Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

SERBIA 557

Subotica 3

178 km (111 miles) N of Belgrade.

• 100,000. £ @ n trg Slobode
  1, (024) 670 350. _ Palić Film Festival
  (mid-Jul). http://www.visitsubotica.rs

Located close to the
Hungarian frontier, Subotica
is a typical multicultural
border town with a mixed
commu nity of Hungarians,
Serbs and Croats. First docu-
mented in the late 14th
century as a free-trading
post, the town is known
for its Art Nouveau archi-
tecture, of which the
monumental Town Hall
(Gradska kuća) on the main
square is an outstanding
example. Designed in 1908
by architects Marcell Komor
and Dezső Jakab, it is rich
in Hungarian folk motifs,
with colourfully patterned
roof tiles, oriole windows
and deco rative floral designs
adorning the façade.

View of Petrovaradin Fortress across the Danube river, Novi Sad

North of the main square,

at Synaogue square (trg

Sinagoge) stands Subotica’s

Synagogue (Sinagoga), which

showcases Komor and Jakab’s

flamboyant architectural style.

Mixing red brick with green

and yellow tiling and topped

with a cluster of plump domes,

it is an extra ordinarily striking

building. Set in one corner of

the syna gogue enclosure is

a monu ment honouring

Subotica’s 4,000-strong Jewish

population, transported to Nazi

death camps in July 1944.

The nearby Municipal

Museum (Gradski muzej)

houses a colourful ethnogra-

phic collection rich in tradi-

tional Hungarian and Croatian

costumes, and a dis play of

African folk arti facts collected

by famous local explorer

Oskar Vojnić. East of the main

square, the pedes trianized

Korzo is full of fine buildings

from the pre-World War I

period. Most remarkable is the

richly deco rated apart ment

Subotica’s main square, graced by Art Nouveau buildings

workshops and galleries,
with atmospheric cafés
and restaurants.
Petrovardin’s former arsenal
(topovnjača) is now occupied
by the City Museum (Gradski
muzej), home to a fine
collec t ion of period furnish-
ings, porcelain and fine arts.
Guided tours of the under-
ground galleries (podzemne
vojne galerije) offer the
chance to explore a subterra-
nean warren of gun positions
and ammunition dumps.
Every July, Petrovaradin
becomes the venue for
the famous EXIT Festival
(see p562), a four-day
celebration of rock and pop
that draws between 150,000
and 190,000 revellers from
all over Europe.

house at No. 4. The beehive

symbol on its façade reveals

its former function as a savings

bank. Just round the corner

from Korzo, the Likovni Susret

Gallery (galerija Likovni

Susret), covered in brigh tly

coloured tulip motifs is an Art

Nouveau gem. Built by

architect Ferenc Rajhl to serve

as a family home in 1904, it

now hosts chang ing exhib-

itions of contemporary art.

Environs

Located 8 km (5 miles) east of

Subotica, the lakeside settle-

ment of Palić was developed

as a health resort in the mid-

19th century, and is now a

popular spot for sunbathing

and swimming in summer.

Here, too, is an ensemble of

buildings designed by Komor

and Jakab, blending Art

Nouveau style with Hungarian

folk motifs. A cone-shaped

vodotoranj (water tower),

attached to a gateway of the

lakeside park, is among them.

The town’s most distinctive

building, how ever, is the

Womens’ Beach (Ženski

štrand), an all-timber water-

side pavilion resembling

a string of Transylvanian

village huts.

E Municipal Museum

trg Sinagoge 3. Tel (024) 555 128.

# 10am–4pm Tue–Fri, 10am–1pm,

Sat. &

E Likovni Susret Gallery

trg Ferenca Rajhl. Tel (024) 553 725.