Meadow above Novi Rakovac

Lookout with the Swing

At the edge of a meadow above Novi Rakovac a swing hangs from an old tree, and the whole Danube valley lies below: Novi Sad with the arches of the Žeželj Bridge, the river, and the plain beyond.

The place has no sign, so on this site we simply call it the lookout with the swing. In a straight line it is about 1.1 km south of the Gradina archaeological site and about 1.4 km from the monastery.

To the north the view opens over the Danube and Novi Sad; on clear days you can pick out the city’s bridges and tower blocks. Summer storms can be watched coming across the plain long before they reach the hill, and in late autumn the valley fills with haze. The photos below were all taken from this one meadow in different seasons.

The swing hangs from a tree above a steep slope. Hold small children, and check the rope before you sit down.

Fire on the slope

Dry grass on these slopes burns easily. A neighbour, Peter Perlin, filmed this grass fire near the swing on the night of 7 to 8 February 2024.

Grass fire on the slope near the swing, at night. Video: Peter Perlin

The grass caught fire around 7 pm on 7 February; about 50 hectares of low vegetation above Beočin and Rakovac burned, and firefighters from Novi Sad worked into the night (021.rs). By the next morning, 8 February, the slopes around the swing were black and the ground was still hot in places.