Banatski Despotovac
Encyclopedia
Banatski Despotovac is a village in Serbia
. It is located in the Zrenjanin
municipality, in the Central Banat District
, Vojvodina
province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbers 1,620 people (2002 census).
, the village is known as Banatski Despotovac or Банатски Деспотовац, in Hungarian
as Ernőháza, and in German
as Ernsthausen.
The village was founded in 1822 by Danube Swabian
settlers and named after an Austria
n army officer Feldmarschalleutnant Ernest Kiss de Elemer. The settlers were exclusively Roman Catholic in faith, and in 1844 they built a large schoolhouse which was used until 1944. During the 19th and early 20th century Danube Swabians
played an important role in developing the economy. Dr. Sepp Janko
, chairman of the Schwäbisch-Deutscher Kulturbund (Danube Swabian German Cultural Association) was born here in 1905. On 8 December 1888 the newly built Gothic style Roman Catholic church was inaugurated (it was demolished in 1945).
The 1930 census showed a population of 2421 people. After 1945 all the Danube Swabians
were deported and all evidence of their presence - their heritage - was systematically destroyed or obscured by the Communist authorities.
The Serbian
name for the village is derived from the Serbian word "despot" (a Medieval ruling title), while the word "banatski" refers to its location in the region of Banat
in contrast to the town of Despotovac
located in Central Serbia
.
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. It is located in the Zrenjanin
Zrenjanin
Zrenjanin is a city and municipality located in the eastern part of Serbian province of Vojvodina. It is the administrative centre of the Central Banat District of Serbia...
municipality, in the Central Banat District
Central Banat District
Central Banat District is a northeastern district of Serbia. It lies in the region of Banat, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It has a population of 208,456...
, Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbers 1,620 people (2002 census).
Name
In SerbianSerbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
, the village is known as Banatski Despotovac or Банатски Деспотовац, in Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
as Ernőháza, and in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
as Ernsthausen.
The village was founded in 1822 by Danube Swabian
Danube Swabians
The Danube Swabians is a collective term for the German-speaking population who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially alongside the Danube River valley. Because of different developments within the territory settled, the Danube Swabians cannot be seen as a unified people...
settlers and named after an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n army officer Feldmarschalleutnant Ernest Kiss de Elemer. The settlers were exclusively Roman Catholic in faith, and in 1844 they built a large schoolhouse which was used until 1944. During the 19th and early 20th century Danube Swabians
Danube Swabians
The Danube Swabians is a collective term for the German-speaking population who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially alongside the Danube River valley. Because of different developments within the territory settled, the Danube Swabians cannot be seen as a unified people...
played an important role in developing the economy. Dr. Sepp Janko
Sepp Janko
Dr. Sepp Janko Dr. Sepp (Josef) Janko Dr. Sepp (Josef) Janko (born November 9, 1905 Ernsthausen (Banatski Despotovac) in the Banat, now Serbia, † 25 September 2001 in Belgrano (Buenos Aires) was Chairman of the Danube Swabian German Cultural Association (Schwäbisch-Deutschen Kulturbundes) in...
, chairman of the Schwäbisch-Deutscher Kulturbund (Danube Swabian German Cultural Association) was born here in 1905. On 8 December 1888 the newly built Gothic style Roman Catholic church was inaugurated (it was demolished in 1945).
The 1930 census showed a population of 2421 people. After 1945 all the Danube Swabians
Danube Swabians
The Danube Swabians is a collective term for the German-speaking population who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially alongside the Danube River valley. Because of different developments within the territory settled, the Danube Swabians cannot be seen as a unified people...
were deported and all evidence of their presence - their heritage - was systematically destroyed or obscured by the Communist authorities.
The Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
name for the village is derived from the Serbian word "despot" (a Medieval ruling title), while the word "banatski" refers to its location in the region of Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
in contrast to the town of Despotovac
Despotovac
Despotovac is a town and municipality located in Serbia, around 130 kilometers southeast of Belgrade. Its name stems from Despot, a title of Serbian medieval prince Stefan Lazarević...
located in Central Serbia
Central Serbia
Central Serbia , also referred to as Serbia proper , was the region of Serbia from 1945 to 2009. It included central parts of Serbia outside of the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. The region of Central Serbia was not an administrative division of Serbia as such; it was under the...
.