Bač, Serbia

Name

In Serbian, the town is known as Bač (Бач); in Slovak as Báč; in Croatian (Šokac) as Bač; in Hungarian as Bács; in German as Batsch; in Latin as Bach or Bacs; and in Turkish as Baç. Along with Serbian, Slovak and Hungarian languages are also in official use in the municipality administration.

In the 9th-10th century, name of the town was Bagasin. In 1154, the Arab geographer Idrisi mention it under name Bakasin and claim that "it is a famous city that was mentioned among old big cities".

The current name of the town was first recorded in 1094. In 1111 the parish was mentioned as Bache. This name probably derived from the same personal name. In Serbian this name is written as Bač (Бач), in Hungarian as Bács, and in Romanian as Baci, although the Romanian population used this word as a title rather than as a name. The name is of uncertain origin and its existence was recorded among Vlachs, Slavs and Hungarians in the Middle Ages. The origin of the name could be Paleo-Balkanic, Romanian, Slavic, or Old Turkic.

In the Romanian language, Baci means "tenant, mountaineer or chieftain of the shepherd habitation in the mountain". The name could be spread into other languages by the Vlach shepherds. However, a similar name, Bača, was recorded among old Russians, which implies the possibility of Slavic origin. Hungarian linguists claim that a similar but originally different Hungarian personal name was derived from the Old Turkic baya dignity in the form Bácsa, which later evolved into Bács. It is not certain whether name of the town came from Vlach-Slavic or from the Hungarian name. Some Hungarian historians assume that the town was named after the first comes of the county, Bács ispán (Bač župan). However, the existence of that person is not historically confirmed and his ethnic origin is uncertain.

There are several more places with same name (in the Republic of Macedonia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Albania), as well as a large number of place names beginning with letters "bač-" or "bács-" that are scattered all over the Balkans and Central Europe, as well as in some other regions.

History

Bač is one of the oldest towns in Vojvodina. The archeological research showed that an ancient Roman settlement existed in this area. Bač was first mentioned in 535 AD, in a letter written by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian. In 873 AD, the town was mentioned as Avar fortress, inhabited by both, Avars and Slavs. In this time, the Saint Methodius, a creator of the Slavic alphabet, converted to Christianity Slavs that lived in Bačka and Bač.

In the 10th century, this region became part of the Kingdom of Hungary. In the Middle Ages the town was the seat of the Bacsensis County. The foundation date of the county is a disputed question, some historians assume that it was one of the first counties of the Kingdom established by Stephen I but there is no documentary evidence of its existence in that time. The first known prefect (comes) of the county was recorded in 1074 and his name was Vid.

King Ladislaus I made the town the seat of a new archbishopric in 1085. Previously historians assumed that Bač (Bacs) was a bishopric before that time. The first archbishop, Fabian (1085–1103) helped the king in the course of the campaign against Croatia and was rewarded with the title.

Gyula Városy proved that king Ladislaus only moved the seat of the archbishopric of Kalocsa to Bač (Bacs), where he built a cathedral and established a chapter house around 1090. After 1135 the archbishops moved back to their former seat in Kalocsa. Later the diocese was called the "Archbishopric of Kalocsa-Bacs" (first mentioned in 1266).

In 1154, the Arab geographer Idrisi wrote that Bač is a rich town with many merchants and craftsmen, a place with a lot of wheat and many "Greek scholars" which could refer to Orthodox priests and monks.

During the war between Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary, in the 16th century, Serbian despot Stevan Berislavić successfully defended the Bač fortress from the Ottomans for a long time until the fortress finally fell.

During the Ottoman rule (16th-17th century), Bač was a seat of a kaza of Bač in Sanjak of Segedin. Since the end of the 17th century, the town was under Habsburg rule and many Germans settled in Bač during this time. After 1918, Bač was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and subsequent South Slavic states. It was occupied by Hungary between 1941-1944 during World War II.

Inhabited places

Bač municipality includes the town of Bač (together with Mali Bač settlement) and the following villages:

Media

Zvonik, a Roman Catholic magazine in Croatian language, was founded in Bač in 1994.

Ethnic groups in the Bač municipality

According to the 2011 census, the Bač municipality had 14,405 inhabitants, including:

Settlements by ethnic majority

Settlements with Serb ethnic majority are: Bač, Bačko Novo Selo, and Bođani. The settlement with Slovak ethnic majority is Selenča. Ethnically mixed settlements with relative Serb majority are Vajska and Plavna.

Ethnic groups in the Bač town

In the 17th century some Šokci Croats from Tuzla area migrated to Bač as refugees. Today they comprise less than 9% of the population.

Languages in the Bač municipality

According to the 2002 census, 66% of inhabitants of the Bač municipality speak Serbian as mother tongue. Other spoken languages include Slovak (20%), Romanian (4%), Hungarian (3%), Croatian (3%), and Romani (2%).

Serbian, Slovak and Hungarian language are officially used by municipal authorities.

Historical population of the town

Politics

Seats in the municipality parliament won in the 2012 local elections: [1]

Sites of interest

Twin towns — Sister cities

Bač is twinned with: