Novi Sad, Serbia: Petrovaradin Fortress

The hill has a commanding view of the Danube River and the surrounding city of Novi Sad in Serbia. As you ponder a few thousand years of history in the region, you can quickly understand the potential military significance of such a location. Perhaps that's why the top of the hill has featured some sort of outpost for more than five thousand years. 

The location has gone through the variety of battles that you'd expect in a region that has seen plenty of them over the years. The latest version went up around 1776, a familiar date to Americans. The last battle involving the facility was in 1849. It became a storage facility soon after that. Some forts of a similar age have been torn down over the years, but this one was attractive enough to avoid that fate. 

The Petrovaradin Fortress ranks as the most important building in all of Novi Sad, and thus is a tourist attraction. It has restaurants and museums there.