Stari Slankamen
At the place where the Danube caresses the land of Stari Slankamen, where according to the legend Attila the Hun was buried and where scientists from all over the world study the loess profile and traces of the Ice Age, there is a former fishing village, and today the tourist pearl of Srem – Stari Slankamen. Numerous cultural and historical monuments testify to the turbulent past as well as the strategic importance of this settlement along the Danube, which has survived for centuries on the border of different empires.
Archaeological excavations carried out at the Gradina site testify that this area was inhabited first by the Scordisci – Celtic tribes, and then by the Romans when the settlement was called Acumincum. During that period, due to their position on the frontier of the Roman Empire, the Romans built an observation post that protected their territory from Barbarian incursions from the north. As a fortification, historical sources mention it in 1072 as Castrum Zelenkamen. At the beginning of the 15th century, it was in the possession of Serbian despots from the Branković family, while the Turks occupied it in 1521.
After the fall of Belgrade in 1521, the Turks devastated Slankamen, which is confirmed by many travel writers who describe the settlement and churches as badly damaged and destroyed. In the 17th century, more precisely in 1691, there was a conflict between the Austrian and Turkish armies, after which Slankamen suffered a lot. A report from 1702 notes that the town was only partially preserved, that two Catholic churches and one mosque were destroyed, while the Orthodox church had walls, but was left without a roof.
Due to its position on the Danube River at the mouth of the Tisza, the importance of Slankamen did not completely decline even during the Military Frontier. Until the abolition of the Military Frontier in 1871, but also later, Slankamen developed slowly. Due to the congestion between the floodplain of the Danube and sliding loess outcrops, part of the population moved out of the settlement during the 18th century and a new settlement was formed, which was called Novi Slankamen.
Slankamen was revived at the beginning of the 20th century when a modern road to Novi Slankamen was built and a Hospital/Spa was founded (1906). The new spa function influenced the increased traffic, trade and crafts. After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the annexation to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, Slankamen began to develop even more and became a tourist destination.