(Redirected from Autonomous Province of Vojvodina):''For other meanings, see:
Vojvodina (disambiguation).''
The 'Autonomous Province of Vojvodina' (
Serbian: Аутономна Покрајина Војводина or ''Autonomna Pokrajina Vojvodina'', ) is one of the
two autonomous provinces in
Serbia. It is located in the northern part of the country, in the
Pannonian plain. Its capital and largest city is
Novi Sad, while the second largest city is
Subotica. Vojvodina has more than 26 ethnic groups and six official languages. The current autonomous status of Vojvodina within Serbia was defined by the
Omnibus law from 2002.
Name
The name ''"Vojvodina"'' in the
Serbian language simply means "
voivodship" (a type of
duchy). Its original historical name (from 1848) was the "
Serbian Voivodship" (Serbian Vojvodina), but since Vojvodina is now a part of
Serbia, there is no need for the prefix "Serbian" anymore. On rare occasions, the Serbian language uses two more varieties of the word Vojvodina, namely ''Vojvodovina'' and ''Vojvodstvo''.
The full official names of the province in all official languages of Vojvodina are:
★ Аутономна Покрајина Војводина or ''Autonomna Pokrajina Vojvodina'' (in
Serbian)
★ ''Vajdaság Autonóm Tartomány'' (in
Hungarian) ()
★ ''Autonómna Pokrajina Vojvodina'' (in
Slovak)
★ ''Provincia Autonomă Voivodina'' (in
Romanian)
★ ''Autonomna Pokrajina Vojvodina'' (in
Croatian)
★ Автономна Покраїна Войводина (in
Rusyn)
History
Main articles: History of Vojvodina
Throughout history, the territory of present day Vojvodina has been a part of
Dacia, the
Roman Empire, the
Hun Empire, the
Byzantine Empire, the
Gepid Kingdom, the
Avar Khanate, the
Frankish Kingdom, the
Pannonian Croatia, the
Great Moravia, the
Bulgarian Empire, the
Kingdom of Hungary, the
Ottoman Empire, the
Habsburg Monarchy, the
Austrian Empire,
Austria-Hungary, the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and
Serbia and Montenegro. Since 2006, Vojvodina is part of an independent
Serbia (It should be noted that historical name of Vojvodina between 1849 and 1860 was
Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat. Vojvodina in 1918 united with the Kingdom of Serbia, and in 1945 with the People's Republic of Serbia).
Voivodship (duchy) of
Salan, 9th century
During Roman rule,
Sirmium (today's
Sremska Mitrovica) was one of the four capital cities of the
Roman Empire and six
Roman Emperors were born in this city or in its surroundings. The city was also the capital of several Roman administrative units, including the
Lower Pannonia, the
Pannonia Secunda, the
Diocese of Pannonia, and the
Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum. Roman rule lasted until the 5th century, after which the region came into the possession of various peoples and states.
Slavs (including
Serbs) settled today's Vojvodina in the
6th and
7th centuries. In the
9th century,
Salan and
Glad, Bulgarian dukes (
voivods), ruled over the region. The residence of Salan was
Titel. The important local voivods were also
Ahtum and
Sermon, who ruled over the region in the
11th century. After the Bulgarian dukes were defeated, parts of the region (Bačka and Banat) were added to the medieval
Kingdom of Hungary, while Syrmia was ruled by the Byzantine Empire until the 12th century, when it too was added to the Kingdom of Hungary.
Between
1282 and
1316, the Serbian King
Stefan Dragutin ruled over the Kingdom of Syrmia, which consisted of the northern parts of
Serbia,
Mačva,
Usora and
Soli, and his residence was in the city of
Debrc. His Kingdom of Syrmia was located in Lower Syrmia (present day
Mačva), while another local ruler,
Ugrin Čak, ruled over Upper Syrmia (present day
Syrmia),
Slavonija, and
Bačka, while residing in
Ilok. Initially, Stefan Dragutin was a vassal of the Hungarian king, but once the central power in the
Kingdom of Hungary collapsed, both Stefan Dragutin and Ugrin Čak were
de facto independent rulers. Stefan Dragutin died in
1316 and was succeeded by his son, King
Vladislav II (
1316-
1325), while Ugrin Čak died in
1311. Vladislav II was defeated by the king of Serbia,
Stefan Dečanski, in 1324, and consequently, Lower Syrmia became a subject of dispute between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Hungary.
