Palić (Serbian Cyrillic: Палић; Hungarian: Palics; German: Palitsch) is a town located in the city of Subotica, North Bačka District, autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is also located 18 kilometres (11 mi) from the border between Serbia and Hungary. The town has a Hungarian ethnic majority and its population numbering 5,476 inhabitants (as of 2022 census). Many tourists come to Palić every year because of the Palić lake and spa. There are over 450 guest houses, and even a five-star hotel.
It is known for its Palić European Film Festival which takes place every summer. In 2008 the life achievement award was presented to the British film director Ken Loach.[3]
Unique in Serbia, Palić and adjacent Subotica have the most buildings built in the Hungarian Secession style, a distinct variant of Art Nouveau.[4] The Hungarian Secession style was operational between the 1890s and World War I. Its designs combined art nouveau vegetal ornaments and symbolic figures with traditional Hungarian motifs. It found its architectural expression in Palić in the works of Marcell Komor, Dezső Jakab.[5][6]
The Palić lake covers an area of 380 hectares (940 acres), with a 17-kilometre (11 mi) shore line. The average depth of the lake is 2 metres (6 ft 7 in), and there are many fish in it. In 1995 the Tisa-Palić canal was opened so that the lake would remain as healthy as it was before in spite of development around the lake.[7]