BEčEJ

'Bečej' (Serbian: ''Бечеј'' or ''Bečej'', Hungarian: ''Óbecse'', Rusin: ''Бечеј'', Croatian: ''Bečej'', German: ''Altbetsche'', Romanian: ''Becei'') is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 25,703, while Bečej municipality has 40,877 inhabitants.

Contents

History

Inhabited places

Demographics (2002 census)

Ethnic groups in the Bečej municipality

Settlements by ethnic majority

Ethnic groups in the Bečej town

Languages in the Bečej municipality

Historical population of the town

Politics

Notable people

Twin cities

References

See also

External links

History

Bečej was mentioned first in 1091. In the 15th century (from 1419 to 1441) it was a possession of the Serbian despot Đurađ Branković. Between 1702 and 1751, the town belonged to the Tisa-Mureş section of the Habsburg Military Frontier. After the abolishment of this part of the Frontier in 1751, many Serbs that lived in the town emigrated to Russia (notably to New Serbia and Slavo-Serbia). To prevent this emigration, the Habsburg authorities formed autonomous District of Potisje with seat in Bečej. District of Potisje existed between 1751 and 1848. The three privilegies were given to the district in 1759, 1774, and 1800. First privilege of the District defined its autonomous status, while the second one allowed to ethnic Hungarians to settle in the district. In the following period many Hungarians settled in Bečej and they replaced Serbs as a dominant nation in the town. According to the 1910 census, the population of Bečej municipality numbered 54,275 people, of whom 30,465 spoke Hungarian and 22,821 Serbian.
Since 1918, Bečej was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and subsequent South Slavic states. During the Hungarian Axis occupation, in 1942 raid, 215 inhabitants of the town were murdered, of whom 111 were men, 72 women, 13 children, and 19 old people. By nationality, victims included 110 Jews, 102 Serbs, and 1 Hungarian. The town also had small ethnic German population, which fled from the area after World War II, as a consequence of the war events.

Inhabited places

Bečej municipality includes the town of Bečej and the following villages:

★ Bačko Gradište (Hungarian: Bácsföldvár)

★ Bačko Petrovo Selo (Hungarian: Péterréve)

★ Mileševo (Hungarian: Drea)

★ Radičević
Note: For the inhabited places with absolute or relative Hungarian ethnic majority, the names are also given in Hungarian.

Demographics (2002 census)

Bečej is an ethnically mixed town and municipality.

Ethnic groups in the Bečej municipality

★ Hungarians = 20,018 (48.84%)

★ Serbs = 16,832 (41.07%) (
★ )

★ Yugoslavs = 1,070 (2.61%) (
★ )

★ Roma = 479 (1.17%)

★ Croats = 437 (1.07%) (
★ )

★ Montenegrins = 229 (0.56%) (
★ )

★ Others.
(
★ ) Total number of South Slavs (Serbs, Yugoslavs, Croats, and Montenegrins) that live in the municipality is 18,568 (45.30%).

Settlements by ethnic majority

Settlements with a Hungarian ethnic majority are: Bačko Petrovo Selo (Hungarian: Péterréve) and Mileševo (Hungarian: Istenföldje). There is one settlement with a Serb ethnic majority: Radičević. Two settlements: Bečej (Hungarian: Óbecse) and Bačko Gradište (Hungarian: Bácsföldvár) are ethnically mixed, with the largest ethnic group there being the Hungarians.

Ethnic groups in the Bečej town

★ Hungarians = 11,725 (45.49%)

★ Serbs = 11,197 (43.44%) (
★ )

★ Yugoslavs = 808 (3.14%) (
★ )

★ Croats = 298 (1.16%) (
★ )

★ Roma = 185 (0.72%)

★ Montenegrins = 172 (0.67%) (
★ )

★ Others.
(
★ ) Total number of South Slavs (Serbs, Yugoslavs, Croats, and Montenegrins) that live in the town is 12,475 (48.40%).

Languages in the Bečej municipality

Languages spoken in the Bečej municipality include:

★ Hungarian (50.29%)

★ Serbian (46.63%)

★ Other. (3.08%)

Historical population of the town

★ 1961: 24,963

★ 1971: 26,722

★ 1981: 27,102

★ 1991: 26,634

Politics

Seats in the municipal parliament won in the 2004 local elections: [1]

★ Serbian Radical Party (6)

★ People's Democratic Party (4)

★ Together for our municipality (4)

★ Democratic Community of Vojvodina Hungarians (4)

★ G17 Plus (3)

★ Democratic Party (3)

★ Socialist Party of Serbia (2)

★ Democratic Party of Vojvodina Hungarians (2)

★ Together for Vojvodina (1)

★ Serbian Strength Movement (1)

Notable people

★ Janika Balázs (Janika Balaž), Hungarian-speaking ethnic Roma tamburica musician; Grew up here.

★ Miloš Šarčev, bodybuilder.

★ Károly Than, chemist.

★ Mór Than, painter.

Twin cities

★ 'Miercurea-Ciuc', Romania

★ 'Csongrád', Hungary

References

★ Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1996.

★ Zvonimir Golubović, Racija u južnoj Bačkoj 1942. godine, Novi Sad, 1991.

★ Jovan Mirosavljević, Brevijar ulica Novog Sada 1745-2001, Novi Sad, 2002.

See also

★ List of places in Serbia

★ List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina

External links

★ Official website

★ Unofficial website

★ Forum on unofficial site

★ Bečej