Novi Kneževac
Encyclopedia
North Banat District
North Banat District is a northern district of Serbia. It lies in the regions of Banat and Bačka, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. As of the 2002 census, the district has a population of 165,881. The seat of the district is Kikinda....
of Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. The town has a population of 7,567, while the Novi Kneževac municipality has 12,952 inhabitants (2002 census).
Name
The name of the town originates in the Serbian word "knez" ("prince" in English), and the full meaning of the name is "the prince's new place" in English.The city's name in various languages include Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
: Novi Kneževac or Нови Кнежевац, Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
: Törökkanizsa, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
: Noul Cnezat, Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
: Novi Kneževac, and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Neu-Kanischa.
The older Serbian names used for the town were Turska Kanjiža (Турска Кањижа), Mala Kanjiža (Мала Кањижа) and Nova Kanjiža (Нова Кањижа).
The Serbian and Hungarian languages are officially used by the municipal authorities.
History
People inhabited this area as early as the NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
era as well. Historically, the region was populated by Sarmatians
Sarmatians
The Iron Age Sarmatians were an Iranian people in Classical Antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD....
, Gepids, Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
, Avars
Avars
Avar or Avars may refer to:* Eurasian Avars, a nomadic people that conquered the Hungarian Steppe in the early Middle Ages* Uar * Caucasian Avars, a modern people of the Caucasus** Avar language, the language of the Caucasian Avars...
and Slavs. The first written record of Novi Kneževac was made in the 9th century, mentioning under the name "Kneža". In the next century, it was mentioned as "Kanjiša". Until the arrival of the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, it was under the administration of Hungarian
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
feudal landlords. In the 16th century, during the Ottoman administration, it was populated by Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, its name became known as "Turska Kanjiža" and there were already 30-40 houses in the settlement at the beginning of the 18th century
In the 18th century, it became part of the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
, and in 1752, in the vicinity of Turska Kanjiža, a new settlement was built by Serbs coming from Pomorišje
Pomorišje
Pomorišje is a historical geographical region on the banks of the river Mureş that in the past has had a sizable ethnic Serb population. The region is mostly divided between Romania and Hungary, with small part of it in northern Serbia...
, who settled here after the Military Frontier
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...
had been abolished in that region. The name of the newly built settlement in the neighborhood was Jozefovo or Jozefsdorf (later known as Obilićevo) and in 1945, the two settlements became one.
In the 18th century, the economic and cultural life of Turska Kanjiža started thriving; Marko Servijski founded an association whose name was "Stipendarius Servijski" or "Platoneum", which was the largest stipendist foundation among Serbs and Cincars at that time. Interestingly, by this association, a regular allowance was allocated to the reformer of the Serbian language
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
, Lukijan Mušicki
Lukijan Mušicki
Lukijan Mušicki was a Serbian poet, prose writer, and polyglot.Mušicki was a monk, and later abbot of a monastery in Fruška Gora, whose religious poetry in Church Slavonic, a language distant from the spoken koine, but the only literary language of his time, was recognised and valued by the...
. In 1885, a pontoon bridge was opened between Turska Kanjiža and Stara Kanjiža
Kanjiža
Kanjiža is a town and municipality in the North Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia...
. In the 18th century, both settlements, Turska Kanjiža and Jozefovo were populated mainly by Serbs, however, 1910 census already recorded that the Hungarian speakers exceeded in number the Serbian ones in both settlements. As for the territory of present-day Novi Kneževac municipality, 1910 census recorded 18,513 inhabitants in the area, of which 9,295 (50.21%) spoke Serbian and 8,823 (47.66%) Hungarian (Note that this data is calculated on the present-day territory of Novi Kneževac municipality, not on the territory of historical municipality, which included a much larger territory than the modern one in 1910 and in which the Hungarian speakers were more numerous than the Serbian ones).
As of 1918, it is part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
). In 1922, the name "Nova Kanjiža" was officially adopted which was altered to "Novi Kneževac" in 1935 and in 1932, it was the site of the first football match illuminated by electric lanterns in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. Until 1981, the largest ethnic group in the town were Hungarians but with a different demographic trend. The proportion of Serbs increased, while the proportion of Hungarians fell, and as of 1981 evinced by all the following censuses, Serbs became the most numerous ethnic group. Nonetheless, there has been a permanent ethnic Serb majority in the territory of present-day Novi Kneževac municipality for several centuries.
Inhabited places
The Novi Kneževac municipality includes the town of Novi Kneževac, which is situated along the river bank of TisaTisá
Tisá is a village and municipality in Ústí nad Labem District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 786 ....
, and eight villages. The villages are:
- Banatsko Aranđelovo
- Đala
- FilićFilicFilić is a village located in the Novi Kneževac municipality, in the North Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 161 people .-External links:*...