After the
Ottoman Empire conquered
Serbia (in
1459), Serbian despots ruled in parts of Vojvodina as vassals of the Hungarian kings. The residence of the despots was
Kupinik (today Kupinovo) in
Syrmia.
After the defeat of the Hungarian Kingdom at Mohács by the Ottoman Empire, the region fell into a period of anarchy and civil wars. In
1526 Jovan Nenad, a leader of the Serb mercenaries, established his rule in
Bačka, northern
Banat and a small part of
Syrmia. He created an ephemeral independent state, with
Subotica as its capital. At the peak of his power, Jovan Nenad proclaimed himself Serbian Emperor in Subotica. Taking advantage of the extremely confused military and political situation, the Hungarian noblemen from the region joined forces against him and defeated the Serbian troops in the summer of
1527. Emperor Jovan Nenad was assassinated and his state collapsed. A few decades later, the region was added to the
Ottoman Empire, which ruled over it until the end of the 17th and the first half of the 18th century, when it was incorporated into the
Habsburg Monarchy. At the beginning of Habsburg rule, most of the region was integrated into the Habsburg
Military Frontier district, while western parts of Bačka were put under civil administration within Bač county. Later, the civil administration was expanded to other (mostly northern) parts of the region, while southern parts remained under military administration.
At the May Assembly in
Sremski Karlovci (
May 13-
15,
1848),
Serbs declared the constitution of the '
Serbian Voivodship' (Serbian Duchy), a Serbian autonomous region within the
Austrian Empire. The Serbian Voivodship consisted of
Syrmia,
Bačka,
Banat, and
Baranja. The
metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci,
Josif Rajačić, was elected
patriarch, while
Stevan Šupljikac was chosen as first
voivod (duke).
In November
1849, in accordance with a decision made by the
Austrian emperor, this Serbian region was transformed into the new Austrian
crown land known as '
Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat'. It consisted of
Banat,
Bačka and
Syrmia, excluding the southern parts of these regions which were part of the Military Frontier. An Austrian governor seated in
Temeschwar ruled the area, and the title of voivod belonged to the
emperor himself. The full title of the
emperor was "
Grand Voivod of the Voivodship of Serbia" (German: ''Großwoiwode der Woiwodschaft Serbien''). The province was abolished in
1860, and from
1867 was located within the
Hungarian part of
Austria-Hungary.
At the end of
World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed. On
October 29,
1918, Syrmia became a part of the
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. On
October 31,
1918, the '
Banat Republic' was proclaimed in
Temeschwar. The government of Hungary recognized its independence, but it was short-lived.
On
November 25,
1918, the Assembly of
Serbs,
Bunjevci, and other nations of Vojvodina in
Novi Sad proclaimed the union of Vojvodina (
Banat, Bačka and Baranja) with the
Kingdom of Serbia (The assembly numbered 757 deputies, of which 578 were
Serbs, 84
Bunjevci, 62
Slovaks, 21
Rusyns, 6
Germans, 3
Šokci, 2
Croats, and 1
Hungarian). One day before this, on
November 24, the Assembly of Syrmia also proclaimed the union of Syrmia with Serbia. On
December 1, 1918, Vojvodina officially became part of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
Between
1929 and
1941, the region was known as the '
Danube Banovina', a province of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Its capital city was
Novi Sad. The Banovina consisted of the
Syrmia,
Bačka,
Banat,
Baranja,
Šumadija, and
Braničevo regions.
During
World War II, the
Axis Powers occupied the region between
1941 and
1944. Bačka and Baranja were attached to
Horthy's Hungary, while Syrmia was attached to the
Independent State of Croatia. A smaller Danube Banovina (including Banat, Šumadija, and Braničevo) existed as part of Serbia between 1941 and 1944. The administrative centre of this smaller province was
Smederevo. However, Banat itself was a separate autonomous region ruled by its German minority.
Axis occupation ended in
1944 and the region was politically restored in
1945 as an autonomous province of Serbia (incorporating Syrmia, Banat, and Bačka). Instead of the previous name (Danube Banovina), the region regained its historical name of Vojvodina, while its capital city remained
Novi Sad.
