Opovo
Encyclopedia
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 the province 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 4,664, while Opovo municipality has 10,938 inhabitants.
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 town is known as Opovo (Опово), 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 Opowa, 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 Ópáva, 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 Opovo, 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...
as Opovo, in Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
as Opovo, and in Rusyn
Pannonian Rusyn language
Pannonian Rusyn or simply Rusyn is a Slavic language or dialect spoken by Pannonian Rusyns in north-western Serbia and eastern Croatia...
as Опово.
History
There are traces from NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
periods in this area. An older settlement named Želj existed at this locality during medieval Hungarian and later Ottoman
Ottoman 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. During Hungarian administration it was part of the Kovin
Kovin
Kovin is a town and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 14,250, while the municipality has 36,802 inhabitants.- Name :...
county and during Ottoman administration part of the Temeşvar Eyalet. Southern part of modern Opovo is still called Želj by local inhabitants. According to historical sources, modern Opovo was mentioned first in 1672-1690 and it was 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...
. They lived in the houses made from mud. During Ottoman
Ottoman 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, settlement had 27 houses and, after 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...
conquest, in 1717, it had 64 houses.
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, Opovo firstly was part of the Banat of Temeswar
Banat of Temeswar
The Banat of Temeswar was a Habsburg province that existed between 1718 and 1778. It was located in the present day region of Banat, which was named after this province...
(until 1751) and then part of the Habsburg Military Frontier
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...
. In 1753, Opovo was recorded as ethnic Serb settlement. In the second half of the 18th century (in 1769), 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....
and Hungarians settled in Opovo. Serb elementary school in Opovo was opened in 1768, while German school was opened around 1773-4. Construction plan from 1776 predicted that 225 Serb and 60 Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
houses would be built in the settlement. In 1782, settlement had population of 1,497 people. In the first half of the 19th century (1829–1831), Serbian Orthodox church of Saint Nikolaj
Saint Nicolas
Saint-Nicolas may refer to the following places:-In Belgium:*Saint-Nicolas, Belgium, in the Province of Liège*The French name for Sint-Niklaas, in Province of East Flanders-In France:*Saint-Nicolas, Pas-de-Calais...
was built. In 1848-1849, Opovo was part of autonomous Serbian Vojvodina
Serbian Vojvodina
The Serbian Vojvodina was a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire...
, but was returned under military administration in 1849. With the abolishment of Military Frontier in 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 1873), Opovo was included into Torontál County, which was part of 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...
and 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...
. In 1885, new elementary school was elevated in the settlement. In 1910, 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...
were in an absolute majority in Opovo, while other ethnic groups that lived in the settlement included 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....
, Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and Hungarians.
In 1918, following the collapse 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...
, Opovo firstly became part of the Kingdom of Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
and then part of the newly formed 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....
). In 1918-1919 it was part of the Banat, Bačka and Baranja
Banat, Backa and Baranja
Banat, Bačka and Baranja was a de facto province of the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes between October 1918 and March 1919...
region. From 1918 to 1922 Opovo was part of Veliki Bečkerek county, from 1922 to 1929 part of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
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, it was occupied by German Axis troops
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and was included into German-administered Banat region, which formally was part of the Nedić's Serbia
Nedic's Serbia
Serbia under German occupation refers to an administrative area in occupied Yugoslavia established by Nazi Germany following the invasion and dismantling of Yugoslavia in April of 1941...
. 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 troops from the region and Opovo was included into Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (1945-1963)
The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina was an autonomous province of PR Serbia, within the larger federation of FPR Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1963, when it was transformed into the Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.-History:The province was formed in October 1944 when Soviet Red Army and...
within new socialist Yugoslavia. Since 1945, Vojvodina is part of the People's Republic of Serbia. Before 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...
, Opovo was part of Kovačica
Kovacica
Kovačica is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. According to 2002 census, the town has a population of 6,764, while Kovačica municipality has 27,890 inhabitants...
municipality and, after the war, part of Pančevo
Pancevo
Pančevo is a city and municipality located in the southern part of Serbian province of Vojvodina, 15 km northeast from Belgrade. In 2002, the city had a total population of 77,087, while municipality of Pančevo had 127,162 inhabitants. It is the administrative center of the South Banat...
municipality. Later, separate municipality of Opovo was formed.
Inhabited places
Opovo municipality includes the town of Opovo and the following villages:- BarandaBarandaBaranda is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Opovo municipality, South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,648 people ....
- SakuleSakuleSakule is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Opovo municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 2,048 people .-See also:...
- SefkerinSefkerinSefkerin is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Opovo municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 2,627 people .-See also:...
Opovo is the largest settlement in the municipality.
Historical population
Population of the town in different censuses:- 1948: 4,396
- 1953: 4,415
- 1961: 4,254
- 1971: 4,482
- 1981: 4,796
- 1991: 4,777
- 2002: 4,693
Ethnic groups (2002 census)
The population of the Opovo 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...
(86.3%) - CroatsCroatsCroats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
(2.62%) - YugoslavsYugoslavsYugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
(2.03%) - Roma (1.69%)
- RomaniansRomaniansThe Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
(1.67%)
All settlements in the municipality have an ethnic Serb majority.