page_title: Novi Sad
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Novi Sad / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Српски / srpski: Novi Sad, panorama
context_page_description: Novi Sad is the second largest city in Serbia 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 Srem geographical regions. Lying on the banks of the Danube river, the city faces the northern slopes of Fruška Gora.
  According to the 2011 census, Novi Sad proper has a population of 231,798 while its urban area comprises 277,522 inhabitants. The population of the administrative area of the city totals 341,625 people.
  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 the following centuries, it transformed into an important trading and manufacturing centre as well as a centre of Serbian culture, earning it the nickname 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 centre important to the Serbian economy.
  Novi Sad is the European Capital of Culture for the year 2021 and European Youth Capital 2019.
context_section_description: The city lies on the meander of the river Danube, which is only 350 meters wide beneath the marking stones of Petrovaradin. A section of the Danube-Tisza-Danube Canal marks the northern edge of the wider city centre. The main part of the city lies on the left bank of the Danube in the region of Bačka, while the smaller settlements of Petrovaradin and Sremska Kamenica lie on the right bank, in the region of Srem (Syrmia). The section situated on the left bank of the river lies on one of the southernmost and lowest parts of the Pannonian Plain, while Fruška Gora on the right bank is a horst mountain. Alluvial plains along the Danube are well-formed, especially on the left bank, and in some parts 10 kilometres (6 miles) from the river. A large part of Novi Sad lies on a fluvial terrace with an elevation between 80 to 83 metres (262 to 272 feet). The northern part of Fruška Gora is composed of massive landslide zones, although they are largely inactive with the exception of the Ribnjak neighbourhood between Sremska Kamenica and Petrovaradin Fortress.
  
  The total land area of the city is 699 square kilometres (270 sq mi), while its urban area spans 129.7 km² (50 sq mi).
caption: Panoramic view from the Petrovaradin Fortress.
exif: {"Image Artist": "Zoran Strajin"}