Milković's explorations of the Petrovaradin Fortress
Veljko Milković is very familiar with Petrovaradin fortress (city of Novi Sad, Serbia); he has been exploring it since 1960. In 1965 he managed to decipher orientation marks at the crossroads and establish the logic of subterranean labyrinth with "^", "Y" and "T" crossroads. This approach helps him to examine the 20km deep undergrounds of the fortress in a faster and safer manner.
Picture 1. Veljko Milković exploring Petrovaradin Fortress during the '70s
In 1975, librarian Srećko Drk hired him as a guide for less known parts of the fortress especially subterranean military galleries. City Museum of Novi Sad awarded him with the letter of thanks for the "ardent contribution in research of the Petrovaradin fortress".
In the late 70's, as a member of scientific and technical editorial board of the Cultural Center in Novi Sad, he organized and lectured at panels about Petrovaradin fortress. Some of the participants were an academician and a professor Bogdan Brukner and a professor Milan Vranić. An idea of a modern sod house as a new way of living gave him élan to continue with researching subterranean galleries.
In 1983, Veljko Milković and Mr. Srećko Drk founded "The club of friends of Petrovaradin fortress" within "Vladimir Nazor" library in Petrovaradin (Serbia).
Picture 2. Letter of thanks from the Museum of the City of Novi Sad to Veljko Milković for conscious cooperation in the study of the Petrovaradin Fortress
In 1997 he announced the book entitled "Mysteries of Petrovaradin fortress", which was published as a feuilleton, a script and a book. That was the first time that the gap in the literature about Petrovaradin fortress and its underground has been filled. It is interesting that many journalists and authors like Mr. Živko Marković, a historian, claimed that subterranean military galleries represent the largest attraction in Petrovaradin.
Picture 3. Veljko Milković leading a group of tourists trough the underground corridors of the Petrovaradin Fortress
In his numerous lectures and during short excursions he talked about dangers, but also about great tourist potential of Petrovaradin, Fruška Gora, Srem (Serbia) and the central part of the (river) Danube-basin.
During 50 years of researching the Petrovaradin Fortress and its underground galleries and corridors Veljko Milković wrote and published several books:
- Petrovaradin through legend and reality (2001)
- The world of mysteries - New views (2004)
- Petrovaradin fortress - Over and underground (2005)
- Petrovaradin fortress - Cosmic labyrinth of discoveries (2007)
and scripts:
- Mysteries of Petrovaradin fortress (1999)
- Petrovaradin fortress between legend and reality (1999)
Additional information about these publications and how to order can be found in the chapter Books and publications
