Petrovaradin fortress ready for Exit festival

Petrovaradin Fortress was built next to Novi Sad, on the right bank of the Danube, on the site of the Roman fortress of Cusum and the mediaeval Petrikon, the remains of which were demolished in 1690. It was built between 1692 and 1780 on a hill above the Danube, a fortress patterned on the French Vauban system of military fortress-building, to the design of Austrian military engineers Marsigli, Keysersfeld and Wamberg.

It is comprised of an Upper and Lower Fortress. The Upper Fortress comprises a network of underground passages and galleries totalling 16 km in length. The Lower Fortress – the Wasserstadt – is where the officers’ residences, town government, hospital, old arsenal, barracks and other public buildings were situated. Beneath the Fortress is the Catholic parish Church of St George, while the Orthodox church is in the town. The water gate is today in ruins. Set in the walls is the Belgrade Gate.

Archaeological excavations carried out at the beginning of the 21st century uncovered cultural layers extending from the Mid-Palaeolithic to the Austrian period. Particularly significant are the remains of a Cistercian monastery from 1243, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, discovered under the Arsenal building, now Novi Sad City Museum.

Petrovaradin Fortress is today best known for the EXIT music festival, held there every July. A great number of other cultural and entertainment events are held in the fortress.