Apatin
Apatin
Abthausen | ||
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Town and municipality | ||
From top: Freedom Square, Our Lady Catholic Church, Town Hall, Apatin Brewery | ||
Car plates SO | | |
Website | www |
Apatin (Serbian Cyrillic: Апатин, Hungarian: Apatin, Croatian: Apatin) is a town and municipality located in the West Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022 census, the population of the town is 14,613, while the municipality has 23,155 inhabitants.
Name
In
Geography
The Municipality of Apatin is located on the left bank of the Danube river between the municipalities of Sombor (to the northeast) and Odžaci (to the southeast).
Apatin is situated in the north-western part of the spacious plain in Bačka, on the left side of the Danube. It is in the autonomous province of Vojvodina.
History
The favourable geographic position, proximity to the Danube, and natural wealth of this area (fruitful ground, woods next to the river, abundance of fish in swampy regions and backwaters, and game in woods) attracted people through all ages and made them settle here. Because of these reasons, even in pre-historic times, cultures such as the Sarmatians, the Celts, the Goths and many others were replacing each other within this region, one by one.
In the first century, during the Roman conquest, the settlement was turned into a military trench with fortifications, and played an important role in the defense of the
The first mentioning of Apatin in any written script was in the year 1011, by the Abbey of
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the area became feudalistic, and in exchange for lands, the vassals would need to complete military service to the lord of the property. Many fishermen, hunters, and millers then began to settle down in this area.
In 1417, Apatin is mentioned as a property of
In the end of the 17th century it became part of the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Eglise_orthodoxe_d%27Apatin.jpg/220px-Eglise_orthodoxe_d%27Apatin.jpg)
The German colonists came from many different regions. The gathering centre was in Ulm, Germany and from that point they were transported by the Danube to Apatin, which became the main base of the German expansion in Vojvodina. The church was built near the port and the city square was also built at this time. The real estate value of buildings, such as schools, fishermen's station, hand craft's workshops, began to rise.
The Chamber of Court decided to put forth economic objectives to better the economy, and in 1756 the brewery and distillery were built. In 1764 a large textiles factory was built. In 1760 Apatin was officially proclaimed a town and a main trade centre with a special status.
At the end of the 18th century, a catastrophic flood destroyed the old town square, and ruined half of the settlement. The new square was built north-westward from the brewery. The town as seen today, began to take shape. During the 18th and in the early part of 19th century, Apatin had prospered economically, mostly because of developed trade, handcraft and shipbuilding.
During the initial years of the Habsburg administration, Apatin was administratively a part of the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Apatin1.jpg/160px-Apatin1.jpg)
In the year of 1869 numerous banks and saving-banks were established, and that opened the door to industrial development. A great number of brickyards produced brick and tile, which were used to construct many buildings in
In 1918, as part of
When
In 1944, as a consequence of World War II events in Yugoslavia, one part of Yugoslav citizens of German ethnicity left from the area, together with defeated German army. The antifascist council for deliberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ) declared the remaining German population as public enemies and sent them to communist prison camps, where one part of them died from disease, cold and malnutrition. The death toll among the German population of Apatin amounts to 2,074 people known by name. This figure includes the victims of deportation to the USSR.[7] After prison camps were dissolved (in 1948), most of the remaining German population left Yugoslavia in subsequent decades, mainly because of economic reasons. After the war, Apatin was populated by (mainly Serb) settlers from other parts of Yugoslavia, largely from Lika. Population censuses conducted after World War II recorded Serbs as the largest ethnic group in the town.
Between 1992 and 2003, Apatin was part of the
Inhabited places
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Apatin_mun.png/250px-Apatin_mun.png)
Apatin municipality includes the city of Apatin and the following villages:
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
1948 | 31,145 | — |
1953 | 32,612 | +0.92% |
1961 | 34,836 | +0.83% |
1971 | 34,279 | −0.16% |
1981 | 33,843 | −0.13% |
1991 | 32,999 | −0.25% |
2002 | 32,813 | −0.05% |
2011 | 28,929 | −1.39% |
Source: [8] |
According to the last official census done in 2011, the municipality of Apatin has 28,929 inhabitants.
Ethnic groups in the municipality
As many as 24
- Serbs = 18,164 (62.79%)
- Hungarians= 3,102 (10.72%)
- Croats = 3,015 (10.42%)
- Romanians = 1,148 (3.97%)
- Romani = 654 (2.26%)
- Others (including Germans, Slovaks, etc.).
