Bačka Topola ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка Топола, ; hu, Topolya, ) is a town and municipality located in the

North Bačka District The North Bačka District ( sr, Севернобачки округ, Severnobački okrug, ; hu, Észak-bácskai körzet) is one of seven administrative districts of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It lies in the Bačka geographi ...

of the autonomous province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

, Serbia. The municipality is composed of 23 local communities and has a population of 33,321, while the town itself has 14,573 inhabitants.

Name

The name of the town is derived from the Serbian word ''topola'' (топола) ("poplar" in English). The first part of the name of the town was given to designate its location in the region of

Bačka Bačka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska () is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hunga ...

in contrast to places with similar names, like

Topola Topola ( sr-cyrl, Топола, ) is a town and municipality located in the Šumadija District of central Serbia. It was the place where Karađorđe, a Serbian revolutionary, was chosen as the leader of the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottom ...

Šumadija Šumadija (, sr-Cyrl, Шумадија) is a geographical region in the central part of Serbia. The area used to be heavily covered with forests, hence the name (from ''šuma'' 'forest'). The city of Kragujevac is the administrative center of th ...

Banatska Topola Banatska Topola ( sr-cyr, Банатска Топола) is a village in the Kikinda municipality, in the North Banat District of the Republic of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a population of 1, ...

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

Zobnatica Lake near Bačka Topola, Serbia

History

The town was mentioned first in 1462 under name ''Fibaych''. This settlement was destroyed in the 16th century and new smaller settlement was later built at its location. Name ''Topola'' was first recorded in 1543, while according to the Ottoman defters from 1580, 1582, and 1590, it was mentioned as a village, whose population numbered between 21 and 23 houses. In this time, the inhabitants of the settlement were

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

. In 1704, Topola was destroyed by

kuruc Kuruc (, plural ''kurucok''), also spelled kurutz, refers to a group of armed anti-Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711. Over time, the term kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national ind ...

rebels. In 1731, Topola was mentioned as an uninhabited heath. In 1750, the new settlement was founded at this location and 200 Hungarian and Slovak families arrived here from

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...

. It was a district center in Bács-Bodrog County as "Topolya" until 1918, when it became part of

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

(renamed to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in 1929). It was part of Yugoslavia until 1991, with the exception of Hungarian occupation between 1941 and 1944 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Inhabited places

Bačka Topola municipality includes the town of Bačka Topola and the following villages: *

Bagremovo Bagremovo ( sr-cyr, Багремово, Hungarian: ''Brazília'' or ''Bárdossyfalva'') is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bačka Topola municipality, in the North Bačka District, Vojvodina province. As of 2011, the village had a popu ...

( hu, Brazília or Bárdossyfalva) *

Bački Sokolac Bački Sokolac (, ) is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bačka Topola municipality, in the North Bačka District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 609 people (2002 census). Historic ...

Bajša Bajša ( sr, Бајша / ''Bajša'', hu, Bajsa) is a village located in the Bačka Topola municipality, in the North Bačka District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Hungarian ethnic majority a ...

( hu, Bajsa) * Bogaraš ( hu, Bodaras or Félváros) *

Gornja Rogatica Gornja Rogatica () is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bačka Topola municipality, in the North Bačka District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 477 people (2002 census). Historica ...

* Gunaroš ( hu, Gunaras) * Karađorđevo * Kavilo ( hu, Rákócitelep or Kavilló) * Krivaja * Mali Beograd * Mićunovo * Njegoševo *

Novo Orahovo Novo Orahovo ( sr-cyr, Ново Орахово, hu, Zentagunaras, Rusyn: Нове Орахово) is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bačka Topola municipality, in the North Bačka District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Hung ...

( hu, Zentagunaras) * Obornjača ( hu, Nagyvölgy) *

Pačir Pačir ( sr-cyr, Пачир: hu, Pacsér, hr, Pačir) is a village located in the municipality of Bačka Topola, Serbia. As of 2011 census, the village has 2,580 inhabitants, with Hungarians having the ethnic majority. Demographics As of 2011 ...

( hu, Pacsér) *

Panonija Panonija () is a village in the Bačka Topola municipality, in the North Bačka District of Serbia. It is in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and at the 2002 census its population was 794. Name In Serb ...

* Pobeda ( hu, Győztes) *

Srednji Salaš Srednji Salaš () is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bačka Topola municipality, in the North Bačka District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 172 people (2002 census). Name In S ...

Stara Moravica Stara Moravica ( sr-cyr, Стара Моравица; hu, Bácskossuthfalva or ; german: Alt-Morawitza) is a village located in the Bačka Topola municipality, in the North Bačka District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of ...

( hu, Bácskossuthfalva) * Svetićevo *

Tomislavci Tomislavci ( sr-cyr, Томиславци) is a village located in the Bačka Topola municipality, in the North Bačka District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its popul ...

