Abstract:
Novi Sad has always been multicultural and multiconfessional community. Since the very first years of its existence the Jewish community has played a significant role in its development and everyday life. With the passing of time, it was getting larger and more significant despite the challenges it was facing. Many cultural monuments in the city testify to the resilience and accomplishments of our Jewish countrymen.Activities:
Synagogue VisitJewish Cemetery Tour
The "Raid" Memorial Tour – site of one of the most tragic events in Novi Sad's history.
Tour description:
During this walk, we take you back in time. We shall start from, what used to be, Jewish Ghetto. Today this is the very heart of the city – the Jewish Street. We shall visit the Novi Sad Synagogue, one of the most beautiful synagogues that survived WWI in this part of Europe. This synagogue is a part of the larger complex that consists of the former Jewish School and Jewish Municipality. So far, only the Municipality building has kept it purpose. Through the stories of the people who lived here, we take you to the centre of the city where you shall see the buildings built by Jewish architects. The Jewish community was looking after those members of the reduced circumstances who needed support. In this noble cause, they did not strictly limit to the Jews. Their hand was offered to anyone in need. In the very heart of the city, there is still a building that provided shelter to orphans, poor children and young mothers abandoned to their faith.The tour will take us to the river bank – the venue of one of the most tragic events in the history of Novi Sad. In January 1942, the Hungarian authorities carried out the so-called “Raid”. Under the
pretext of looking for the communists, in less than three days, they executed more than 1,200 people –mostly Jews, Serbs and Roma. That was, in fact, their only guilt. Afterwards, they disposed of their bodies throwing them in the frozen Danube.
We end the tour at the Jewish cemetery. It is one of the most important monuments of the Jewish cultural heritage in Novi Sad. This is its third location dating from the beginning of the 19 th
century. Many monuments have artistic and architectural value.