APATIN (1.401 km)

Apatin is the first rather important settlement on the bank of the Danube with the brewery tradition dating as early as in 1756 and preparing the river fish specialties. In the written documents, the town, constructed near two King's towns, Bacz and Bodrog, was mentioned for the first time in 1011, when the Hungarian King Stephen I presented the settlement Aranyos from that time to the abbesses. Thus, from the Serbian word 'Opatija' for an abbey, the town was called - Apatin.
The oldest and most representative buildings of this nice town are churches. The St. Mary's Assumption Church, with the famous black St. Mary, the Jesus' Heart Church and the temple The Meeting of the St. Apostles are the real pearls of the town. The Town Hall and the old Apatin Brewery complete the picture.
In July, Apatin is 'the center of the world', since the traditional tourist event 'The Apatin Fishermen Evenings' takes place in it, including competitions in fishing, fish specialties preparation and the tamburitza music. How much the fishing is inseparable from this region is shown also by the fact that already Eugene of Savoy got Apatin from the Austrian Royal Court as his fishing center, after liberation from the Turks.
Like in a natural reservation, some authentic bird species live in the Apatin region, as well. Their only habitat is near the river. Unique samples of the black stork and the white tailed eagle were seen for the first time near Apatin by the worldwide famous biologist Alfred Brehm in 1878.

At the 1,433rd kilometer of its flow, the Danube enters Serbia, flows through it for 588 kilometers. At its banks, the empires of intact nature, culture created for centuries, cities with their specific characteristics replace each other. On its way through Serbia, the Danube informs the travelers with the origin and disappearance of civilizations, it makes them closer to the nations and their habits.
In its edition 'On the Danube Through Serbia', the Tourist Organization of Serbia published the tourist / information map 'Down the Beautiful Blue Danube', intended, first of all, for the tourists who sail to Serbia by ship.