Subotica
Some 175km north of Belgrade, Vojvodina’s second city, Subotica (Суботица; Hungarian: Szabadka), is a wonderful counterpoint to the capital, its Secessionist buildings, green spaces, wide pavements and burghers riding around on old-fashioned bicycles all contributing to its unspoilt, wholesome air. Just a stone’s throw from Hungary, Subotica feels tangibly more like its northern neighbour. Historically, the ties are close: Subotica reached its apotheosis in the years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when it was granted the status of a Royal Free Town.
The heart of the town is grassy Trg Republike, fronted by a hulking city hall built in 1912; its gingerbread-like windows and colourfully patterned roof are almost too gaudy to look at in full sunlight. In front stands a brilliant blue fountain added in 2001. Adjoining Trg Republike is Trg Slobode, behind which runs the Korzo, a busy pedestrianized street featuring the fairytale Piraeus Bank building, with its door and windows straight out of a medieval castle, created by architects Dezsó Jakab and Marcell Komor at the start of the twentieth century.
Further out, northwest of the city centre is another Jakab/Komor collaboration: the dignified but now deserted 1902 synagogue, where a moving plaque remembers the “4000 Jewish citizens with whom we lived and built Subotica”.
Cathedral of St Theresa
A five-minute walk west of the centre, on Harambašićeva, the Catholic Cathedral of St Theresa is a curiously moving place; in the surrounding square, the scattered statues are a poignant mix of classical piety (the two hands clasped in prayer) and postwar brutalism (the enormous monument to the “victims of fascism” who died during World War II).
Likovni Susret Contemporary Art Gallery
Occupying the wildly colourful 1904 mansion of architect Ferenc Raichle on Rajhlov Park Square is the Likovni Susret Contemporary Art Gallery, exhibiting work by local artists. The real draw however is the attention-seeking interior decor, from the cutesy hearts at the entranceway to the bulbous alcoves upstairs.
Top image © igorstevanovic/Shutterstock