We visited our famous Gibraltar on the Danube, the Petrovaradin Fortress, which houses the City Museum of Novi Sad with two exhibitions and underground military galleries. The biggest attraction of the fort is the underground military galleries, which are somehow less frequently visited. Many legends have been passed down from generation to generation. From the secret corridor below the Danube, then hundreds of kilometres of tunnels, to the deep underground church with the treasure of Maria Theresa.
Underground military galleries, or as they are popularly called, catacombs, are a four-story, 16 km-long maze-like communications system. The construction of this system was completed in 1783. The detail of the architect and the builder of the fort when building the military galleries left a strong impression on us. The corridors are lined with numerous loopholes containing ventilation ducts, garages that store ammunition, etc. The corridors continue with the various purposes used by the brigades stationed at the fort. In the corridors, we also noticed side tunnels leading to, as we found out, underground minefields beneath the counter, which is one of the many proofs of the ingenuity of the fort builder. This mine system was once one of the largest in Europe. The never-conquered Petrovaradin Fortress is a unique attraction, not only for its mysterious underground tunnels, but also for its safety in the 19th century, where it was also the treasury where the gold and silver of the Habsburg Monarchy were kept.
- Only a small part of these corridors is accessible to visitors, with expert guidance from the Guide Service of the City Museum of Novi Sad (available in multiple languages).
- The price of individual tickets is 300,00 RSD for the group of 10 persons, however if the group is smaller it is necessary to pay the amount of 3000,00 RSD (10 tickets).
- More information on underground military galleries can be found on the official website of the City Museum of Novi Sad.
Authors: Ognjen Dokić and Dragana Aritinović
