Guide

BEOČIN, A PRETTY TOWN ”EMBRACED BY THE DANUBE AND FRUŠKA GORA”
Facing the New Century
Exceptionally located, leaning on one of the most beautiful national parks in Serbia and by far the most powerful river in Europe, in immediate vicinity of Novi Sad, formerly the ”city of cement” and today also the city of wine, healthy food, interesting cultural and tourist events – Beočin is ever more clearly and confidently finding its place on the tourist map of its own country and the wider region. To support this, here are several fragments from publication ”Beočin from the Heart”, which is used by the people from Beočin to invite their guests

On the right bank of the Danube and the northern slopes of Fruška Gora, in the central part of the Province of Vojvodina, just 17 kilometres from Novi Sad, lies Beočin Municipality. The municipality covers an area of 183 square kilometres and, though geographically part of the District of Srem, it is an administrative borough of South Bačka district. Beočin comprises ten settlements that are home to around 17,000 inhabitants.
The powerful, beautiful Danube, proximity of the Fruška Gora National Park, priority given to large development projects in the field of tourism – these are just a few of the important elements that ensure Beočin is set to develop into a serious tourist centre.
Beočin Municipality occupies a very opportune location and boasts good transport links (road, rail and river transport). It is traversed by the roadway (number 107) which links Novi Sad to the state border with Croatia at Ilok. Plans envisage the complete reconstruction of this road and the construction of a modern border checkpoint. A new bridge over the Danube, the construction of which is also planned, will further improve road links between Beočin and Novi Sad, the province’s capital.
A great potential of Beočin municipality is represented by the forest. Of the almost 8,000 hectares of the municipality that it covers, in excess of 6,500 hectares of Beočin’s forest lies on the territory of the Fruška Gora National Park. This forestland is managed in accordance with the prescribed procedures of the first, second and third levels of protection. Significant landmarks include geological and geomorphologic sites within these forests, as well as habitats of rare plant and animal species, endangered bird species, tree categories and individual specimens, Beočin Monastery Park etc.
Two of Fruška Gora’s seventeen famous monasteries are located in Beočin Municipality. Beočin Monastery, with the Church of the Ascension of Christ, is first mentioned in written documents, preserved to this day, in 1566, while Rakovac Monastery certainly existed in the 16th century (according to data available today, the monastery’s church was constructed in 1563).Along with the old castle, built in 1898, these are Beočin’s most important cultural monuments. Categorised as structures of great significance, they are all under state protection.

Beočin Monastery. The first reliable mention of this holy site, preserved until this day, dates back to 1578. The older part of today’s church, a single nave with an apse arch at the eastern side and a narrow choir, was built between 1732 and 1740. The baroque portico with arcades and a high bell tower was added in 1762, while the entrance to the church, with a classical portal, dates back to 1787. The monastery’s full-wall main iconostasis was painted by Janko Halkozović between 1756 and 1757, while other iconostases are the works of Demetrius Bačević and Theodore Kračun from 1766.

Rakovac Monastery. Most likely founded in the late 15th century by Raka Milošević, the great chamberlain of Despot Jovan Brankovic – hence the name, it was here that the famous Rakovacki manuscripts ”Srbljak”, an anthology dedicated to Serbian saints, was written. This is also the final resting place of Metropolitan Vićentije Jovanović, who built the church’s bell tower. The monastery was severely damaged during the Second World War by invading Croatian army units, who also burnt an iconostasis dating back to 1763 (the work of Vasilija Ostojić).

Beli majdan (White Quarry). This interesting cave is one of the tourist attractions of Beočin Municipality. Formerly a large stone quarry, the mined stone was most likely used to construct the nearby Rakovac Monastery. The width of the entrance is about ten metres, with the depth extending much farther and the cavern ceiling height reaching four metres.

Old Castle. Formerly owned by the Špicer family and co-owned by the Beočin cement plant, it was built between 1890 and 1892 according to a project of Imre Stendala. Though today it has fallen into a state of complete disrepair, the old mansion still contains the contours of its original beauty and refinement. It awaits proper restoration and renovation.