Autonomna Pokrajina Vojvodina
Аутономна Покрајина Војводина
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 | Serbia and Montenegro
-Serbia
-Kosovo and Metohia
-Vojvodina
-Montenegro
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| Official languages | Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, Rusyn 1
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| Capital | Novi Sad
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Area
- Total
- % water |
21,500 km²
n/a
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Population
- Total (2002)
- Density
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2,031,992
94.51/km²
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Ethnic groups
(2002) | Serbs: 65.05%
Hungarians: 14.28%
Slovaks: 2.79%
Croats: 2.78%
Others: 15.1%
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| Time zone | UTC +2
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| 1: All of the official languages are used in the provincial government, Serbian is used in all municipality governments, others are used in selected municipality governments, and few minority languages are used outside official documents
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The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (Serbian: Аутономна Покрајина Војводина/Autonomna Pokrajina Vojvodina, Hungarian: Vajdaság Autonóm Tartomány, Slovak: Autonómna pokrajina Vojvodina, Romanian: Provincia Autonomă Voivodina, Croatian: Autonomna Pokrajina Vojvodina, Rusyn: Автономна Покраїна Войводина) is the northern province of Serbia. Its capital is Novi Sad and the second largest town is Subotica. It is ethnically diverse, with more than 25 different ethnic groups comprising a third of the region's population. It has no less than six official languages, reflecting the region's great cultural and linguistic diversity. Vojvodina is one of two autonomous provinces of Serbia, the other being Kosovo and Metohija.
History
Vojvodina is the Serbian name for the territory of Northern Serbia, consisting of the southern part of the Pannonian Plain. Throughout history it has been a part of Dacia, the Roman Empire, the Hun Empire, the Avar Caganate, the Gepid Kingdom, the Byzantine Empire, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Austria, Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Yugoslavia and finally Serbia & Montenegro.
The name "Vojvodina" in the Serbian language simply means Dukedom. Its historical name was "Serbian Dukedom", but since Vojvodina is now part of Serbia, there is no need for the prefix "Serbian" anymore. The Serbian language uses two more varieties of the word Vojvodina. These varieties are Vojvodovina and Vojvodstvo, which is equivalent to the Polish word Wojewodztwo (province).
The area of Vojvodina has been inhabited since the Paleolithic period. Before the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC, the region was inhabited by Illyrian, Thracian and Celtic tribes. Opposing the Roman rule, Illyrian tribes started uprising in 6 AD. Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica) was an important Roman town. It was capital city of Roman Pannonia and one of four capital cities of Roman Empire. Several Roman Emperors were born in Sirmium.
During the early medieval migrations, Slavs (Severans, Abodrites, Branicevci and Serbs) settled today's Vojvodina in the 6th and 7th centuries, but pockets of Romanised Illyrians remained in the area.
Pannonia (province of Byzantium) existed in Srem in the 6th century and the capital city of this province was Sirmium.
Dukedom of Salan (Vojvodina of Salan) In the 9th century territory of present day Vojvodina was part of Bulgaria. In 897, Salan (Bulgarian Duke) was ruler in territory of Vojvodina and his capital city was Titel.
The Hungarians arrived in the Pannonian Plain, including Vojvodina, in the end of the 9th century. The region was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, which ruled over it until the 16th century.
Theme Sirmium was a province of the Byzantine Empire in the 11th century.
Stefan Dragutin, king of Srem (1282-1316) Between 1282 and 1316 Serbian king Dragutin ruled semi-independent state consisted of Srem, Macva, Usora and Soli. Name of his state was: Kingdom of Srem. His capital city was Debrc (between Belgrade and Šabac).
An increasing number of Serbs began settling from the 14th century onward. By 1483, according to a Hungarian source, as much as half of the population of Vojvodina territory of the Kingdom of Hungary at the time would have been made up of Serbs.
After Turks conquered Serbia (in 1459), Serbian despots ruled in parts of Vojvodina territory as vassals of Hungarian kings. Last Serbian despot died in 1537.
The Ottoman Empire took control of Vojvodina following the Battle of Mohács of 1526 and the fall of Banat in 1552. This turbulent period caused a massive depopulation of this region.
Elayet of Temesvar (Turkish province) existed in Banat (after 1552), while Sandzak of Srem and Sandzak of Segedin existed in Srem and Backa.
so called "Serbian Empire" In 1526/1527 semi-independent Serbian State existed in the territory of present day Vojvodina. Ruler of this State was so called "Emperor" Jovan Nenad and his capital city was Subotica.
In 1594 Serbs in Banat started large uprising opposing Turkish rule.
The Habsburg Empire took control of Vojvodina among other lands by the treaties of Karlowitz (1699) and Passarowitz (1718). The areas adjacent to the Turkish territory in the south were incorporated into the Military Frontier (its Slavonian and Banat sections). Banat was established as province of Austria in 1718, but this province was abolished in 1778.
150 years of Ottoman rule dramatically altered the demographic character of the region. The original population was decimated.
The Serbian patriarch, Arsenije III Čarnojević, fearing the revenge of the Turks, immigrated in the last decade of the 17th century to Habsburg Empire with as many as 36,000 families. The Austrian emperor promised these people religious freedom as well as the right to elect their own "vojvoda" (military governor), and incorporated much of the region where they settled, later known as Vojvodina, into the military border.
In addition mainly (Catholic) Germans and Hungarians, but also Ruthenians, Slovaks, Romanians and others were invited by the Austrian court to repopulate the region.
The "long 19th century" (1789-1914) was marked by rapid population increase, prosperity, sustained economic development, expansion of the transportation infrastructure, and despite the birth of the various national and reform movements also of relatively peaceful interethnic relations and the reconstruction of the educational system. It was a period of reintegration into Europe, both economically and spirtitually. Novi Sad had an elected mayor that was alternately German or Serb. The Matica Srpska moved to that town from Budapest in 1864. The Serbian gymnasiums of Novi Sad and Sremski Karlovci were at the time considered to be among the best in the Hungarian Kingdom. Novi Sad was being called the "Serb Athens".
This development was only interrupted during the revolutionary years 1848-1849. The human and material losses in the Bačka and Banat regions were the greatest in the entire Habsburg Empire.
Stevan Supljikac (1786-1848), first Duke of Serbian Vojvodina Proclaimed borders of Serbian Vojvodina in 1848 Wishing to express their national individuality, confronting the authorities, both Austrian and Hungarian, Serbs declared the constitution of the Serbian Vojvodina (Serbian Dukedom) at the May Assembly in Sremski Karlovci (13th to 15th May 1848). The Serbian Dukedom consisted of Srem, Backa, Banat and Baranja. The Serbs also formed a political alliance with the Croats "based on freedom and perfect equality". They also recognized the Romanian nationality. Josif Rajačić was elected Patriarch, and Stevan Supljikac for the first Duke. Instead of the old feudal reign a new reign was founded based on the national boards with the Head Serbian national board presiding.
The Hungarian government replied by the use of force: on June 12th 1848, a war between Serbs and Hungarians started. Austria took side of Hungary at first, demanding from the Serbs to "go back to being obedient". Though weaker in number and poorly equipped, the Serbian army fought courageously, aided by the volunteers from Serbia. As a negative consequence of this war, was the expansion of the conservative fractions. Since the Austrian court turned against the Hungarians in the later stage of revolution, feudal and clerical circles of Vojvodina formed an alliance with Austria and became a tool of the Viennese reaction to Hungarian revolution. The forces of reaction smothered the revolution, helped by the Russian Czarism, in the summer of 1849 and in that way defeated all the national and social movements in the Habsburg monarchy.
 Serbian Vojvodina and Tamiš Banat, surrounded in green ( Wojwodowena und Banat) After the defeat of the revolution, by a decision of the Austrian emperor, in November 1849, an administrative area of Serbian Vojvodina and the Tamis Banat was formed (consisting of Banat, Bačka and Srem). An Austrian governor seated in Temesvar ruled the area, and the title of Duke belonged to the emperor himself. After the Austrian and Hungarian authorities signed an agreement, the development of capitalism and democratic parliamentary rule had the necessary conditions to develop. The Vojvodina's two official languages became German and "Illyrian" (what would become Serbo-Croatian), but in practice it was mainly German.
In 1860 these territories were incorporated into Hungary. During the second half of the 19th century the region's Hungarian, German, Serb, Croat, and Slovak farmers turned it into the most productive agricultural region of the Kingdom, and it's excellent products were exported all over Europe.
At the end of the World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed. On November 25 in 1918 the Serbian Assembly of Novi Sad proclaimed the union of Bačka, Banat, Srem and Baranja with the Kingdom of Serbia.
