Žabalj
Encyclopedia
South Backa District
South Bačka District is a northern district of Serbia. It lies in the southern part of Bačka and northern part of Syrmia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It has a population of 607,835...
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...
. Žabalj town has a population of 9,582, and Žabalj municipality 27,418. It is located in southeastern part of Bačka
Backa
Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...
, known as Šajkaška
Šajkaška
Šajkaška is a geographical region in Serbia. It is southeastern part of Bačka, located in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Territory of Šajkaška is divided among four municipalities: Titel, Žabalj, Novi Sad, and Srbobran. Historical center of Šajkaška is Titel.-Name:Name Šajkaška means "land...
.
Name
Its name came from the SerbianSerbian 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....
word "žaba" ("frog" in English). In 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....
, the town is known as Žabalj (Жабаљ), in 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....
as Zsablya or Józseffalva (between 1886 and 1919), in 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....
as Josefdorf, and in 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...
as Žabalj.
History
Žabalj was first mentioned in 1514 as a fortress captured by Doža Đerđ. During the OttomanOttoman 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...
rule (16th-17th century), it was populated by ethnic 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...
. In the 18th and 19th century, Žabalj was part of the Habsburg
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...
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...
(Šajkaš Battalion
Šajkaška
Šajkaška is a geographical region in Serbia. It is southeastern part of Bačka, located in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Territory of Šajkaška is divided among four municipalities: Titel, Žabalj, Novi Sad, and Srbobran. Historical center of Šajkaška is Titel.-Name:Name Šajkaška means "land...
). First church in Žabalj was mentioned in 1720, but it was later razed. Present-day church dedicated to Saint Nikolaj was built in 1835. In 1901, the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
church was built as well.
Since 1918, Žabalj was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and subsequent South Slavic
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
states. During the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
occupation, in 1942 raid, 666 inhabitants of the town were murdered, of whom 355 were men, 141 women, 101 children, and 69 old people. By nationality, victims included 614 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...
, 28 Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, 23 Roma, and 1 Hungarian.
Inhabited places
Žabalj municipality encompasses the town of Žabalj, and the following villages:- Gospođinci
- Đurđevo
- ČurugCurugČurug is a village in the municipality of Žabalj, in the South Bačka District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...
Ethnic groups (2002 census)
The population of the Žabalj municipality:- 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...
(86.25%) - Rusins (5.11%)
- Roma (2.79%)
- Hungarians (1.1%)
All settlements in the municipality have an ethnic Serb majority.
Politics
Seats in the municipal parliament won in the 2004 local elections: http://www.cesid.org/lokalni2004/rezultati.jsp?opstina=80136- Serbian Radical Party (12)
- Democratic Party (5)
- Serbian Strength Movement (3)
- Serbian Renewal Movement (2)
- G17 Plus (2)
- Coalition "Victory" (2)
- Alliance of Serbs in Vojvodina (2)
- Socialist Party of Serbia (2)
- Democratic Party of Serbia (1)
See also
- ŠajkaškaŠajkaškaŠajkaška is a geographical region in Serbia. It is southeastern part of Bačka, located in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Territory of Šajkaška is divided among four municipalities: Titel, Žabalj, Novi Sad, and Srbobran. Historical center of Šajkaška is Titel.-Name:Name Šajkaška means "land...
- South Bačka DistrictSouth Backa DistrictSouth Bačka District is a northern district of Serbia. It lies in the southern part of Bačka and northern part of Syrmia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It has a population of 607,835...
- List of places in Serbia
- List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina