In search of further stations within the Camper Route, we stopped at the idyllic Campsite Zasavica of Jovan, who was also willing to show his city Sremska Mitrovica to us, which was in German formerly called Syrmisch-Mitrowitz.

Sremska Mitrovica is situated in the Vojvodina on the northern bank of the River Sava, situated on the settlement area of the ancient Roman-Byzantine city of Sirmium. We were quite surprised by the fact that during our tour in the city we came across an elongated bathing beach directly on the banks of the River Sava, which was used by inhabitants for bathing even at the end of September. Sremska Mitrovica today has about 39,000 inhabitants, a port with shipyard and the ruins of the ancient Sirmium, which could certainly be used much more as a tourist attraction. But more about that later.

In the Middle Ages, the city was part of the struggle between Byzantium and Hungary for a long time. In the 9th century, Method of Saloniki had his seat as archbishop of Pannonia and Great Moravia in Sirmium / Sremska Mitrovica. About 1180, Sremska Mitrovica finally came under Hungarian rule. The city's common medieval name was Civitas Sancti Demetrii, the city of Saint Demetrius, which still exists today in the Hungarian Szávaszentdemeter. In the 13th century Serbs were first mentioned in writings, while Hungarian Franciscans reported on Schismaticians and their Serbian patriarchs, who are to be found in the city and southern Syria. The Serbian name Dimitrovica and finally Mitrovica developed from the city of Demetrius. The prefix Sremska dates back to the 1930s to distinguish the city of Kosovska Mitrovica.

In 1526 the Ottomans conquered the city. During Ottoman rule the city was called Şeher-Mitrovica and Dimitrofçe. Among the Ottoman time, the city had a majority of Muslim in the population.

In 1688, Sremska Mitrovica was conquered by the Austrian Empire during the Turkish war. The city finally came under the Austrian rule in 1718 with the peace of Passarowitz. After the peace of Belgrade in 1739, Sremska Mitrovica was a border town to the Ottoman Empire, was annexed as a military border, and belonged to the Petrovaradin Regiment. 1848 / 1850-1860 it was part of the voivodship of Serbia, afterwards the conditions from before 1848 returned. In 1881, the military border was disbanded and the city and the southern Syrian Republic, which belonged to the Petrovaradine Regiment, were annexed to Croatia-Slavonia. On the other hand, Sremska Mitrovica was given the status of a royal free city in order to meet the Serbian and German population groups, which did not welcome the dissolution of the military frontier. In 1918 Sremska Mitrovica came to the newly founded South Slav state, the kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, after the end of the First World War and the disintegration of Austria-Hungary.

From 1918, Sremska Mitrovica belonged to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which was to be renamed to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929. The city became part of the Danube, one of the newly formed borders of Yugoslavia. After the attack of the German Reich on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the surrender of Yugoslavia in 1941, the Danube was dissolved. Sremska Mitrovica was turned over to Fascist Croatia and renamed Hrvatska Mitrovica. The city was occupied by Soviet troops on 1 November 1944 and then by the partisans. In 1945 the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina was formed within the Republic of Serbia, Sremska Mitrovica became part of Vojvodina. Small background information on the history of the city.

Of course traces of this changing history can be found in many places, as the city architecture partly reminds of German or Austrian town planning, the bazaar or daily market to the time of the Ottomans. The ruins of the ancient Sirmium to the Romans and the Byzantine Empire. It is simply interesting to look for these relics of the past, but also not to forget the modern city architecture. So there is a pedestrian zone with street cafes, which could also be located in a Western European city. Sitting in the cafes, people still use the warm sun for a plush with friends, as in other cities as well.

Jovan then led us to the bank of the Save, describing the buildings and sections of the beach in their functions, and we were very surprised to find groups of bathers who could still enjoy a dip in the river during the autumn sun. An interesting place with so far little known possibilities, hardly discovered by tourism. With a multitude of jewels in the city center and the surrounding area, which could very well contribute to the flourishing of tourism. Stay tuned.

44° 58′ 47″ N, 19° 36′ 35″ O

Please read as well:

Sirmium - today Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia

Brunn to Belgrade - visiting Memorial Church of St. Savas

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