I got into Upland a while ago cause of an ad I had received from my Brave Browser and I can't say I am surprised it has a connection with Publish0x as well, seeing as they deal in crypto through various ways. I've been playing Upland ever since and even though I haven't put any of my own money into it I like to think I'm doing pretty well. Through this particular article I'd like to put out my proposal for a future city expansion, it might not be especially popular but it's my home town so I'd like to give it some exposure and, if a miracle happens, get it into Upland at some point.
Here's my block explorer next to some of my properties.
The city I would like to nominate, as the title suggests, is Novi Sad, Serbia.
The second largest city in Serbia, the capital of it's north autonomous province Vojvodina and the nicest looking city in the country. It's also an up-and-coming technological center for IT, Gaming as well as Crypto.
So, what makes Novi Sad interesting enough to be included over other Balkan cities and more popular and well known ones in Europe. Well for starters Novi Sad is the 2021 European Capital of Culture (postponed to 2022 cause of COVID). As the culture capital, there have been and will continue to be manifestations that promote mutual cooperation and bring countries and cities together. Novi Sad is one of only 67 cities to ever be given this title and only the 10th Balkan city. If you're interested in Novi Sad as the cultural capital you can read more about it here. I can't talk about Novi Sad as a cultural center without mentioning the world-famous EXIT festival held on the Petrovaradin Fortress every year!
For anyone not in the know how of famous music festivals EXIT is up there with the big boys of the scene and definitely one of the most popular musical experiences in Europe. From the scenery and setup on the Petrovaradin Fortress to it's stacked list of performers every single year, some of the most famous singers and especially DJ's have shown up and had a blast with the Novi Sad crowd. The event lasts for 4 days usually with each day having about 5 headliners on the Main Stage as well as other fascinating performers tailored to less mainstream tastes like the Reggae/Metal/Rock Stage with their own distinct performers. My experience here was fantastic, as with every festival it is extremely tiring and you're rarely off your feat but it is worth it for the experience and memorable, once in a lifetime performances. The festival will be held on the 8th of July this year so don't miss it!
Besides it's current status as a place of culture Novi Sad has a large amount of fascinating architecture from different time periods as well as a general rich history.
Let's start with what's most important for Upland, the buildings. I'll start from the antiques and go further onto the newer buildings.
The Petrovaradin Fortress - already mentioned as the place where the EXIT festival is held, known as the "Gibraltar of the Danube". The first larger fortification where it currently stands was built by the Romans and has been modified multiple times since, most recently 1692 when most of the iconic parts we see today were built. There are many tunnels underneath the fortress (around 16KM) that was used previously when defending the area. Currently the fortress is a tourist destinations where anyone can walk freely throughout it's open areas.
Name of Mary Church - situated at the very center of Novi Sad it's essentially the most iconic monument within Novi Sad and as one of the tallest buildings around it certainly stands out. It's often called "the cathedral" because of it's grandeur and size, despite Novi Sad belonging to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Subotica, whose cathedral is located in Subotica. The gothic style combined with it's colorful roof and stained glass make it impossible for anyone to pass by it without at least glancing at it. My dad and stepmom were also married here!
Gymnasium Jovan Jovanović Zmaj - one of the oldest cultural and educational institutions in Serbia. Some of the smartest and most prominent scientists, artists and polymaths in Serbia were schooled here (including myself 😊). It is named after one of it's most famous students, Jovan Jovanović, who was a physician and poet famous for his nursery rhymes which any Serbian child or parent should know even if they don't necessarily know who wrote it. People that get into "Jovina" are usually hailed at the best and most gifted students in the country and often participate in international competitions. The school paper, Skamija, is also well known as the best school paper in Serbia (3 issues were designed by my class mate while I wrote one of the stories in the second issue).
The Serbian National Theatre, another building which every citizen should have visited at least once, it's one of the major theaters in Serbia. It is at this time being renovated somewhat, we are unsure how or if it'll even be changed significantly or if it'll stay relatively the same. The current building was opened in 1981. but the theatre itself has existed since 1861. There are operas, plays, ballets and such performed almost every day with it essentially being the Broadway Theater of Novi Sad. The buildings style is still a sight to behold even after 40 years.
I'll now go through a few iconic buildings that might not have as interesting or long of a history as the previously mentioned ones.
A very recent addition to Novi Sad's skyline and my personal favorite building in Novi Sad - the Aleksandar Building
Another recent addition that is unfortunately not easily visible from a single picture but is very modernistic - Pupins Palace
The central building of the Serbian Petrol industry, with a very cool looking fountain and sleek architectural design - NIS Building
The stadium of the most popular local team Vojvodina, of which I am somewhat a fan of - Karađorđe Stadium
There are also a multitude of shopping malls each quite unique in it's own way, both through their architectural design and placement as well as interior and general feeling while moving around them and shopping.
