Fruška gora (; ) is a mountain in Syrmia, with most of the mountain being part of Serbia and its westernmost edge extending into eastern Croatia. The Serbian part of the mountain forms the country's oldest national park. Sometimes also referred to as the Jewel of Serbia, due to its largely pristine landscape and protection effort, or the Serbian Mount Athos, being the home of a large number of historical Serbian Orthodox monasteries.
Name
In Serbian, it is known as Fruška gora (, Фрушка гора), in Hungarian as Tarcal (also Almus-hegy or Árpatarló), in German as Frankenwald, and in Latin as Alma Mons. In Medieval Greek, it was known as Frangochoria.
The mountain's name originates in the old Serbian word "Fruzi" derived from the singular form "Frug"; and its adjective is Fruški, used for naming the Frankish people.
Geography
The mountain is a natural geological phenomenon as it is built from rocks from almost all geological periods. It used to be an island during the existence of the Pannonian Sea. To the north, the mountain is bordered by the Danube river, while to the south it descends into the Syrmian lowlands. It is stretching approximately from east to west and from north to south. Its highest peak is Crveni Čot at .
National park
The national park of Fruška Gora was declared in 1960 and covers an area of . It is the oldest modern national park in Serbia. Altogether, 1,500 plant species inhabits the park, of which 200 are protected.
Timber was transported outside of the park and was sold by the park administration. They responded that everything is being part of the planned action, that park has to think about the "economic part" of its existence (as the government is allocating small amounts of money to the park) and that trees will be "replenished later" because the cut ones were old. Members of the commission which participated in the planning said that even more trees should have been cut as 80% of the forest is over 80 years old. Only 3% of park's territory is under the strict protection (some of forest at Papratski Dol locality). The trees have been cut right along the border of this area, clearing the land which surrounds it. Citizens responded that national park is not a tree farm where the trees should be "replaced" and that protected forests can't be perceived as a feedstock. Director of the park said that he doesn't know how much trees they cut and planted, but numbers officially published by the park in 2018 show that in an undefined period they planted 50,000 seedlings, but 100,000 trees have been cut. Also, the park's plan for 2019 envisioned almost 100 time more money for cutting the trees than for the planting of the new ones.
By the 2010s, the predominant cultivated plant on the foothills of the mountain and the surrounding vast fields, became the rapeseed.
With several other beech localities in the national parks of Tara and Kopaonik, beech forests Papratski Do and Ravne on Fruška Gora have been submitted for the inclusion into the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe in May 2020. The nomination was rejected due to the Serbian laws allowing shelterwood cutting on the area of , while UNESCO accepts cut areas no larger than , and even that is not only in the areas of the highest level of protection, but also in the surrounding zones. It was announced that the rules will be changed, so that parts of Fruška Gora might be included in 2023.
Animal life
Protected insect species include Balkan goldenring, certain species of dragonflies and hoverflies, and Hungarian ground beetle, which already went extinct in some other European countries.
In January 2018, for the first time after the 1960s, additional mouflons were introduced in the park. 30 animals were relocated from Slovakia, which raised the number of mouflons in the park to 70. European fallow deer was also reintroduced. On 29 March 2022, five European bisons were reintroduced in the previously prepared habitat on the mountain. One bull and four cows were transported from the zoo in the Czech Republic and Poland's Białowieża Forest reserve, respectively. It is estimated that the last bison on Serbian territory was hunted in c.1800. The male, who was named Đuka by popular vote, got ill but the therapy didn't help, and he died on 12 October 2023. The post-mortem showed several inflammatory diseases and a major trauma on Djuka's rib cage. Foul play was excluded, and it was suggested the trauma was caused by another animal or by the fall of the tree during the severe storm in July.
History
thumb|250px|Fruška Gora in winter
There are traces of human habitation in this area that date from Neolithic times. Before the Roman conquest, Illyrians and Celts
250px|thumb|The Freedom Monument, dedicated to the [[Resistance during World War II|anti-fascist resistance in occupied Vojvodina]]
Since the 19th century, during the Austro-Hungarian period, cities developed so as the trade and crafts. Settlements on the mountain itself developed, designed in the typical folk tradition. Two most distinct settlements, in terms of architectural inheritance, are Sremski Karlovci, which grew into the center of the political and cultural life of the Serbs in Austria and, later, Austria-Hungary, and Irig, one of the most developed Syrmian settlements since the 18th century.
Over the time, the area was part of the Hun Empire, the Ostrogothic Kingdom, the Gepid Kingdom, the Lombard state, the Byzantine Empire, the Avar Khaganate, the Frankish Empire, the Bulgarian Empire, Lower Pannonia, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg monarchy, the Austrian Empire, Austria-Hungary, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the Kingdom of Serbia, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro, and now is within the Republic of Serbia.
During World War II, this area was occupied by the Axis powers, and Fruška Gora was an important center of Partisan resistance movement. A liberated partisan territory was formed in this region.
On 28 March 2003, police revealed that former Serbian president Ivan Stambolić had been assassinated by eight men on the mountain. At the time Slobodan Milošević was still in power. It was later determined that Milošević had given the order for Stambolić's murder.
Archaeology
Edreš Hill was used as a quarry by prehistoric people for their tools. There are numerous Roman remains, like the fortress Acumincum near Slankamen and Bassianae, a Roman town near Donji Petrovci. The town was fortified with the ramparts and square towers. Within the walls, the objects with the heating and sewage systems were discovered, so as the walls painted with frescoes and floor mosaics. In 1952, in the locality of Bikić Do, a Roman vault was discovered with 11,500 coins, including ones from the reign of Constantine the Great.
List of monasteries:
- Beočin – The time of founding is still unknown. It is first mentioned in Turkish records dated in 1566/1567.
- Bešenovo – According to the legend, the Bešenovo monastery was founded by Serbian King Dragutin at the end of the 13th century. The earliest historical records about the monastery that can be found date from 1545.
- Divša – It is believed to have been founded by Despot Jovan Branković in the late 15th century. The earliest historical records about the monastery date to the second half of the 16th century.
- Grgeteg – According to tradition the monastery was founded by Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk (Despot Vuk Grgurević) in 1471. The earliest historical records about the monastery that can be found date to 1545/1546. Icons were painted by Uroš Predić.