yugoslavia). Between 2002 and 2019, Petrovaradin had a status of separate municipality within the city of Novi Sad, but its administrative bodies were never established and the status was mostly formal. Apart from the town, the municipality covered the area on the right Danube bank including the town of Sremska Kamenica the villages Stari Ledinci, Novi Ledinci and Bukovac. The municipality status was terminated by a City Assembly decision in 2019.

The fortress of Petrovaradin [left, no. 4433] is popularly nicknamed Gibraltar on/of the Danube. Remains of a Palaeolithic settlement from about 19,000 to 15,000 BC have been discovered within its upper parts and it seems that this place has been inhabited continuously ever since. Examining remains from the early Bronze Age (c. 3000 BC), ramparts were discovered which testify that already at that time a fortified settlement existed at the Petrovaradin site. The first larger fortifications were created with the arrival of the Romans who built the fortress (Cusum) which was a part of the fortified borders (limes) along the Danube. Hungarian King Béla IV invited a group of Cistercians from France to build a monastery upon the remains of the Roman fortress. The walls of this monastery were built between 1247 and 1252 and represent the fortifications at this site during the Middle Ages. The fortress was strengthened due to the threat of Ottoman invasion. However the fortress fell after a two-week siege in 1526. The Austrian Army captured Petrovaradin after 150 years of Turkish control during the Great Turkish War in 1687. The Austrians began to tear down the old fortress and build new fortifications according to contemporary standards. New plans were developed in 1751 and major works began in 1753 and lasted until 1776. In the late 19th century, the fortress served as military barracks and storage facility. Following World War I, when Petrovaradin became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as Yugoslavia), the old fortresses at Belgrade, Osijek, Karlovac and Slavonski Brod which were built in the 17th century were razed because they had lost their military significance. The fortress of Petrovaradin, however, was spared as it was considered to be too beautiful to suffer the fate of the other fortresses.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrovaradin; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrovaradin_Fortress]


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