Novi Sad

Novi Sad
Нови Сад (Serbian)
Újvidék (Hungarian)
Nový Sad (Slovak)
Нови-Сад (Pannonian Rusyn)
City of Novi Sad
Град Нови Сад
Nickname: 
Serbian Athens
Novi Sad
Location within Serbia
Novi Sad
Location with Vojvodina
Novi Sad
Location within Europe
Coordinates: 45°15′15″N 19°50′33″E / 45.25417°N 19.84250°E / 45.25417; 19.84250
Country Serbia
Province Vojvodina
DistrictSouth Bačka
Settled by Scordisci4th century B.C.
Founded1694
City status1 February 1748 (1748-02-01)
Government
 • MayorŽarko Mićin (SNS)
 • Ruling partiesSNS/SDPS/SPOSPS/JSSVM
Area
83 km2 (32 sq mi)
 • Urban
222.66 km2 (85.97 sq mi)
 • Metro
699 km2 (270 sq mi)
 • Rank36th in Serbia
Elevation
80 m (260 ft)
Population
 (2022)
260,438
 • Rank2nd in Serbia
 • Density3,100/km2 (8,100/sq mi)
 • Urban
325,511
 • Urban density1,461.9/km2 (3,786.4/sq mi)
 • Metro
372,136
 • Metro density532/km2 (1,380/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Novosađanin
(Новосађанин, m.)
Novosađanka
(Новосађанка, f.) (sr)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code
21000
Area code+381(0)21
Vehicle registrationNS
Official languagesSerbian together with Hungarian, Slovak and Pannonian Rusyn
Websitewww.novisad.rs

Novi Sad (Serbian: Нови Сад, pronounced [nôʋiː sâːd] ; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the administrative center 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, and facing the northern slopes of Fruška Gora. According to the 2022 census, the population of Novi Sad city proper stands at 260,438, its contiguous urban area has 325,511 inhabitants, and the population of its administrative area totals 372,136 people. It is the fifth largest city on the Danube river and the largest that is not a national capital.

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.

Novi Sad was the European Youth Capital in 2019 and a European Capital of Culture in 2022. It became a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts in 2023.