Bač, Serbia

Coordinates: 45°23′N 19°14′E / 45.383°N 19.233°E / 45.383; 19.233
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the fortress in town, see Bač Fortress.
Bač
Бач (Serbian)
Town and municipality
View of the fortress and the town of Bač
Car plates
NS
Websitewww.bac.rs

Bač (Serbian Cyrillic: Бач, pronounced [bâːtʃ] ⓘ; Hungarian: Bács) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 4,405, while the municipality has 11,431 inhabitants.[3] The entire geographical region between the rivers Danube and Tisza, today divided between Serbia and Hungary, was named Bačka after the town.[4]

Name

In

Latin as Bach or Bacs; and in Turkish
as Baç. Along with Serbian, Slovak and Hungarian are also in official use in the municipality administration.

In the ninth and tenth centuries, the name of the town was Bagasin.[5] The Byzantine writer John Kinnamos writes that Παγάτζιον is the most important city in Sirmium.[6] In 1154, the Arab geographer Idrisi mention it under name Bakasin and claim that "it is a famous city that was mentioned among old big cities".

The current name of the town was first recorded in 1094. In 1111 the parish was mentioned as Bache.

Bács, and in Romanian as Baci, although the Romanian population used this word as a title rather than as a name. The name is of uncertain origin and its existence was recorded among Vlachs, Slavs and Hungarians in the Middle Ages. The origin of the name could be Paleo-Balkanic,[8] Romanian, Slavic,[9] or Old Turkic.[10]

In the Romanian, Baci means "tenant, mountaineer or chieftain of the shepherd habitation in the mountain". The name could be spread into other languages by the Vlach shepherds. However, a similar name, Bača, was recorded among old Russians, which implies the possibility of Slavic origin.[11] Hungarian linguists claim that a similar but originally different Hungarian personal name was derived from the Old Turkic baya dignity in the form Bácsa, which later evolved into Bács.[12] It is not certain whether name of the town came from Vlach-Slavic or from the Hungarian name. Some Hungarian historians assume that the town was named after the first comes of the county, Bács ispán (Bač župan).[13] However, the existence of that person is not historically confirmed and his ethnic origin is uncertain.

There are several more places with same name (in North Macedonia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Albania), as well as a large number of place names beginning with letters "bač-" or "bács-" that are scattered all over the Balkans and Central Europe, as well as in some other regions.[14]

History

Coat of arms of Bač in 1880

Evidence show that the area was inhabited already in the younger Neolithic. The town later developed on an island in the meander of the Mostonga river and for centuries was accessible only by the wooden bridge. The river is channeled today as part of the Danube–Tisa–Danube Canal system and has two proper bridges, so the fortress and the old town are now on a dry land.[4]

Bač is one of the oldest towns in

Saint Methodius, a creator of the Slavic alphabet, converted to Christianity Slavs that lived in Bačka
and Bač.

In the tenth century, this region became part of the

Bacsensis County. The foundation date of the county is a disputed question, some historians assume that it was one of the first counties of the Kingdom established by Stephen I but there is no documentary evidence of its existence in that time.[15] The first known prefect (comes) of the county was recorded in 1074 and his name was Vid
.

King Ladislaus I made the town the seat of a new archbishopric in 1085. Previously historians assumed that Bač (Bacs) was a bishopric before that time. The first archbishop, Fabian (1085–1103) helped the king in the course of the campaign against Croatia and was rewarded with the title.[16]

archbishopric of Kalocsa to Bač (Bacs), where he built a cathedral and established a chapter house around 1090. After 1135 the archbishops moved back to their former seat in Kalocsa. Later the diocese was called the "Archbishopric of Kalocsa-Bacs" (first mentioned in 1266).[17]

In 1154, the Arab geographer Idrisi wrote that Bač is a rich town with many merchants and craftsmen, a place with a lot of wheat and many "Greek scholars" which could refer to Orthodox priests and monks.

In the early 13th century.

