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Bela Crkva (Vojvodina)
Encyclopedia
Bela Crkva is a town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
and municipality in the South Banat District
South Banat District
South Banat District is a northeastern district of Serbia with the seat of the district in Pančevo. It borders Romania to the east. The district lies in the region of Banat, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina...
of Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, 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...
. The town has a population of 10,638, while the Bela Crkva municipality has 20,275 inhabitants.
Bela Crkva lakes
Bela Crkva lakes
Bela Crkva lakes is a group of six artificial lakes near the town of Bela Crkva, in the southern Banat region in Serbian province of Vojvodina. The lakes emerged as result of gravel exploitation, and the pits were subsequently filled with underground waters...
at the outskirts of the town are a popular summer tourist destination.
Name
The name of the town means "white church" 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....
. In Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, the town is known as Biserica Albă, 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 Weißkirchen, 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 Fehértemplom, and in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
as Aktabya.
History
Neolithic findings of ceramics and burial with Greek-style pots dating to late 5th century BC.The town was founded in 1717 when this region was included into the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
. It was part of the Banatian Military Frontier
Banat Krajina
The Banatian Military Frontier or Banat Krajina was a section of the Habsburg Monarchy's Military Frontier located in the Banat region. Today, territory of former Banatian Military Frontier is split between Serbia and Romania.-Geography:...
of the Monarchy and, since 1774, was a seat of the Illyrian (Serbian) section of the Banatian Frontier except Ottoman occupation between 1787 and 1788. In 1848-1849, the town was part of autonomous Serbian Vojvodina
Serbian Vojvodina
The Serbian Vojvodina was a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire...
, but in 1849 it was again placed under military administration. With the abolishment of the Military Frontier, the town was included into Temes
Temes
Temes was the name of an administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary. Its territory is currently in southwestern Romania and northern Serbia...
county of the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, one of two autonomous parts of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. The town was also a seat of the district since 1867.
According to the 1910 census, the town itself was mainly populated by Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, but its surrounding municipal area was mainly populated by Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
. Census recorded 11,524 citizens in the town, of whom 6,062 spoke German language, 1,994 Serbian, 1,806 Romanian, and 1,213 Hungarian. The municipal area numbered 36,831 inhabitants, of whom 20,987 spoke Serbian, 8,234 Romanian, and 4,791 German. The total population of the town and its municipal area counted together was 48,355, of whom 22,981 spoke Serbian, 10,853 German, 10,040 Romanian, and 2,122 Hungarian.
Since 1918, Bela Crkva was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and subsequent South Slavic
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
states. In the 1920s it was a center of Russian emigration in Yugoslavia.
Inhabited places
Bela Crkva municipality includes the town of Bela Crkva and the following villages:- Banatska PalankaBanatska PalankaBanatska Palanka is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bela Crkva municipality, South Banat District, Vojvodina province...
- Banatska SuboticaBanatska SuboticaBanatska Subotica is a village in Serbia. It is located in the Bela Crkva municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 200 people ....
- Vračev GajVracev GajVračev Gaj is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bela Crkva municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,568 people .-Name:...
- GrebenacGrebenacGrebenac is a village in Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated in the Bela Crkva municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority and its population is 1,017 .-External links:*...
- DobričevoDobricevoDobričevo is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bela Crkva municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Hungarian ethnic majority and its population numbering 226 people ....
- DupljajaDupljajaDupljaja is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bela Crkva municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 854 people .-History and archaeology:...
- Jasenovo
- KajtasovoKajtasovoKajtasovo is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bela Crkva municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 287 people .-See also:...
- Kaluđerovo
- KruščicaKrušcicaKruščica is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bela Crkva municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 989 people .-See also:...
- Kusić
- Crvena CrkvaCrvena CrkvaCrvena Crkva is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bela Crkva municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 729 people .-External links:* http://www.crvenacrkva.net...
- Češko SeloCeško SeloČeško Selo is a village located in the Bela Crkva municipality, in the South Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. The village has a Czech ethnic majority and its population numbering 46 people...
Ethnic groups (2002 census)
The population of the Bela Crkva municipality:- SerbsSerbsThe Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
(76.85%) - RomaniansRomaniansThe Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
(5.4%) - Czechs (3.99%)
- Roma (3.03%)
- Hungarians (2.25%)
- YugoslavsYugoslavsYugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
(1.38%)
Settlements with Serb ethnic majority are: Bela Crkva, Banatska Palanka, Banatska Subotica, Vračev Gaj, Dupljaja, Jasenovo, Kajtasovo, Kaluđerovo, Kruščica, Kusić, and Crvena Crkva. The settlement with Romanian ethnic majority is Grebenac. The settlement with Hungarian ethnic majority is Dobričevo. The settlement with Czech ethnic majority is Češko Selo.