An unexpected visit to Kikinda, a small Serbian city near the border to Romania

The archaeological prospection that I came to Serbia for back in October had come to an end, and I’d said goodbye to all of my colleagues except for Fynn. Like me, he was heading south to Novi Sad, the second-largest city in the country, and he invited me to join him on the drive down. But before heading towards Novi Sad, we made a detour to Kikinda where he had a meeting at the local museum.

Kikinda is a small city, home to just over 38,000 people, located near the border to Romania in the northeastern corner of Serbia. Outside of Serbia, the city is rather unknown, although you might have heard of it due to the half a million-year-old mammoth, Kika, which was discovered in 1996 in the outskirts of the city! At four metres tall, seven metres long and with an estimated weight of 15 tons, Kika is one of the largest mammoths ever discovered. The mammoth is exhibited at the National Museum of Kikinda where Fynn had his meeting, so naturally, we had to see this exciting prehistoric giant while we were there.

Seeing the mammoth was definitely a highlight of the day, but the small museum also had much else to offer.

It showcases prehistoric artifacts found in the region, many types of which I’d come into contact with during the prospection in Novi Bečej. Nothing was in English, apart from a small information board about the mammoth, but Fynn was an excellent guide!

Fynn’s meeting was about to begin, so I headed out to see the city. We agreed to meet up half an hour later, allowing me hardly any time to explore, but it was enough to get a feel of the small city.

Located on the main square is a Serbian Orthodox church, built in 1769, shortly after Kikinda was founded. A local man sitting at the entrance beckoned me in, inviting me to see the beautiful interior of the church which is adorned with large wall paintings of “The Last Supper” and the “Ascension of Jesus Christ”, painted by Teodor Ilić Češljar in 1790.

Leaving the church behind, I strolled through the central shopping street to a small market drowning in the rain. And then it was time to head back to the museum and Fynn, to continue our journey towards Novi Sad.

Although the visit to Kikinda was (very) short and sweet, I really appreciated getting to explore more of off-beat Serbia. I’m excited to see more of this area when I return in just nine days!