Between 1929 and 1941, Dunavska banovina (Danubian Banat) was province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The capital city of province was Novi Sad. Danubian Banat consisted of Srem, Backa, Banat, Baranja and Sumadija. Population of this region was: Serbs and Croats (56,9%), Hungarians (18,2%), Germans (16,3%).
The region was temporarily split by the Axis Powers during World War II, but was later (In 1945) restored as a province of Serbia (incorporating Srem, Banat and Backa). Instead of previous name (Dunavska Banovina), region officially gains its historical name: Vojvodina, and its capital city remained Novi Sad. It was only nominally autonomous at first but enjoyed extensive rights of self-rule under the 1974 constitution, which also gave it voting rights equivalent to Serbia itself on the country's collective presidency.
Under the rule of Serbian president Slobodan Milošević, Vojvodina and Kosovo lost most of their autonomy in September 1990. The outbreak of the Yugoslav wars contributed to the increase of ethnic tensions, with many refugee Serbs who were driven out from Croatia and Bosnia being resettled in Vojvodina.
The fall of Milošević in 2000 created a new climate for reform in Vojvodina, with the province's ethnic minorities strongly supporting the new democratic government in Belgrade. Following talks between the parties, the province's autonomy was partially restored by the omnibus law in 2002. Vojvodina's new flag was also introduced in 2004.
Some sources for history of Vojvodina:
- Dr. Aleksa Ivic, Istorija Srba u Vojvodini, Novi Sad, 1929.
- Milan Tutorov, Mala Raka a u Banatu, Zrenjanin, 1991.
- Drago Njegovan, Prisajedinjenje Vojvodine Srbiji, Novi Sad, 2004.
- Lazo M. Kostic, Srpska Vojvodina i njene manjine, Novi Sad, 1999.
- Radmilo Petrovic, Vojvodina, Beograd, 2003.
- Predrag Medovic, Praistorija na tlu Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 2001.
- Jovan M. Pejin, Iz prošlosti Kikinde, Kikinda, 2000.
Geography
The region is traditionally divided by the Danube and Tisa rivers into: Bačka in the northwest, Banat in the east and Srem in the southwest. Today, the western part of Srem is in Croatia while Baranja (which is between Danube and Drava, rather) is in Hungary and Croatia. Vojvodina has a total surface area of 21,500 km² (8,299 mi²).
Districts
The districts of Serbia in Vojvodina are:
Demographics
Population by national or ethnic groups:
- 1,321,807 Serbs (65.05%)
- 290,207 Hungarians (14.28%)
- 56,637 Slovaks (2.79%)
- 56,546 Croats (2.78%)
- 55,016 undeclared (2.71%)
- 49,881 Yugoslavs (2.45%)
- 35,513 Montenegrins (1.75%)
- 30,419 Romanians (1.50%)
- 29,057 Romanies (1.43%)
- 19,766 Bunjevci (0.97%)
- 15,626 Rusyns (0.77%)
- 11,785 Macedonians (0.58%)
- 10,154 regional affiliation (0.50%)
- 4,635 Ukrainians (0.23%)
- other
Population by mother tongue:
Population by religion:
- 1,401,475 Eastern Orthodox (68.97%)
- 388,313 Catholics (Roman Catholic and Eastern Rite) (19.11%)
- 72,159 Protestants (3.55%)
- 12,583 atheists
- 8,073 Muslims
- 329 Jews
- 166 Oriental religions (Buddhism, Hinduism etc.)
- 4,456 others
- 418 without religious affiliation
- 42,876 unknown
- 101,144 undeclared on the question
Population by gender:
- 984,942 males
- 1,047,050 females
Population by age groups:
- 0-14 years: 15.85% (165332 males, 156873 females)
- 15-64 years: 68.62% (693646 males, 700416 females)
- 65 years and over: 15.53% (125964 males, 189761 females)
Source: Republic Statistical Office of Serbia (http://www.statserb.sr.gov.yu/Ter/epop.htm)
Politics
There are several regionalist political parties in Vojvodina. Some of those are: League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina, Reformists of Vojvodina, Vojvodina Coalition, Vojvodinian Movement, Union of Socialists of Vojvodina.
Current president of Vojvodinian government is Bojan Pajtic (Democratic Party), while president of Vojvodinian parliament is Bojan Kostres (League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina).
External links
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