Novi Sad (Cyrillic: Нови Сад, Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [ˈnɔviː ˈsaːd], ; Hungarian: Újvidék; Slovak: Nový Sad; Rusyn: Нови Сад) is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District.
According to the 2002 Census, Novi Sad is Serbia's third-largest town (including Kosovo), after Belgrade and Priština, with its 300,000 inhabitants. In its most recent official census from 2002, the city had an urban population of 216,583, while its municipal population was 299,294. The city is located on the border of the Bačka and Syrmia regions, on the banks of the Danube river and Danube-Tisa-Danube Canal, while facing the northern slopes of Fruška Gora mountain.
Since it was founded in 1694, Novi Sad became the centre of Serbian culture and earned its nickname Serbian Athens. Today, Novi Sad is a large industrial and financial centre of the Serbian economy; and it is also one of the biggest construction sites in the region.