Gakovo
Encyclopedia
Gakovo is a village in Serbia
. It is situated in the Sombor
municipality, in the West Bačka District
, Vojvodina
province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population is 2,201 (2002 census).
, the village is known as Gakovo (Гаково), in German
as Gakowa or Graumarkt, in Hungarian
as Gádor or Gákova, in Croatian
as Gakovo, and in Bunjevac
as Gakovo. Name of the village is of Slavic (Serbo-Croatian) origin and roughly means "the place of Gako" or "the place of Gak".
near the border with Hungary
between the Tisa
and Danube
rivers. A small neighbouring settlement known as Kruševlje
is also officially regarded as part of Gakovo.
Gakovo lies at an altitude of 96 meters.
administration. Village of Gakovo was formed during Habsburg
administration in the first half of the 18th century. According to the sources, this village existed in 1728 and was populated by "Šijaks" (Serbs from Croatia
). In 1748, some Germans
(Danube Swabians) from Apatin
and Kruševlje
settled here as well and it was one of the first settlements in Bačka
that was colonized by Germans. Another wave of Danube Swabian colonists came between 1763 and 1768. Some colonists were from the upper Danube
region, Baden-Württemberg
(Swabian
), and Alsace-Lorraine
(Alsatian
), but some were from other areas of the Habsburg Monarchy
such as Bohemia
, Slovakia
, Hungary
, etc.
In 1787, population of Gakovo numbered 1,522 inhabitants. Until 1848, the village was part of the Batsch-Bodrog County within the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary
. In 1848-1849, the village was part of autonomous Serbian Vojvodina
and from 1849 to 1860 it was part of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar, which was a separate Habsburg crownland. After abolishment of the voivodeship, in 1860, Gakovo was again included into Batsch-Bodrog County. In 1910, population of the village numbered 2,770 inhabitants, mostly ethnic Germans
. Some village residents emigrated to the United States
, Canada
and Argentina
beginning in the early 1900's, before the World War I
. A second emigration wave set out from 1925 to 1930.
In 1918, the village became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed to Yugoslavia
). From 1918 to 1922, the village was part of the Novi Sad
County, from 1922 to 1929 part of Bačka
Oblast, and from 1929 to 1941 part of Danube Banovina
. From 1941 to 1944, the village was under Axis
occupation and was attached to Horthy's
Hungary
.
In 1944, Soviet
Red Army
and Yugoslav partisans expelled Axis
forces from the region and village was included into new socialist Yugoslavia. As a consequence of World War II
events in Yugoslavia (occupation of the country and war crimes committed by Axis troops against peoples of Yugoslavia), new Yugoslav authorities sent those Germans who remained in the country into internment camps (Most of Yugoslav Germans, however, left from the country in 1944, together with defeated German army
). Gakovo was one of the sites of these post-World War II
internment camps for the ethnic Germans (Danube Swabians
) (See: List of concentration and internment camps - Yugoslavia). Gakovo and nearby village of Kruševlje
had at its maximum about 30,000 detainees, of whom 11 to 12 thousand died from starving, cold and disease. Internment camps were abolished in 1948 and remaining Danube Swabians were again free citizens of Yugoslavia. In the next decades, most of them emigrated from the country because of economic reasons.
Since 1944, the village is part of autonomous province Vojvodina
, which in 1945 was included into newly formed Socialist Republic of Serbia
within new Yugoslavia. Present-day inhabitants of the village were settled here after World War II
. New settlers originated mostly from Mrkonjić Grad
and Donja Pecka in Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
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 situated in the Sombor
Sombor
Sombor is a city and municipality located in northwest part of Serbian autonomous province of Vojvodina. The city has a total population of 48,749 , while the Sombor municipality has 87,815 inhabitants...
municipality, in the West Bačka District
West Backa District
West Bačka District is a northern district of Serbia. It lies in the region of Bačka, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It has a population of 215,916...
, 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 is 2,201 (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 Gakovo (Гаково), 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 Gakowa or Graumarkt, 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 Gádor or Gákova, in Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
as Gakovo, and in Bunjevac
Bunjevac language
The Bunjevac dialect or Bunjevac language is a Štokavian dialect used by members of the Bunjevci community. The speakers live in parts of the autonomous province of Vojvodina in Serbia as well as in southern parts of Croatia. The speech has an exclusive Serbo-Croatian Ikavian reflex of the Common...
as Gakovo. Name of the village is of Slavic (Serbo-Croatian) origin and roughly means "the place of Gako" or "the place of Gak".
Geography
Gakovo is located in north-western BačkaBacka
Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...
near the border with Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
between the Tisa
Tisza
The Tisza or Tisa is one of the main rivers of Central Europe. It rises in Ukraine, and is formed near Rakhiv by the junction of headwaters White Tisa, whose source is in the Chornohora mountains and Black Tisa, which springs in the Gorgany range...
and Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
rivers. A small neighbouring settlement known as Kruševlje
Kruševlje
Kruševlje is a small settlement in Serbia. It is situated in the Sombor municipality, West Bačka District, Vojvodina province. It is mostly populated by Serbs.-Name:...
is also officially regarded as part of Gakovo.
Gakovo lies at an altitude of 96 meters.