Settlements by ethnic majority
Settlements with a
Ethnic groups in the town
- Serbs = 13,990 (72.41%)
- Romanians = 967 (5.01%)
- Hungarians = 848 (4.39%)
- Croats = 658 (3.41%)
- Yugoslavs = 612 (3.17%)
- Roma = 369 (1.91%)
- Germans = 142 (0.74%)
- Montenegrins = 100 (0.52%)
- Others.
Spa
Near the city of Apatin lies the Junaković spa. It is a modern and well-equipped rehabilitation and recreation centre with sports fields, outdoor pools, indoor therapy, and saunas.
Buildings
Major buildings in Apatin include the new
Economy
As of September 2017, Apatin has one of 14 free economic zones established in Serbia.[10] It covers 160 hectares of ground next to river Danube, and forms so called "Free Port Apatin" (Serbian: "Slobodna zona Apatin").
The largest companies in Apatin today are the Apatin Brewery, "Jedinstvo" (agricultural company) and "Apatin Shipyard" (formerly known as Boris Kidrič Shipyard).
The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):[11]
Activity | Total |
---|---|
Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 559 |
Mining and quarrying | 1 |
Manufacturing | 1,613 |
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply | 19 |
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities | 60 |
Construction | 177 |
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 799 |
Transportation and storage | 338 |
Accommodation and food services | 227 |
Information and communication | 22 |
Financial and insurance activities | 75 |
Real estate activities | 11 |
Professional, scientific and technical activities | 169 |
Administrative and support service activities | 223 |
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security | 321 |
Education | 416 |
Human health and social work activities | 396 |
Arts, entertainment and recreation | 63 |
Other service activities | 101 |
Individual agricultural workers | 220 |
Total | 5,812 |
Tourist attraction
Apatin has popular tourist location, and because of its proximity to the Danube river and the forests, it is gathering place for fishermen and hunters. There is also an annual gathering called Apatinske ribarske večeri (Apatin Fishermen Nights), which has taken place for the last forty some years. Ribarske večeri usually starts on July 1, and lasts five or seven days.
Sport
Apatin has a rich history in sports. Željko Rebrača is by far the most famous athlete from this area, but in the past, Apatin has had athletes represent Yugoslavia (and now Serbia) on the international stage. Today, some of the well known professional sports clubs are:
- FK Mladost - member of the Serbia First League Soccer Association
- RK Apatin - member of the Serbia Second League Handball Association
Notable natives and residents
- Paul Abraham, composer of Jewish-Hungarian descent
- Frank Dancevic, Serbian-Canadian tennis player whose father hails from Apatin [12]
- Nenad Medić, poker player
- Gyula Pártos, Hungarian architect
- Lajos Szűcs, Hungarian footballer
- Željko Rebrača, basketball player
- Ervin Šinko, writer of Croatian–Hungarian descent
See also
- List of places in Serbia
- Municipalities of Serbia
- West Bačka District
Gallery
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Apatin's fishermen nights (main event pictured, fish soup contest)
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Apatin
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Apatin
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Apatin
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Apatin
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Apatin
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Apatin, Danube
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Apatin
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Apatin
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Apatin
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Apatin česma
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Apatin
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Apatin
References
- ^ "Municipalities of Serbia, 2006". Statistical Office of Serbia. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
- ^ "Насеља општине Апатин" (PDF). stat.gov.rs (in Serbian). Statistical Office of Serbia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ISBN 978-86-6161-228-2. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
- ^ DATANET.RS Galerija Meander/Gallery Meander Archived March 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Photographic image of map" (JPG). Andrzejb.net. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
- ^ "Zvanična prezentacija Opštine Apatin - Istorija Apatina". Archived from the original on 2012-04-16. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
- ^ Arbeitskreis Dokumentation: Verbrechen an den Deutschen in Jugoslawien 1944–1948, Die Stationen eines Völkermordes, 2000, Munich
- ^ "2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia" (PDF). stat.gov.rs. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
- ^ "Population by ethnicity – Apatin". Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS). Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ Mikavica, A. (3 September 2017). "Slobodne zone mamac za investitore". politika.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- ^ "MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, 2019" (PDF). stat.gov.rs. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ "Odbegla misica reprizirala venčanje u zavičaju". Blic.rs. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
Further reading
- Rajić, Rade, and Dragan Radonić. Apatin i despot Stefan Lazarević. Opštinski kulturni centar, 2002.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)