- MajdanMajdanMajdan is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Novi Kneževac municipality, in the North Banat District, Vojvodina province...
- PodlokanjPodlokanjPodlokanj is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Novi Kneževac municipality, in the North Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 217 people .-See also:...
- RabeRabe (Novi Kneževac)Rabe is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Novi Kneževac municipality, in the North Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Hungarian ethnic majority and its population numbering 135 people .-See also:*List of places in Serbia*List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina...
- SigetSigetSiget refers to:* Siget, Zagreb, a large neighbourhood of Novi Zagreb - zapad, Zagreb, Croatia* Siget, Novi Kneževac, a village near Novi Kneževac, Serbia* Szigetvár, a small town in Baranya, Hungary...
- Srpski KrsturSrpski KrsturSrpski Krstur , also known as Krstur , is a village located in Serbia, in the Novi Kneževac municipality of the North Banat District, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...
Note: The Hungarian names are also mentioned at those places where there is a Hungarian ethnic majority.
Ethnic groups in the municipality
The population of the Novi Kneževac municipality is composed of:- SerbsSerbsThe Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
= 7,725 (59.53%) - Hungarians = 3,864 (29.78%)
- Roma = 655 (5.04%)
- YugoslavsYugoslavsYugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
= 207 (1.59%) - Others.
Settlements with an ethnic majority
The places where there is a Serb ethnic majority are Novi Kneževac, Banatsko Aranđelovo, Siget, Filić, Srpski Krstur, Đala, and Podlokanj and there are two villages Majdan and Rabe with a Hungarian ethnic majority. The names of the settlements where there is a Hungarian population of more than 20% are Novi Kneževac, Filić, Banatsko Aranđelovo, and Siget.Ethnic groups in the town
The population of the Novi Kneževac town is composed of:- SerbsSerbsThe Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
= 4,369 (57.63%) - Hungarians = 2,657 (35.05%)
- YugoslavsYugoslavsYugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
= 131 (1.73%) - Roma = 107 (1.41%)
- Others.
2004 elections
Seats in the municipal parliament won in Novi Kneževac local elections, 2004: http://www.cesid.org/lokalni2004/rezultati.jsp?opstina=80276- Serbian Radical PartySerbian Radical PartyThe Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...
(9) - Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (Serbia)The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...
(7) - G17 PlusG17 PlusG17 Plus , abbreviated to G17+, is a centre-right political party in Serbia. With 22 seats in the National Assembly, it is the third-largest party, and currently participates in a coalition with, amongst others, the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party...
(2) - Socialist Party of SerbiaSocialist Party of SerbiaThe Socialist Party of Serbia is officially a democratic socialist political party in Serbia. It is also widely recognized as a de facto Serbian nationalist party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this...
(2) - Serbian Strength MovementSerbian Strength MovementThe Strength of Serbia Movement is a political party in Serbia led by Bogoljub Karić. He finished third in the 2004 presidential elections....
(2) - Groups of citizens - Pensioners (2)
- Democratic Party of SerbiaDemocratic Party of SerbiaThe Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...
(2) - Groups of citizens - Better tomorrow for municipality of Novi Kneževac (2)
- League of Social Democrats of VojvodinaLeague of Social Democrats of VojvodinaThe League of Vojvodina Social Democrats is a regionalist social democratic political party in Serbia...
(2) - Groups of citizens - For our birthplace (1)
2008 elections
Results of 2008 local elections in Novi Kneževac municipality: http://www.cesid.org/rezultati/sr_maj_2008-lokalni/index.jsp- For a European Novi KneževacFor a European SerbiaFor a European Serbia – Boris Tadić is an electoral coalition that won the Serbian parliamentary election, 2008, Vojvodina parliamentary election, 2008 and Serbian local elections, 2008...
(27.18%) - Serbian Radical PartySerbian Radical PartyThe Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...
(22.46%) - Hungarian CoalitionHungarian CoalitionThe Hungarian Coalition ; Serbian: Мађарска Коалиција , Mađarska Koalicija ) is a political coalition composed of 3 ethnic Hungarian political parties in Serbia: the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, the Democratic Party of Vojvodina Hungarians, and the Democratic Fellowship of Vojvodina Hungarians...
(17.63%) - New SerbiaNew SerbiaNew Serbia is a political party in Serbia. It was created in 1997 by a number of dissidents from the Serbian Renewal Movement....
(7.29%) - Socialist Party of SerbiaSocialist Party of SerbiaThe Socialist Party of Serbia is officially a democratic socialist political party in Serbia. It is also widely recognized as a de facto Serbian nationalist party, though the party itself does not officially acknowledge this...
(6.21%) - Democratic Party of SerbiaDemocratic Party of SerbiaThe Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...
(5.88%)