Sombor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sombor Сомбор |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | Serbia |
| District | West Bačka |
| Settlements | 16 |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Jovan Slavković |
| Area [1] | |
| - Municipality | 1,178 km² (454.8 sq mi) |
| Population (2002 census)[2] | |
| - Total | 51,471 |
| - Municipality | 97,263 |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 25000 |
| Car plates | SO |
| Area code | +381 25 |
| Website: http://www.so-sombor.com | |
Sombor (Сомбор) is a city and municipality located in Serbia at . The city has a total population of 51,471 (as of 2002), while the Sombor municipality has 97,263 inhabitants. It is the administrative center of the West Bačka District of Serbia.
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[edit] Name and etymology
In Serbian, the city is known as Sombor (Сомбор), in Hungarian as Zombor, in Croatian (and Šokac) as Sombor, in Bunjevac as Sombor, in Rusyn as Zombor (Зомбор), and in German as Zombor.
The older Hungarian name for the city was Czoborszentmihály. The name originates from the Czobor family, who were the owners of this area in the 14th century. The Serbian name for the city (Sombor) also came from the family name Czobor, and was first recorded in 1543, although the city was mentioned in historical documents under several more names, such as Samobor, Sambor, Sambir, Sonbor, Sanbur, Zibor, and Zombar.
An unofficial Serbian name used for the city is Ravangrad (Раванград-Flattown).
[edit] History
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 Hungarian population escaped and the city was populated mostly by ethnic Serbs.
In 1665, a well-known traveller, Evlia Celebi, visited Sombor and wrote: "All the folk (in the city) are 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 the 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 Bacsensis County. In 1749 Sombor gained "free royal city" status. In 1786, the city became the seat of Bacsensis County. According to 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. The main language spoken in the city at 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, a separate Austrian crown land. After the abolishment of this crown land, Sombor became the seat of the newly created Bács-Bodrog (Bačka-Bodrog) County.
According to the 1910 census, the population of Sombor was 30,593 people, of whom 11,881 spoke the Serbian language, 10,078 spoke the Hungarian language, 6,289 spoke the Bunjevac language, 2,181 spoke the 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 by Hungary. The 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 the seat of the West Bačka District.
[edit] Historical population of the town
- 1961: 37,760
- 1971: 44,100
- 1981: 48,454
- 1991: 48,993
- 2002: 51,471
[edit] Inhabited places
of Sombor
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[edit] Cities and villages
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
[edit] Other suburban settlements
[edit] Demographics (2002 census)
[edit] Ethnic groups in the Sombor municipality
The population of the Sombor municipality is composed of:
- Serbs = 59,799 (61.48%)
- Hungarians = 12,386 (12.73%)
- Croats = 8,106 (8.33%)
- Yugoslavs = 5,098 (5.24%)
- Bunjevci = 2,730 (2.8%)
- others.
[edit] Settlements by ethnic majority
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.
[edit] Ethnic groups in the Sombor town
The population of the Sombor town is composed of:
- Serbs = 32,988 (64.09%)
- Hungarians = 3,743 (7.27%)
- Yugoslavs = 3,325 (6.46%)
- Croats = 3,197 (6.21%)
- Bunjevci = 2,222 (4.32%)
- others.
[edit] Culture
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 the region.
Sombor's rich history includes the oldest institution for higher education in the Serbian language. The town is also home of numerous minority organisations, including the Hungarian Pocket Theater Berta Ferenc, the Croatian Society Vladimir Nazor, the Jewish Municipality and several other smaller organisations including German and Roma clubs.
There are two significant monasteries in this city:
[edit] Local Media
[edit] Newspapers
[edit] TV stations
[edit] Radio stations
[edit] Twin cities
Twin cities:
Regional cooperation:
[edit] References
- Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1996.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- www.soinfo.org
- www.so-sombor.com
- www.sombor.org.yu
- Sombor
- Recent photos of Sombor
- Nightlife photos of Sombor
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