Mirkovci, Croatia

Coordinates: 45°16′16″N 18°51′00″E / 45.271°N 18.850°E / 45.271; 18.850
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Mirkovci" redirects here. For other places, see Mirkovci (disambiguation).
Mirkovci
City
Vinkovci
Area
[1]
 • Total26.0 km2 (10.0 sq mi)
Elevation
95[2] m (311.68 ft)
Population
 (2021)[3]
 • Total2,731
 • Density110/km2 (270/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Mirkovčanin (♂) Mirkovčanka (♀)
(per
UTC+2 (CEST)
Vehicle registrationVK

Mirkovci (Serbian Cyrillic: Мирковци, Hungarian: Szegfalu, German: Sankt Emrich) is a village and suburb of the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. It is geographically within the Syrmia and Podunavlje region. The village is located immediately southeast of Vinkovci separated from the rest of the town by Vinkovci-Gunja railway. At the time of 2011 Census, the local population was 3,283.

Mirkovci is a multiethnic settlement with Croat majority and Serb minority. Up until the end of the Croatian War of Independence Serbs were the majority population.

History

The area in which the village is located has been continually inhabited since the

Colonia Aurelia Cibalae was established in the region during the reign of Hadrian and gained the status of urban settlement during the reign of Caracalla. Emperors Valentinian I and Valens
were born in Cibalae.

Fragment of Italian fresco showing soldiers of Austria-Hungary

From 1526 to 1687 Syrmia was part of the

Austro-Hungarian rule the village was part of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and its Syrmia County
.

World War II

During the

persecution of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia. There are today 5 memorial plaques in Serbian Cyrillic alphabet commemorating Yugoslav Partisans and victims of Fascism which were set on the local community hall in 1958 during the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
time.

Croatian War of Independence

During the

Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (1995-1998).[5] In his book Warrior's Honour: Ethnic War and the Modern Conscience, Canadian author Michael Ignatieff
writes;

  • Theorists like
    Cyrillic East. ... here in Mirkovci, I don't see civilizational fault lines, geological templates that have split apart. These metaphors take for granted what needs to be explained: how neighbors once ignorant of very idea that they belong to opposed civilizations begin to think-and hate-in these terms, how they vilify and demonize people they once called friends... [6]

During the war, Mirkovci was the seat of the Municipality of Mirkovci which covered areas of pre-war Vinkovci Municipality within the Republic of Serbian Krajina. The village was one of the main centers of Serb rebellion in Eastern Croatia.[2]

UNTAES peacekeeping mission

Between 1996 and 1998 Mirkovci was under the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium administration.

Transitional Municipality of Mirkovci

The UNTAES mission made an executive decision to create the so-called Transitional Municipality of Mirkovci at the time of transition of the region to the control of the Croatian Government.

Joint Council of Municipalities.[7] In Mirkovci and Tenja a suburb of Osijek, the economic and cultural centre of Slavonia, were declared so called transitional municipalities with Serb ethnic majority which were to become part of Vinkovci and Osijek respectively after an additional transitional period of one year.[7]
The new Transitional Municipality of Mirkovci covered the village of Mirkovci exclusively and not as in Krajina the entire area of pre-war Municipality of Vinkovci which were under the Serb rebel control.

Contemporary period

The period after the reintegration is marked by population increase, uncommon for the rest of the region, and the changing demographic composition of the village. A number of ethnic Croat refugees from

Roman Catholic church of Aloysius Stepinac was completed after 10 years of works making it the first Roman Catholic church in Mirkovci.[8]

Vuk Stefanović Karadžić Street, subsequently Vukovar
Street

One of the political issues of local significance was the naming of streets in the village. Elected leaders of new Croat ethnic majority community wanted to change street names in the village which were named during the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and remained unchanged until the end of UNTAES mandate. At that time streets in Mirkovci were named after

People's Liberation Army of Macedonia, 4 July-Fighter's Day and 29 November-Republic Day.[9] Majority needed for the change was achieved in August 2010 when the new names after Vukovar and other cities and rivers in Croatia were proposed to the City Council of Vinkovci.[9] Special 4 members commission was formed with 2 ethnic Croats and 2 Serbs tasked with creation of proposal for 42 new street names acceptable to both communities.[9]

Geography

Mirkovci are bordering village between regions of

D46 state road connecting it with the town of Vinkovci and continuing into Serbia as the State Road 120 to the nearest town of Šid
.

Education

Elementary School "Nikola Tesla"

Elementary School in Mirkovci was established in 1759 making it one of the oldest elementary schools in the region.[10] In 1877 it moved to its current location with expansions and renovations taking place in 1900, 1959, 1969, 1992 and 2006.[10] In 2006 the school took the name of Nikola Tesla marking 150th anniversary of scientist's birth.[10]

In period between 1967 and 1997 school was known under the name Elementary School Simo Lončar.[11] After the end of reintegration process relevant Croatian authorities decided to register school under the name Elementary School Mirkovci which it kept until 2006.

Education is conducted in two groups, either in Croatian or Serbian language.[11] In school year 2009–10 233 pupils attended the school.[11]

See also

References

  1. Wikidata Q119585703
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e "Mirkovci". Croatian Encyclopedia.
  3. ^ "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2021 Census". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2021. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. 2022.
  4. ^ "Victim Search". Jasenovac Research Institute. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  5. ^ "Page 8719". International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
  6. ^ Michael Ignatieff, Warrior's Honour: Ethnic War and the Modern Conscience (New York: Henry Holt, 1997), p. 36
  7. ^ a b c Kopajtich-Škrlec, Nives (2012). "Područno ustrojstvo u Republici Hrvatskoj, problemi i perspektiva". Sveske za javno pravo (8): 17–26.
  8. ^ Flego, Miroslav (7 February 2010). "Srakić blagoslovio novizgrađenu crkvu Blaženog Alojzija Stepinca". Večernji list (in Croatian).
  9. ^ a b c Marić, Nenad. "Mirkovci bez ulica Vuka Karadžića i Boška Buhe". T-Portal.
  10. ^ a b c "Povijest škole u Mirkovcima" (in Croatian).
  11. ^ a b c "OŠ NIKOLE TESLE" (in Croatian).
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