Apatin

Apatin , in Serb Cyrillic Sr German Апатин and in of Abthausen, is a city and a municipality of Serbia located in the autonomous province of Voïvodine, district of Bačka Western. In 2002, the city counted: 19320 inhabitants and the municipality of which it is the center: 32813.

In 2007, the population of the city was evaluated with: 19931 inhabitants.

Geography

Apatin is located at the North-West of the vast plain of the Bačka, on left bank of the the Danube, at a place where the river is used as natural border between Serbia and the Croatia. The municipality, as for it, is located between the municipality of Sombor at north and that of Odžaci at south-east.

History

The geographical position of the area, the proximity of the the Danube, its wealth of food resources (fruits, fish, game) there attracted the men since the Préhistoire. The Sarmates, the Celtic , the Goths followed one another this place later.

With, at the time of the Roman conquest, one observes there the presence of a military camp which played a big role in the defense of the Province of Pannonia. At the 6th century, the Slaves were intallèrent in the area and at the 10th century the Hungarian established their domination there.

The first written mention of Apatin goes back to 1011.

And 15th centuries are marked by feudality. In exchange of grounds, the vassal ones were to achieve a military service for their suzerain. Many fishermen and hunters, as well as millers, settled in the area.

In 1417, Apatin belonged to the field of Stefan Lazarević, which had been crowned despotic of Serbia in 1402. In 1526 - 1527 the city belonged to the transitory State directed by the emperor Jovan Nenad. It fell shortly after between the hands from the Ottoman Empire.

At the end of the 17th century, Apatin entered the possessions of the Habsbourgs. In 1690, at the time the great migration of Serb, from very many refugees, led by Arsenije III Čarnojević came to seek safety with Apatin, but also with Sombor and Prigrevica. In 1748, German colonists came, in their turn, to settle in the area, forcing the Serb populations to fold up itself on Stapar. These Germanic colonists arrived of various areas. Their point of rallying was with Ulm and, from there, the Danube led them until Apatin, which became the base of the German expansion in Voïvodine. After their installation, a church was built close to the port; a central place was also built at that time.

In 1756, Apatin obtained with a brewery and a distilling. In 1764, a large textile factory opened its doors and, in 1760, Apatin was officially recognized like city.

At the end of the 18th century, a flood destroyed the central place and ruined half of the city. A new place was built in the North-West of the brewery and the city started to take its current form. The 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century transfer the city to develop economically, in particular thanks to the trade, with the craft industry and the construction of boats.

In 1848 - 1849, the town of Apatin belonged to the Serb Voïvodine, an autonomous province inside the Empire of Austria and, between 1849 and 1860, it belonged to the Voïvodine of Serbia and Banat de Tamiš, always inside Austria-Hungary.

In 1869, many banks settled in the city and supported its industrial development.

In 1918, after the collapse of the Austria-Hungary, Apatin became a province of the Royaume of Serbia, kingdom which, while integrating the Royaume of Montenegro, was going to form the Royaume of the Serb ones, of the Croats and the Sloveniens (renamed Royaume of Yugoslavia in 1929).

In 1941, the Puissances of the Axis invaded the Yugoslavia and dismembered it. Apatin was integrated in Hungary of Miklós Horthy. October 24th, 1944, the Partisans of Tito released the city. Apatin was then integrated into the socialist news Federal republic of Yugoslavia, inside the Popular republic of Serbia and of the autonomous province of Voïvodine.

Between 1992 and 2003, Apatin belonged to the Federal republic of Yugoslavia; between 2003 and 2006 it belonged to the Serbia-Montenegro, and, since 2006, it belongs to the independent Serbia.

Localities of the municipality of Apatin

Demography

Pattern of the settlement (2002)

Municipality

  • Serb: : 20216 (61,61%)
  • Hungarian: : 3785 (11,53%),
  • Croatian: : 3766 (11,47%),
  • Rumanian: : 1191 (3,62%),
  • Yugoslav: 727 (2,21%),
  • Roms: 524 (1,59%),
  • Others.

Apatin and Prigrevica have a Serb majority of settlement. Sonta has a Croatian majority (Šokac). The populations of Hungarian origin are majority in Kupusina and Svilojevo.

City