Vojvodina within Serbia in 1945
At first, the province enjoyed only a small level of autonomy within Serbia, but it gained extensive rights of self-rule under the
1974 Yugoslav constitution, which gave both Kosovo and Vojvodina ''de facto'' veto power in the Serbian and Yugoslav parliaments, as changes to their status could not be made without the consent of the two Provincial Assemblies. The 1974 Serbian constitution, adopted at the same time, reiterated that "the Socialist Republic of Serbia comprises the
Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the
Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, which originated in the common struggle of nations and nationalities of Yugoslavia in the National Liberation War (the Second World War) and socialist revolution".
Under the rule of the Serbian president
Slobodan Milošević, Vojvodina and
Kosovo lost most of their autonomy in September
1990. Vojvodina was still referred to as an autonomous province of Serbia, but most of its autonomous powers - including, crucially, its vote on the Yugoslav collective presidency - were transferred to the control of Belgrade. The province, however, still had its own parliament and government and some other autonomous functions as well.
The fall of Milošević in
2000 created a new climate for reform in Vojvodina. Following talks between the political parties, the level of the province's was increased by the
omnibus law in
2002.
Geography
Vojvodina map
Vojvodina is situated in the northern part of Serbia. The region is divided by the
Danube and
Tisa rivers into:
Bačka in the northwest,
Banat in the east and
Syrmia (Srem) in the southwest. A small part of the
Mačva region is also located in Vojvodina, in the
Srem District. Today, the western part of
Syrmia is in
Croatia, the northern part of Bačka is in
Hungary, the eastern part of Banat is in
Romania (with a small piece in Hungary), while
Baranja (which is between the Danube and the
Drava) is in Hungary and Croatia. Vojvodina has a total surface area of 21,500
km² (8,299
mi²). Vojvodina is also part of the
Danube-Kris-Mures-Tisa euroregion.
Districts and municipalities
col2 =
}}
After a
constitution of Serbia from
1992, Vojvodina is divided into 7
districts, which are called after its main geographical location. Districts are named after the main region which district covers. Minister of Local Self-Government, in the
Serbian Government appoints commissioners of the districts, but they don't have any political powers. Local government lies in municipalities and cites. The seven provinces are further subdivided into 44
municipalities and the city of
Novi Sad.
Cities
Largest cities of Vojvodina (with population figures):
★
Novi Sad (215,659),
★
Subotica (99,471),
★
Zrenjanin (79,545),
★
Pančevo (76,110),
★
Sombor (50,950),
★
Kikinda (41,825),
★
Sremska Mitrovica (39,041),
★
Vršac (36,001),
★
Ruma (32,125),
★
Bačka Palanka (29,431),
★
Inđija (26,244),
★
Vrbas (25,887),
★
Bečej (25,703),
★
Senta (20,363),
★
Kula (19,293),
★
Apatin (19,289),
★
Temerin (19,143).
Demographics
Ethnic map of Vojvodina based on the 2002 municipality data
Ethnic map of Vojvodina based on the 2002 settlement data
Language map of Vojvodina based on the 2002 municipality data
Population by national or ethnic groups:
[1]
| Number | % |
| 'TOTAL' | '2,031,992' | 100 |
| Serbs | 1,321,807 | 65.05 |
| Hungarians | 290,207 | 14.28 |
| Slovaks | 56,637 | 2.79 |
| Croats | 56,546 | 2.78 |
| Yugoslavs | 49,881 | 2.45 |
| Montenegrins | 35,513 | 1.75 |
| Romanians | 30,419 | 1.5 |
| Roma | 29,057 | 1.43 |
| Bunjevci | 19,766 | 0.97 |
| Rusyns | 15,626 | 0.77 |
| Macedonians | 11,785 | 0.58 |
| Ukrainians | 4,635 | 0.23 |
| Muslims (by nationality) | 3,634 | 0.18 |
| Germans | 3,154 | 0.16 |
| Slovenes | 2,005 | 0.1 |
| Albanians | 1,695 | 0.08 |
| Bulgarians | 1,658 | 0.08 |
| Czechs | 1,648 | 0.08 |
| Russians | 940 | 0.05 |
| Gorani | 606 | 0.03 |
| Bosniaks | 417 | 0.02 |
| Vlachs | 101 | 0 |
| Others | 5,311 | 0.26 |
| Regional identity | 10,154 | 0.5 |
| Undeclared | 55,016 | 2.71 |
| Unknown | 23,774 | 1.17 |
Population by mother tongue:
Population by religion:
| Number | % |
| Eastern Orthodox Christians | 1,401,475 | 68.97 |
Catholics
(Roman Catholic and Eastern Rite) | 388,313 | 19.11 |
| Protestants | 72,159 | 3.55 |
| Atheists | 12,583 | n/a |
| Muslims | 8,073 | n/a |
| Jews | 329 | n/a |
Oriental religions
(Buddhism, Hinduism etc.) | 166 | n/a |
| Others | 4,456 | n/a |
| Without religious affiliation | 418 | n/a |
| Undeclared | 101,144 | n/a |
| Unknown | 42,876 | n/a |
Population by gender:
★ 984,942 males
★ 1,047,050 females
Population by age groups:
★ 0-14 years: 15.85% (165,332 males, 156,873 females)
★ 15-64 years: 68.62% (693,646 males, 700,416 females)
★ 65 years and over: 15.53% (125,964 males, 189,761 females)
Source:
Republic Statistical Office of Serbia
Politics
Main articles: Politics of Vojvodina
The current ruling coalition in the Vojvodina parliament is composed of the following political parties:
Democratic Party,
United for Vojvodina (the coalition of several regionalist political parties led by
League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina),
Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, and
Political movement “Force of Serbia”.
