Novi Sad (Serbian Cyrillic: Нови Сад, pronounced [nôʋiː sâːd] ; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia after the capital Belgrade and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannonian Plain on the border of the Bačka and Syrmia geographical regions. Lying on the banks of the Danube river, the city faces the northern slopes of Fruška Gora and it is the fifth largest of all cities on the Danube river. It is the largest Danube city that is not the capital of an independent state.
According to the 2022 census[update], the population of the administrative area of the city totals 368,967, while its urban area (including the adjacent settlements of Petrovaradin and Sremska Kamenica) comprises 306,702 inhabitants. According to the city's Informatika Agency, Novi Sad had 414,386 inhabitants (metro) in 2024.
Novi Sad was founded in 1694, when Serb merchants formed a colony across the Danube from the Petrovaradin Fortress, a strategic Habsburg military post. In subsequent centuries, it became an important trading, manufacturing and cultural centre, and has historically been dubbed the Serbian Athens. The city was heavily devastated in the 1848 Revolution, but was subsequently rebuilt and restored. Today, along with the Serbian capital city of Belgrade, Novi Sad is an industrial and financial center important to the Serbian economy. (Full article...)