The newest of the bunch is Promenada (essentially meaning walkway), it has a cool and modernistic look and quite a bit of greenery, there's also a dedicated outdoor sports are right in front of it as well as a large multilayered, partially underground parking. The shops themselves are less important but the view from the cafes on the higher levels are exquisite and on some you can even watch the games of FC Vojvodina happening on the nearby stadium I mentioned earlier.
The BIG shopping mall is the largest one and it's really not easy finding a proper picture of it cause of how large it is. Most because the mall itself a lot longer than it is wide, because of that it has shops on each side and has a couple of separate wings it's shape isn't linear either. It's shape would best be described as "almost a C symbol" shape while inside of the empty space in C there is a large parking lot. Going through BIG is quite different from Promenada, it still feels fresh and modern, as they are both relatively new but it has much more of a simple feel as you'll pass by every shop when going through it rather than having to run around the multiple levels of some malls. There is also this tower right next to the road that leads outside the city that you can't miss.
There are also a few other long-standing shopping areas, mostly situated near the center of the city like TC Bazaar and New Nork. Both being quite a bit older than the previous two which is visible in their look. Both building have also gone through quite a bit of change, so much so that TC Bazaar no longer even looks like the picture presented since it was recently changed, still the same building but not the same shops or logos.
Often times in Upland there are events connected to either a city, a country or just a particular area so I thought I should dedicate a bit of time to the interesting festivities that could happen as special events if Novi Sad was added.
So first off I'd like to mention Cinema City, during 10 days in September people in Novi Sad have the chance to watch a plethora of international films, listen to music and watch academic programs organized over these days. It's a city-festival which aims to promote young film makers and their works. These screenings and performances happen at 10 attractive locations around the city which could be used within upland to promote either new buildings in those spots or auction or do something else special with the area.
Next up we have the Zmaj Children's Games which is one of the most famous children's literature festivals in the world, the showings and programs aren't exclusively literary as encompass theater, literature, music... This could also be used as a fun event where people could write literature that is Upland related and be awarded either certain lots or UPX...
In a similar way Serbian Fashion Week, which is quite self explanatory but I'll still add that it is the largest and most famous fashion festival in Eastern Europe, the Upland events could be connected to either drawing/designing or generally thinking up ideas on how to dress the cute llama of Upland or just in general, I'd honestly find that extremely amusing.
And to end it off I already mentioned the EXIT Festival but it could also be used for a event especially one connected to Petrovaradin since it is a somewhat separate part of Novi Sad, it would obviously be centered around music and possibly have players find certain notes around the city that they would have to connect to be able to get a reward or whatever else they could think up.
An important thing to note is that recently, in the past year or so, there have been many new buildings popping up and just starting to be built. This was honestly a rarity up until now but it seems the city is slowly becoming more and more modernized and having newer, better designed and interesting looking buildings that could potentially be up and running by the time it would be ready for Upland
Most of these buildings are independent from one another and often completely different in their attractiveness but there are exceptions that I've seen that are being built as large complexes of multiple taller buildings that will complement each other and make the entire block look new instead of just having a single fancy building lost in a horde of older, less flashy ones,
Now onto the city's history which is heavily intertwined with Serbia's history in general. I'll spare you all the details and talk about the important stuff. Novi Sad was conquered (or just absorbed) by 4 different countries (that weren't in some way Serbia) - The Turkish Empire, Hasburg Monarchy, Austrian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Due to these influences, particularly Hungarian, the city has many contrasting characteristics which only emphasize it's array of cultures. This also had the consequence of a large number of Hungarians staying and living in Novi Sad, who the city has openly welcomed and so have I, my elementary was literally named after a Hungarian-Serbian poet and we had a Hungarian class too!
Unfortunately there are some things that aren't very happy in the history of Novi Sad, one of these happened during the Novi Sad raid better known as the Novi Sad massacre... It happened during World War II when the Hungarian army invaded towns and cities in the area. The most tragic of these killings was the throwing of people under the icy Danube and forcing the same people to stand in long lines on the river itself awaiting their execution. Mentioning this event isn't for the purpose of making this article depressing but rather emphasizing a part of the history that isn't as easy to talk about but will always be present and should be talked about.
A monument next to the Danube river dedicated to the victims.
The cities significance goes back to Roman times when the first larger settlements were made in this area and everything continued from then, from it's destruction, to many name changes, another destruction... and another and occupations until it's current state of freedom.
The reason behind my love for this city isn't solely cause of my life here, I've been to many cities throughout my life and as nice as some of them have been Novi Sad will always have it's uniqueness that can't be reciprocated mostly because of how uniquely it is situated next to and around the Danube river and the multitude of cultures that make up the entirety of the cities identity. Words can not easily describe the feeling and neither can a single article so I hope some of you get to visit it some day!
Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it!