The current president of Vojvodinian government is
Bojan Pajtić (
Democratic Party), while the president of the Vojvodinian parliament is
Bojan Kostreš (
League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina).
Culture
The Executive Council of Vojvodina is the founder of several newspapers and magazines in Vojvodina's official languages: "''
Дневник''"
[1] (''Daily news'') in Serbian and "''
Magyar Szó''"
[2] (''Hungarian Word'') in Hungarian are daily newspapers, and weekly magazines are "''
Hrvatska riječ''"
[3] (''Croatian Word'') in Croatian, "''
Hlas Ľudu''"
[4] (''The Voice of the People'') in Slovak, "''
Libertatea''"
[5] (''Freedom'') in Romanian, and "''
Руске слово''"
[6] (''Rusyn Word'') in Rusyn. There are also "''
Bunjevačke novine''" (''Bunjevac newspaper'') in Bunjevac.
Tourism
Tourist destinations in Vojvodina include well known
Orthodox monasteries on
Fruška Gora mountain, numerous hunting grounds, cultural-historical monuments, different folklores, interesting galleries and museums, plain landscapes with a lot of greenery, big rivers, canals and lakes, sandy terrain
Deliblatska Peščara ("the European Sahara"), etc.
Economy
Economy of Vojvodina is largely based on developed food industry and fertile agricultural soil that comprise 84% of its territory. About 70% of agricultural products is corn, 20% industrial herb, and 10% other agricultural cultures. Other branches of industry are also developed such as the metal industry, chemical industry, electrical industry, oil industry, construction industry, etc.
Human rights
:''See also:
Human rights in Serbia''
In 2005, several international organizations including the
European Parliament and
Human Rights Watch have expressed concern about rising levels of ethnic tension and related violent incidents in Vojvodina.
[2] [3] Of particular concern, according to the reports, is a frequently lax response on the part of the police.
[3] As of 2007, the situation in Vojvodina is peaceful.
Gallery
References
1. Issue LII, No. 295, Final Results of the Census 2002, , , , Republic Statistical Office of Serbia, 2002, YU ISSN 0353-9555 SRB 295 SN31 241202
2. http://hrw.org/reports/2005/serbia1005/7.htm
3. http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:Z0w9eGPCARsJ:www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do%3FpubRef%3D-//EP//NONSGML%2BMOTION%2BB6-2005-0534%2B0%2BDOC%2BWORD%2BV0//EN+european+parliament,+vojvodina&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us
4. http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:Z0w9eGPCARsJ:www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do%3FpubRef%3D-//EP//NONSGML%2BMOTION%2BB6-2005-0534%2B0%2BDOC%2BWORD%2BV0//EN+european+parliament,+vojvodina&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us
See also
★
Serbia
★
Bačka
★
Banat
★
Syrmia
★
Ethnic groups of Vojvodina
External links
★
Government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
★
Parliament of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina '(Rusyn)'
★
Statistical information about municipalities of Vojvodina
★
List of largest cities of Vojvodina
★
''www.vojvodina.com''
★
''www.vojvodina.co.yu''
★
''www.VojvodinaCafe.com''
.PNG)
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
![Cafe Havana, Guam\](images/articles/thumbs/cafehavanathumb.jpg "Cafe Havana, Guam\")
