Sombor
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Sombor (Serbian: Сомбор or Sombor, Hungarian: Zombor, Croatian: Sombor, Rusin: Зомбор) is a city located in Serbia and Montenegro at Template:Coor d. The city has a total population of 50,950 (as of 2002), while Sombor municipality has 96,669 inhabitants. It is the administrative center of the West Bačka District of Serbia.
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Name
The older Hungarian name for the city was Czoborszentmihály. The name originate from Czobor family, who were owners of this area in the 14th century (The family name came from the Slavic name "Cibor"). The Serbian name for the city (Sombor) also came from the family name Czobor, and was first time recorded in 1543, although the city was mentioned in the historical documents under several more names, such are Samobor, Sambor, Sambir, Sonbor, Sanbur, Zibor, and Zombar.
History
Image:Glavni trg u Somboru.jpg
The first historical record about the city is from 1340. The city belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary until the 16th century, when it became part of the Ottoman Empire. During the Ottoman rule, the city was mostly populated by ethnic Serbs.
In 1665, a well-known traveller Evlia Celebi visited Sombor and wrote: "All the folk (in the city) is not Hungarian, but Wallachian-Christian (Serb). These places are something special; they do not belong to Hungary, but are a part of Bačka and Wallachia. Most of the inhabitants are traders, and all of them wear frontiersmen clothes; they are very polite and brave people."
Since 1687, the city was under Habsburg rule, and was included into Habsburg Military Frontier. In 1717, the first Orthodox elementary school was opened. Five years later a Roman-Catholic elementary school was opened as well. In 1745 Sombor was excluded from the Military Frontier and was included into Bačka County. In 1749 Sombor gained a "free royal city" status. In 1786, the city became a seat of Bačka County. According to the 1786 data, the population of the city numbered 11,420 people, mostly Serbs.
According to the 1843 data, Sombor had 21,086 inhabitants, of whom 11,897 were Orthodox Christians, 9,082 Roman Catholics, 56 Jews, and 51 Protestants. Main language spoken in the city in this time was Serbian, and the second largest language was German. In 1848/1849, Sombor was part of the Serbian Voivodship, a Serb autonomous region within Austrian Empire, while between 1849 and 1860, it was part of the Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat, an separate Austrian crown land. After the abolishment of this crown land, Sombor became a seat of the newly created Bačka-Bodrog County.
According to the 1910 census, the population of Sombor was 30,593 people of whom 11,881 spoke Serbian language, 10,078 Hungarian language, 6,289 Bunjevac language, 2,181 German language, etc.
Since 1918, Sombor was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed to Yugoslavia). Between 1918 and 1922 it was part of Bačka County, between 1922 and 1929 part of Bačka oblast, and between 1929 and 1941 part of Danube Banovina.
In 1941, city was occupied by the Axis Powers and annexed to Hungary. Axis occupation ended in 1944, and Sombor became part of the new Socialist Yugoslavia. Since 1945, it is part of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Today, Sombor is a seat of the West Bačka District.
Inhabited places
Image:Fijaker.jpg Sombor municipality includes the city of Sombor and the following villages:
- Aleksa Šantić
- Bački Breg
- Bački Monoštor
- Bezdan
- Gakovo
- Doroslovo
- Kljajićevo
- Kolut
- Rastina
- Riđica
- Svetozar Miletić
- Stanišić
- Stapar
- Telečka
- Čonoplja
Ethnic groups (2002 census)
The population of the Sombor municipality is composed of:
- Serbs (61.48%),
- Hungarians (12.73%),
- Croats (8.33%),
- Yugoslavs (5.24%),
- Bunjevci (2.8%),
- and others.
Settlements with Serb ethnic majority are: Sombor, Aleksa Šantić, Gakovo, Kljajićevo, Kolut, Rastina, Riđica, Stanišić, Stapar, and Čonoplja.
Settlements with Croat/Šokac ethnic majority are: Bački Breg and Bački Monoštor.
Settlements with Hungarian ethnic majority are: Bezdan, Doroslovo, and Telečka.
Ethnically mixed settlement with relative Hungarian majority is Svetozar Miletić.
Culture
Image:Sombor.jpg Sombor is famous for its greenery, cultural life and beautiful 18th and 19th century center. The most important cultural institutions are the National Theater, the Regional Museum, the Modern Art Gallery, the Milan Konjović Art Gallery, the Teacher's College, the Serbian Reading House, and the Grammar School. Teacher's College, founded in 1778, is the oldest college in Serbia and Montenegro and region.
Sombor's rich history includes the oldest institution for higher education in Serbian language. The town is also home of numerous minority organisations including Hungarian Pocket Theater Berta Ferenc, Croatian Society Vladimir Nazor, Jewish Municipality and several other smaller organisations including German and Roma clubs.
See also
External links
Template:Serbia-geo-stubde:Sombor eo:Sombor hu:Zombor sr:Сомбор