History
From 1658 name Gakovo was used for an uninhabited area that was under OttomanOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
administration. Village of Gakovo was formed during Habsburg
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...
administration in the first half of the 18th century. According to the sources, this village existed in 1728 and was populated by "Šijaks" (Serbs from Croatia
Serbs of Croatia
Višeslav of Serbia, a contemporary of Charlemagne , ruled the Županias of Neretva, Tara, Piva, Lim, his ancestral lands. According to the Royal Frankish Annals , Duke of Pannonia Ljudevit Posavski fled, during the Frankish invasion, from his seat in Sisak to the Serbs in western Bosnia, who...
). In 1748, some 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....
(Danube Swabians) from Apatin
Apatin
Apatin is a town and municipality in the Vojvodina administrative region of Serbia, located in the West Bačka District, at . The town of Apatin is the administrative, economic, cultural, educational and tourist centre of the municipality of Apatin...
and Kruševlje
Kruševlje
Kruševlje is a small settlement in Serbia. It is situated in the Sombor municipality, West Bačka District, Vojvodina province. It is mostly populated by Serbs.-Name:...
settled here as well and it was one of the first settlements in Bačka
Backa
Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...
that was colonized by Germans. Another wave of Danube Swabian colonists came between 1763 and 1768. Some colonists were from the upper Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
region, Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
(Swabian
Swabian
Swabian may refer:* to the German region of Swabia ; or* to Swabian German, a dialect spoken in Baden-Württemberg in south-west Germany and adjoining areas See also:...
), and Alsace-Lorraine
Alsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...
(Alsatian
Alsatian
Alsatian may refer to:* Alsatian, a person from the Alsace region of France or a speaker of the Alsatian language* Alsatian language, the language or dialect of the Alsace region of northeast France...
), but some were from other areas of 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...
such as Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, etc.
In 1787, population of Gakovo numbered 1,522 inhabitants. Until 1848, the village was part of the Batsch-Bodrog County within the Habsburg 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...
. In 1848-1849, the village was part of autonomous Serbian Vojvodina
Serbian Vojvodina
The Serbian Vojvodina was a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire...
and from 1849 to 1860 it was part of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar, which was a separate Habsburg crownland. After abolishment of the voivodeship, in 1860, Gakovo was again included into Batsch-Bodrog County. In 1910, population of the village numbered 2,770 inhabitants, mostly ethnic 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....
. Some village residents emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
beginning in the early 1900's, before the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. A second emigration wave set out from 1925 to 1930.
In 1918, the village became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
). From 1918 to 1922, the village was part of the Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
County, from 1922 to 1929 part of Bačka
Backa
Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...
Oblast, and from 1929 to 1941 part of Danube Banovina
Danube Banovina
The Danube Banovina or Danube Banate was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of the geographical regions of Syrmia, Bačka, Banat, Baranja, Šumadija, and Braničevo. The capital city of the Danube Banovina was Novi Sad...
. From 1941 to 1944, the village was under Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
occupation and was attached to Horthy's
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary during the interwar years and throughout most of World War II, serving from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. Horthy was styled "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary" .Admiral Horthy was an officer of the...
Hungary
Hungary during World War II
Hungary during World War II was a member of the Axis powers. In the 1930s, the Kingdom of Hungary relied on increased trade with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany to pull itself out of the Great Depression. By 1938, Hungarian politics and foreign policy had become increasingly pro-Fascist Italian and...
.
In 1944, Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and Yugoslav partisans expelled Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
forces from the region and village was included into new socialist Yugoslavia. As a consequence of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
events in Yugoslavia (occupation of the country and war crimes committed by Axis troops against peoples of Yugoslavia), new Yugoslav authorities sent those Germans who remained in the country into internment camps (Most of Yugoslav Germans, however, left from the country in 1944, together with defeated German army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
). Gakovo was one of the sites of these post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
internment camps for the ethnic Germans (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...
) (See: List of concentration and internment camps - Yugoslavia). Gakovo and nearby village of Kruševlje
Kruševlje
Kruševlje is a small settlement in Serbia. It is situated in the Sombor municipality, West Bačka District, Vojvodina province. It is mostly populated by Serbs.-Name:...
had at its maximum about 30,000 detainees, of whom 11 to 12 thousand died from starving, cold and disease. Internment camps were abolished in 1948 and remaining Danube Swabians were again free citizens of Yugoslavia. In the next decades, most of them emigrated from the country because of economic reasons.
Since 1944, the village is part of autonomous province Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, which in 1945 was included into newly formed Socialist Republic of Serbia
Socialist Republic of Serbia
Socialist Republic of Serbia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of modern day Serbia, which served as the biggest republic in the Yugoslav federation and held the largest population of all the Yugoslav...
within new Yugoslavia. Present-day inhabitants of the village were settled here after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. New settlers originated mostly from Mrkonjić Grad
Mrkonjic Grad
Mrkonjić Grad is a town and municipality in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Republika Srpska entity. It is located in the Bosanska Krajina, between Banja Luka and Jajce.-Name:...
and Donja Pecka in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
.
Historical population
- 1783: 1,346
- 1791: 1,292
- 1800: 1,432
- 1819: 1,744
- 1890: 2,603 (400 houses)
- 1900: 2,620 (460 houses)
- 1910: 2,770 (578 houses)
- 1921: 2,751
- 1941: 2,531
- 1948: 62
- 1953: 2,022
- 1961: 1,769
- 1971: 2,014
- 1981: 2,122
- 1991: 2,073