* Zobnatica ( hu, Andrásnépe) Note: For the inhabited places with an absolute or relative Hungarian ethnic majority, the names are also given in Hungarian.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Bačka Topola has a population of 33,321 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

Local communities with a Hungarian majority are: Bačka Topola (Hungarian: ''Topolya''),

(Hungarian: ''Bajsa''),

(Hungarian: ''Pacsér''),

(Hungarian: ''Bácskossuthfalva''), Zobnatica (Hungarian: ''Andrásnépe''), Bogaraš (Hungarian: ''Bogaras-Felváros''), Obornjača (Hungarian: ''Nagyvölgy''),

(Hungarian: ''Brazília''), Gunaroš (Hungarian: ''Gunaras''),

(Hungarian: ''Zentagunaras''), and Kavilo (Hungarian: ''Rákóczifalu'' or ''Kavilló''). Local communities with a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

majority are:

, Orešković,

, Karađorđevo, Mićunovo, Njegoševo, Krivaja, Svetićevo, and Mali Beograd. Pobeda (Hungarian: ''Győztes'' or ''Pobedabirtok'') is an ethnically-mixed local community with a Hungarian

relative majority A plurality vote (in American English) or relative majority (in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth) describes the circumstance when a party, candidate, or proposition polls more votes than any other but does not receive more than half of all vote ...

. Krivaja, Mali Beograd, and Svetićevo have over 20% Hungarians, as well as other minorities, while Bačka Topola,

, Zobnatica, and Pobeda have over 20% Serbs. The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of employed people per their core activity (as of 2016):

Sport

The most popular local football team is

TSC Bačka Topola TSC may refer to: Organizations * Technology Service Corporation, a US engineering company * Terrorist Screening Center, a division of the National Security Branch of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation * The Shopping Channel, a Canadian televi ...

, that plays in the

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League ( sr, Супер лига Србије / Super liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet Super League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Супер лига / Mozzart Bet Super liga) for sponsorship reasons, is a Serbian profes ...

(1st national tier).

Notable people

Branko Bošković Branko Bošković ( sr-Cyrl, Бранко Бошковић, ; born 21 June 1980) is a Montenegrin retired footballer, who is best known for playing for his legendary performances with DC United, Red Star Belgrade, Paris Saint-Germain and Rapid W ...

former football player *

Andrija Kaluđerović Andrija Kaluđerović (; born 5 July 1987) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Grafičar Beograd. Club career On 13 December 2003, aged 16, Kaluđerović made his senior debut for OFK Beograd under manager Stevica ...

football player *

Félix Lajkó Félix Lajkó ( sr, Феликс Лајко, ''Feliks Lajko''; born 17 December 1974 in Bačka Topola, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Hungarian violinist, zither player and composer. He plays a variety of musical styles: folk music (traditio ...

violinist, zither player, composer, movie actor *

Nikola Žigić Nikola Žigić ( sr-cyr, Никола Жигић, ; born 25 September 1980) is a Serbian former footballer who played as a centre forward. Žigić was born in Bačka Topola, in what was then SFR Yugoslavia. He began playing football as a you ...

former football player *

György Mezey György Mezey (born 7 September 1941) is a Hungarian former association football player, who played as a midfielder. He later became a well-regarded coach. He was coach of the Hungary national team from 1983 to 1986, leading the team to the ...

former football player and manager *

Branislav Simić Branislav Simić ( sr-cyrl, Бранислав Симић; born 21 March 1935) is a retired Greco-Roman wrestler from Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in ...

Greco-Roman wrestler, Olympic champion * Eleonora Wild former basketball player, Olympic and World Championship silver medalist * István Dudás former football player *

Paul Kray Baron Paul Kray of Krajova and Topolya (german: Paul Freiherr Kray von Krajova und Topola; hu, Krajovai és Topolyai báró Kray Pál; 5 February 1735 – 19 January 1804), was a soldier, and general in Habsburg service during the Seven ...

soldier *

Dušan Tadić Dušan Tadić ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Тадић, ; born 20 November 1988) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder and captains both Eredivisie club Ajax and the Serbia national team. Tadić spent his ...

football player

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Bačka Topola is twinned with: * Belváros-Lipótváros,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Gheorgheni Gheorgheni (; hu, Gyergyószentmiklós ) is a municipality in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The city administers four villages: * Covacipeter / Kovácspéter * Lacu Roș ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Kiskunmajsa Kiskunmajsa is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. Twin towns – sister cities Kiskunmajsa is twinned with: * Bačka Topola, Serbia * Bad Schönborn, Germany * Baiyin, China * Gheorgheni, Romania * Lommatzsch, Germany * Lubliniec, Poland ...

Rožňava Rožňava ( hu, Rozsnyó, german: Rosenau, Latin: ''Rosnavia'') is a town in Slovakia, approximately by road from Košice in the Košice Region, and has a population of 19,182. The town is an economic and tourist centre of the Gemer. Rožňava ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

Szentes Szentes is a town in south-eastern Hungary, Csongrád county, near the Tisza river. The town is a cultural and educational center of the region. Notable people * Árpád Balázs (born 1937), classical music composer * János Bácskai 1954. novembe ...

References

* Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1996.

External links

Official site

Live cameras from Bačka Topola

History of Bačka Topola

Crveni krst Bačka Topola
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backa Topola Places in Bačka Populated places in North Bačka District Municipalities and cities of Vojvodina Hungarian communities in Serbia Towns in Serbia