2023 Balkans - Day 12 Ilok, Lipizzan Stud, Croatia

Before leaving Novi Sad this morning, we visited the 1909 Synagogue. The fifth one built on this site since the 18th century, it served the city’s once thriving Ashkenazi Jewish community. It’s an imposing and beautiful building. 

It is still an active synagogue, but used only for major religious holidays. No rabbi remains in the city, but one comes from Belgrade for services. More than 4,000 Jews lived in Novi Sad before World War II, about 5% of the population. On April 26, 1944, Novi Sad’s Jews were deported to extermination camps from this synagogue. Only 10% survived the Holocaust. Today, 66 Jewish families remain in the city; the population of 200 people cannot maintain this large building. 

Since the 1960’s, per an agreement between Novi Sad and the Jewish comminuty, the city bears the cost of maintaining the synagogue and uses it as a concert venue. When we visited, it was set up for an upcoming concert.   

We were on the road at 9:00. At the border crossing to leave Serbia, for the first time we had to disembark the bus and hand our passports one-by-one to the immigration officer. The process held up a long line of cars.

Our first stop was in Ilok, a town on the Croatia/Serbia border, to visit the ancient winery of Stari Podrum. The scale was much larger than the small vintner we saw yesterday. Their 15th and 18th century wine cellars held enormous oak barrels. During the Balkan war, with heavy shelling of nearby Vukovar, the winery built a false wall to save 10,000 bottles of wine. The wall was artfully covered with mold so as not to raise suspicion about a new underground wall. 

Stari Pordrum provided wine for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1952, and since then, has sent wine for every major royal family celebration: Princes William and Harry’s weddings, and even Charles’s coronation three weeks ago. We bought two small bottles of the coronation wine to share at home. 

After a tasting of 3 of their wines, we enjoyed a hearty bowl of bean soup with beef, and a light dessert. 

We visited the Lipizzan State Stud Farm in Djakovo. This elite breed is well known, and considered one of the most intelligent. State Stud Farm began breeding horses in 1506, and is one of the oldest stud farms in Europe. They’ve been breeding Lipizzan horses for over 210 years, and currently have 240 horses. The horses are bred and born at another location, and brought here at age 3 or 4 to begin training in dressage, carriage pulling, or elements of dance. They train throughout the year, and for as many years as they perform. 

Although most people think of the Lipizzan breed as white, they are all born dark colored and gradually change to their adult color. About 80% end up white, but officially they are considered grey (white), black or brown. Their color is determined by the final color of their tail. 

600 seat training and performance arena

We visited the stables and admired the horses, who were having their lunch after morning training and shower (really!).

(Prepare for many horse photos)

Grey

Grey, and the pedigree info for its neighbor

A relatively rare black Lipizzan

Grey.  (tabby - which followed our group from barn to barn)

Grey. (going for the Vermeer pose)

The Djakovo Cathedral (or Basilica) was built between 1866 - 1882 under its bishop, Josip Juraj Strossmayer. The structure itself was built in an impressive four years, while 12 additional years were spent in decorating the interior. The result is stunning. The church complex includes the archbishop’s residence and a Catholic seminary. 

The rose window and organ loft.

The town is fairly small to hold an episcopal seat, with a population of only 17,000. Nearly 3,000 have recently emigrated to Ireland to find work - a universal theme we’ve heard throughout the Balkans, as there is high unemployment and relatively little opportunity for economic self-improvement. 

We arrived at our hotel around 7 pm. After a short orientation in the nearby center square, 8 of us headed out for another perfect late dinner: ice cream.