Gregory IX wrote about the "Bačka hospital" in 1234, as being open for the sick and poor.[4]

The town prospered with the Hungarian king

Stevan Berislavić
successfully defended the Bač fortress from the Ottomans for a long time until the fortress finally fell.

During the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and subsequent South Slavic states. It was occupied by Hungary between 1941 and 1944 during World War II
.

Characteristics

Bač Fortress is the best preserved medieval fort in Vojvodina. Section of Bač below the fortress is called Podgrađe. It consists of 36 houses in the typical lowland Vojvodina style and is protected, together with the fort, as the

Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Exceptional Importance. The section is directly accessed via the bridge across the canal and through the gate of Šiljak. The houses were built from the 18th to the 20th century, and residents are not allowed to change façades without prior consent from the institutes in charge of protection.[4]

The fort used to have 8 towers, but five are preserved today. There are four side towers and the tallest, over 20 m (66 ft), keep (donžon). The fortress was left to the elements from 18th to 20th century. First occasional archaeological explorations began in the 19th century, but the survey in earnest began in the 20th century.[4] Reconstruction and conservation project, which includes the exploration works, started in 2006. The fortress was restored, archaeological sections were conserved while the visitors center was open in the keep. The project was awarded the 2018 Europa Nostra Award, European Union prize for cultural heritage.[18]

One of the first modern pharmacies in this part of Vojvodina was open in Bač in 1828. It was founded by the Gebauer family, in their family home. The house still exists today and, though the interior is changed, the original display window and the stairs are preserved.[4]

Inhabited places

Map of Bač municipality
The fortress of Bač (view from the south)
The fortress of Bač (view from the south-east)

Bač municipality includes the town of Bač (together with Mali Bač settlement) and the following villages:

Media

Roman Catholic magazine in Croatian
, was founded in Bač in 1994.

Demographics

According to the 2022 census, the Bač municipality has 11,431 inhabitants.[3]

Historical population of the town

  • 1961: 6,321
  • 1971: 5,916
  • 1981: 5,994
  • 1991: 6,046
  • 2011: 5,390
  • 2022: 4,405
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
194819,215—    
195321,050+1.84%
196122,262+0.70%
197119,348−1.39%
198118,243−0.59%
199117,249−0.56%
200216,268−0.53%
201114,405−1.34%
202211,431−2.08%
Source: [19][3]

Ethnic groups

See also:
ethnic Muslims, and List of Hungarian communities in Vojvodina

The ethnic composition of the municipality:[3]

Ethnic group Population %
Serbs 5,210 45.58%
Slovaks
 2,260 19.77%
Croats 873 7.64%
Roma 817 7.15%
Hungarians 632 5.53%
Romanians
 151 1.32%
Muslims
 115 1.01%
Yugoslavs 71 0.62%
Germans
 59 0.52%
Montenegrins 24 0.21%
Others 1,219 10.66%
Total 11,431

Settlements with Serb ethnic majority are: Bač, Bačko Novo Selo, and Bođani. The settlement with Slovak ethnic majority is Selenča. Ethnically mixed settlements with relative Serb majority are Vajska and Plavna.

Town

In the 17th century some Šokci Croats from Tuzla area migrated to Bač as refugees. Today they comprise less than 9% of the population.

Languages

According to the 2002 census, 66% of inhabitants of the Bač municipality speak Serbian as mother tongue. Other spoken languages include Slovak (20%), Romanian (4%), Hungarian (3%), Croatian (3%), and Romani (2%).

Serbian, Slovak, and Hungarian are officially used by municipal authorities.

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of employed people per their core activity (as of 2017):[20]

Activity Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 184
Mining 2
Processing industry 454
Distribution of power, gas and water -
Distribution of water and water waste management 96
Construction 170
Wholesale and retail, repair 391
Traffic, storage and communication 85
Hotels and restaurants 98
Media and telecommunications 10
Finance and insurance 21
Property stock and charter -
Professional, scientific, innovative and technical activities 40
Administrative and other services 68
Administration and social assurance 158
Education 208
Healthcare and social work 105
Art, leisure and recreation 13
Other services 38
Total 2,143

Politics

Seats in the municipality parliament won in the 2012 local elections: [1]

  • Democratic Party (9)
  • Serbian Radical Party (2)
  • SNS (6)
  • Socialist Party of Serbia (5)
  • LSV (3)

Sites of interest

In 2017 the fortress was visited by 6,500 tourists. Other attractions include the Provala Lake, which was formed in the mid-20th century after a flood of the Danube, and a Berava stream, popular among the fishermen.[4]

Franciscan monastery

Origins can be traced to the 12th century.

