Štrand () is a popular city beach on the Danube river in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located and the edge of Liman neighborhood, with the Liberty Bridge passing above the beach. Name Its name derives from the German word Strand, meaning simply beach (In German, an initial s is usually pronounced as sh when it comes before a consonant, as in the Yiddish-English shtick, thus, the Serbian š correctly bears a diacritic reflecting this). History First Beaches in Novi Sad The first written proof of the local beach lovers of Novi Sad dates back to 1827, recorded by fisherman Jakov Rajs. During that period, there were beaches on the Srem side, so the local fishermen had to transport those who wanted to visit the beach to the other bank of the Danube, taking the opportunity to sell some crayfish to the swimmers. The first Novi Sad beach was located right next to Brukšanac (Bruckschanc) Bridgehead, part of the Petrovaradin Fortress that was demolished in the 1920s. However, having lots of whirlpools, the Danube was fast and not great for swimming, so the citizens of Novi Sad looked for a better location. They found one just one and a half kilometres upstream, near the Fisherman’s Island. Origin of Štrand Štrand opened its doors to people officially in 1911, but the locals had been using the beach long before that. In the middle of the 19th century, there was a sandbar on the left bank of the Danube, which the locals called Poloj or Pojilo. The sandbar was used as a watering place for domestic animals. As Novi Sad grew bigger, so did the need for a big and arranged beach. Of all locations, Poloj was most suitable due to its woody terrain which gave enough space for kids, men and women to have separate swimming spots. The first swimmers at Poloj date back to 1856, when a theft was reported, with someone stealing the visitors’ belongings which layed on the bank. Poloj was soon after changed into Štenglova dunavska kupališta (The Štengl Danube Baths), the so-called Schwimmschulen, meaning swimming school in German. On the Danube, there was a huge wooden raft with sheet metal barrels tied to strong boulders. There were 100 cabins and three double pools on the raft, with separate sections for men and women. The biggest pool dimensions were 20×10 metres, with swimming exhibitions being held