Žitište
Encyclopedia
Central Banat District
Central Banat District is a northeastern district of Serbia. It lies in the region of Banat, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It has a population of 208,456...
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 3,236, while Žitište municipality has 20,144 inhabitants.
Name
In 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....
, the town is known as Žitište (Cyrillic: Житиште), in 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...
as Jitişte or Zitişte, 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 Sankt Georgen an der Bega, and 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 Bégaszentgyörgy.
The original name of the town derived from the Hungarian family name Szentgyörgyi.
The Serbian name of the town derived from the Serbian word "žito" ("wheat" in English). Its old names used in Serbian were Begej Sveti Đurađ and Senđurađ.
Serbian, Hungarian, and Romanian language are officially used by municipal authorities.
History
It was founded in the 14th century during the Hungarian Kingdom, under Zenthgyurgh (Szentgyörgyi) name. In 1660/1666, Senđurađ was recorded as settlement repopulated by ethnic SerbsSerbs
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...
during Ottoman
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...
rule. In the beginning of the 18th century, settlement was completelly abandoned and in 1723 it was recorded as an uninhabited heath.
It was settled again in 1724 by Serb
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...
and Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
settlers. In 1736/37, settlement had 27 houses. Because of the Austro
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...
-Turkish
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...
war (1736–1739) and pestilence, number of inhabitants decreased and in 1740 the population of the settlement numbered 18 houses. In 1753, Begej Sveti Đurađ was settled by 1,000 Serb frontiersmen 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...
, Potisje
Potisje
Potisje is the name of the Tisa river basin parts located in Serbia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. The river Tisa flow between Banat and Bačka regions.-Municipalities in Potisje:Municipalities in Bačka:*Kanjiža*Senta*Ada*Bečej...
and Veliki Bečkerek, and in the same year it was recorded on map as "Serb-inhabited settlement". In 1758, Begej Sveti Đurađ had 45 houses, and in 1773 it had 182 houses. Church was built in 1758, and it was also used as a school. In 1781, Begej Sveti Đurađ became a property of Isak Kiš (Kis Izsák), who was a trader of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n origin.
In 1800-1805, the settlement was moved to another location closer to the Begej river. Part of the Serb population moved from the settlement and settled in 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...
, while German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
colonists settled in Begej Sveti Đurađ instead of them. Begej Sveti Đurađ was a municipality until 1877, when it was joined to the municipality of Veliki Bečkerek. In 1880, the population of the settlement numbered 3,041 people, of whom 1,983 were Catholics, 1,033 were Orthodox, 19 were 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...
, and 6 were others. In accordance with the census made in 1910, the linguistic distribution of the 2,814 inhabitants was the following: 1,454 who spoke German language
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....
, 1,034 who spoke 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....
and 214 who spoke Hungarian language
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....
.
In 1931, population of Begej Sveti Đurađ included 1,318 inhabitants who spoke German language
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....
, 1,055 who spoke 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....
, 188 who spoke Hungarian language
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....
, 34 who spoke other Slavic languages
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
, and 94 who spoke other languages. In 1940, population of Begej Sveti Đurađ numbered 3,055 people, of whom 1,642 were Orthodox, 1,387 were Catholics, 16 were 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...
, and 10 were others.
As a consequence of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and 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, German population left or was evicted from Begej Sveti Đurađ after the war, while 270 Serb families from Bosanska Krajina
Bosanska Krajina
Bosanska Krajina or Bosnian Frontier is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina enclosed by three rivers - Sava, Una and Vrbas. It is also a historic, economic and cultural entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
came to the settlement. In 1947, the name of the settlement was officially changed to Žitište. In 1960, Žitište became a seat of municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
.
Inhabited places
Žitište municipality includes the town of Žitište and the following villages:- Banatski DvorBanatski DvorBanatski Dvor is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Žitište municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province...
- Banatsko VišnjićevoBanatsko VišnjicevoBanatsko Višnjićevo is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Žitište municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 384 people ....
- Banatsko Karađorđevo
- Međa
- Novi ItebejNovi ItebejNovi Itebej is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Žitište municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Hungarian ethnic majority of Protestant religious affiliation and its population numbering 1,315 people .-References:*Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj...
- Ravni TopolovacRavni TopolovacRavni Topolovac is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Žitište municipality, Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,352 people .81 meters...
- Srpski ItebejSrpski ItebejSrpski Itebej is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Žitište municipality, Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and a population of 2,405 .-External links:*...
- TorakTorak (Žitište)Torak or Torac , formerly known as Begejci , is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Žitište municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province...
- TordaTorda (Žitište)Torda is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Žitište municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Hungarian ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,771 people .-Geography:...
- HetinHetinHetin is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Žitište municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province...
- ČesteregCesteregČestereg is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Žitište municipality, Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,391 people .-Name:...
Ethnic groups in the Žitište 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...
= 12,628 (61.9%) - Hungarians = 4,017 (19.69%)
- RomaniansRomaniansThe Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
= 1,837 (9%) - Roma = 765 (3.75%)
- YugoslavsYugoslavsYugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
= 266 (1.3%) - others.
Settlements by ethnic majority
Settlements with Serb ethnic majority are: Žitište, Banatsko Višnjićevo, Banatsko Karađorđevo, Međa, Ravni Topolovac, Srpski Itebej, and Čestereg. Settlements with Hungarian ethnic majority are: Novi Itebej (Magyarittabé in Hungarian), Torda, and Hetin (Tamásfalva in Hungarian). The settlement with Romanian ethnic majority is Torak (Begejci). Ethnically mixed settlement with relative Serb majority is Banatski Dvor (Szőllősudvarnok in Hungarian).Ethnic groups in the Žitište town
- Serbs = 2,861 (88.25%)
- Roma = 156 (4.81%)
- Hungarians = 70 (2.16%)
- Yugoslavs = 32 (0.99%)
- Romanians = 29 (0.90%)
- others.
Historical population
Population of the town in different censuses:- 1948: 3,163
- 1953: 3,326
- 1961: 3,078
- 1971: 2,921
- 1981: 3,060
- 1991: 3,074
- 2002: 3,242
Politics
Seats in the municipality parliament won in the 2008 local elections:- Democratic Party (7)
- Serbian Radical Party (6)
- Socialist Party of Serbia (4)
- Democratic Party of Serbia (4)
- Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (3)
- LSV (3)
- New Serbia (2)
- G17 Plus (2)
Trivia
In 2007 local authorities unveiled a monument in the centre of the town, dedicated to famous, fictional boxer Rocky BalboaRocky Balboa (character)
Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr. is a fictional character and the main protagonist portrayed by Sylvester Stallone who has appeared in the Rocky series from 1976 to 2006. During the series, he wins the Heavyweight Championship of the World twice....
. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13949671