Gothic style. A nice, Renaissance style sink is still preserved. The monastery was surrounded by a moat and the walls with towers, as was the usual for the monasteries in Hungary at the time. After the Ottoman conquest, the monastery was converted to a mosque in the 16th century. Some of the Ottoman adaptations still remain, like the south wall's mihrab - a niche in the wall that indicates the direction of Mecca. With the withdrawal of the Ottomans, the Franciscans returned in the 17th century.[21][22]

The present appearance of the complex dates from the 1734-1768 period. Visually, the monastery is today a combination of Gothic, Romanesque and Classicist architecture. The dining room still has a large

organ pipes and is fully functional.[21][22]

Restoration of the monastery, dedicated to the

Bođani monastery.[21] The reconstruction was finished in June 2019.[22]

Artifacts in the museum include bricks from the Roman period, which have the game

Mary, Mother of God, painted in 1684, which is protected by the state in 1948 with some of the old and rare books from the monastery library.[22]

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Serbia

Twin towns — Sister cities

Bač is

twinned
with:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Municipalities of Serbia, 2006". Statistical Office of Serbia. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  2. ISBN 978-86-6161-228-2
    . Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  3. ^ a b c d "2022 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Andrijana Cvetićanin (1 April 2018). "Tvrđava pod prolećnim snegom" [Fortress under the spring snow]. Politika-Magazin, No. 1070 (in Serbian). pp. 19–21.
  5. ^ Prof. Dr. Miloš Blagojević, Istorijski atlas, Beograd, 1999
  6. ^ Boris Stojkovski: Southern Hungary and Serbia in al-Idrisi’s Geography, page 8, trivent-publishing.eu.
  7. ^ 02BACS Archived January 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Milica Grković, Rečnik imena Banjskog, Dečanskog i Prizrenskog vlastelinstva u XIV veku, Beograd, 1986
  9. ^ Dr. Aleksa Ivić, Istorija Srba u Vojvodini, Novi Sad, 1929
  10. ^ A Pallas Nagy Lexikona Archived September 11, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ С. Б. Веселовскии, Ономастикон, древнерусские имена, прозвиша и фамилии, Москва, 1974
  12. ^ 403 Forbidden[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ A Délvidék Rövid Történelme Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Places in World that start with Bač Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "História 2000/04. - ZSOLDOS ATTILA: Szent István vármegyéi. Források, következtetések". Historia.hu. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  16. ^ "A Pallas nagy lexikona". Elib.hu. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  17. ^ "Magyar Katolikus Lexikon". Lexikon.katolikus.hu. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  18. ^ M.Đorđević (16 May 2018). "Tri nagrade za srpsko nasleđe" [Three awards for Serbian heritage]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 20.
  19. ^ "2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia" (PDF). stat.gov.rs. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  20. ^ "ОПШТИНЕ И РЕГИОНИ У РЕПУБЛИЦИ СРБИЈИ, 2018" (PDF). stat.gov.rs (in Serbian). Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  21. ^ a b c Andrijana Cvetićanin (3 June 2018). "Занимљива Србија - Муѕејска поставка у фрањевачком самостану" [Interesting Serbia - Museum exhibition in the Franciscan monastery]. Politika-Magazin, No. 1079 (in Serbian). pp. 20–21.
  22. ^ a b c d Jelena Čalija (28 June 2019). Фрањевачки самостан - чувар историје [Franciscan monastery - guardian of history]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 8.
  23. ^ "Bač". Skgo.org. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2010-03-02.

Bibliography

  • Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1996.

Gallery

External links

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