Vršac

Vršac sits at the foot of the Vršac hills, which rise abruptly to 641 metres out of the Banat plain and carry a fifteenth-century tower on a spur above the town, reached by a road and a footpath and giving a view across vineyards into Romania. The town below has a baroque and neoclassical centre, a large Orthodox cathedral, a Romanian Orthodox church reflecting the mixed population, and the Bishop's Palace. Wine is the local business: the vineyards around Vršac are among the largest continuous plantings in the region and the town has a long-established winery and an autumn grape harvest festival. The Sterija Museum occupies the birthplace of the playwright Jovan Sterija Popović. It is a pleasant, unhurried town that few foreign visitors reach.

History

More than 5,000 Paleolithic flint tools found on the slopes of the Vršac hills are the oldest traces of people in Banat, and the area belonged to the Roman Empire from 102 to 271 AD. Serbian historians date the medieval town to 1425, and its name first appears in 1427 (Wikipedia, Vršac).

What to look for

• The hilltop tower - the medieval keep above the town.
• Vineyard plains - large continuous plantings around the hills.
• The baroque centre - churches, the Bishop's Palace and old squares.
• The autumn festival - the grape harvest celebration in September.

When to go

April to October; September for the harvest festival and the vintage. The hills are pleasant for walking in spring and autumn. Summer on the plain is hot.

What to expect

The tower is a ruin and the climb is steep in sun. Museums keep limited hours and close on Mondays. Wine tasting needs arranging rather than dropping in. The town is quiet to the point of sleepy outside festival weekends.

Nearby

Deliblato Sands lie southwest; the Romanian border is east.

Key facts