Bácsalmás ( hr, Aljmaš or ; german: Almasch; sr, Аљмаш, Aljmaš) is a small town in southern
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, Croa ...
in the region of
Bácska (
Bács-Kiskun County
Bács-Kiskun ( hu, Bács-Kiskun megye, ) is a county (''megye'' in Hungarian) located in southern Hungary. It was created as a result of World War II, merging the prewar Bács-Bodrog and the southern parts of Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun counties. Wi ...
) close to the border with the
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 ...
region of
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...
, with a population of 7,694 people.
History
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, the region came under the control of the
Magyars
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...
who absorbed the
Slavic and the remnant
Avar population. There was archaeological evidence found in various small villages in the Middle Ages. The area was under the ownership of
János Hunyadi in the 15th century. With the arrival of the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
, the population disappeared and was at first replaced by
Bunjevci
Bunjevci ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Bunjevci, Буњевци, ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevac, Буњевац, sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevka, Буњевка) are a South Slavic sub-ethnic group living ...
who came from Bosnia and the
Croatian Littoral
Croatian Littoral ( hr, Hrvatsko primorje) is a historical name for the region of Croatia comprising mostly the coastal areas between traditional Dalmatia to the south, Croatia proper, Mountainous Croatia to the north, Istria and the Kvarner Gu ...
. The first mention the village comes from 1543 in the records of the Archbishopric of
Kalocsa
Kalocsa (; hr, Kaloča or ''Kalača''; sr, Kaloča or Калоча; german: Kollotschau) is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. It lies south of Budapest. It is situated in a marshy but highly productive district, near the left bank of the ...
.
In the 17th century, there was a steady influx of
Bunjevci
Bunjevci ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Bunjevci, Буњевци, ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevac, Буњевац, sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevka, Буњевка) are a South Slavic sub-ethnic group living ...
under the leadership of the
Franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
from
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. The last major group came under the leadership of captains Marković and Vidaković.
With the Turkish defeat at the
Battle of Zenta
The Battle of Zenta, also known as the Battle of Senta, was fought on 11 September 1697, near Zenta, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Senta, Serbia), between Ottoman and Holy League armies during the Great Turkish War. The battle was the most decisi ...
, Bácsalmás came under the control of the Habsburgs where it became a part of the
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and ...
. In 1772, the village received an ''
Urbarium
An urbarium (german: Urbar, English: ''urbarium'', also ''rental'' or ''rent-roll'', pl, urbarz, sk, urbár, hu, urbárium), is a register of fief ownership and includes the rights and benefits that the fief holder has over his serfs and peasant ...
'' form in the Bunjevac language, which reflected the majority of the population. The ''Urbarium'' was for the landowners of the village consisting of 72
Bunjevci
Bunjevci ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Bunjevci, Буњевци, ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevac, Буњевац, sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Bunjevka, Буњевка) are a South Slavic sub-ethnic group living ...
, 11
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...
, 3
Slovaks
The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak.
In Slovakia, 4.4 ...
and 2
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
. In the 1780s, 195
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
families were settled by the
Habsburgs
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
in Bácsalmás who continued to be the overwhelming majority until 1945. Most of these settlers came from
Swabia,
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it ha ...
and
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
. In the following decade, land grants were given to newly ennobled men from the immediate region to the Hungarian family of Németszeghy, Koronay, and Bunjevac families of Antunović, Rudić, Kovačić, and Šišković.
In the 19th century the town became a centre for wine and grain production which was exported mainly to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
Bohemia. It also became an important railroad junction. In effect it became a prosperous community. However, it retained its rural character the whole time with a strong artisan class which served the surrounding region.
In 1941, the town had a population of 13,000, two-thirds of whom were Germans (
Danube Swabians
The Danube Swabians (german: Donauschwaben ) is a collective term for the ethnic German-speaking population who lived in various countries of central-eastern Europe, especially in the Danube River valley, first in the 12th century, and in grea ...
). In 1945–46, the majority of Germans were expelled and Hungarians were brought from Slovakia to replace them.
In 1986, Bácsalmás became a town with a population of over 8,000. With the closure of some industries and the reforms in
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...
, the town is losing its population. Bácsalmás is struggling to replace the declining agricultural sector, but alternatives are hard to find. The farming cooperative privatized in the early 1990s and the local
state farm
State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois.
Overview
State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the la ...
accumulated large debts.
Twin towns – sister cities
Bácsalmás is
twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
*
Backnang
Backnang (; swg, Bagene) is a town in Germany in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, roughly northeast of Stuttgart. Its population has increased greatly over the past century, from 7,650 in 1900 to 35,761 in 2005.
Backnang was ceded to W ...
, Germany
*
Bajmok (Subotica), Serbia
*
Bezdan (Sombor), Serbia
*
Bizovac
Bizovac is a town and a municipality in Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia.
Population
There are a total of 4,507 inhabitants in the municipality (census 2011), in the following settlements:
* Bizovac, population 2,043
* Brođanci, population 54 ...
, Croatia
*
Borsec, Romania
*
Gizałki
Gizałki is a village in Pleszew County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Gizałki. It lies approximately north of Pleszew and south-east of the regional ca ...
, Poland
*
Veľký Meder
Veľký Meder (1948–1990 ''Čalovo'', hu, Nagymegyer, yi, Magendorf) is a town in the Dunajská Streda District, Trnava Region in southwestern Slovakia.
Etymology
The name is derived from the name of the ancient Hungarian ''Megyer'' tribe.
...
, Slovakia
References
* Dr.
Mihály Mandics
Mihály () is a Hungarian masculine given name, It is a cognate of the English Michael and may refer to:
* Mihály András (1917–1993), Hungarian cellist, composer, and academic teacher
*Mihály Apafi (1632–1690), Hungarian Prince of Transylva ...
: ''A magyarországi bunyevác-horvátok története'', Budapest, 1987.
* Horváth, Sövény, Harton: ''Bácsalmás'', Szekszárd, 1999.
External links
* in Hungarian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacsalmas
Places in Bačka
Populated places in Bács-Kiskun County
Hungarian German communities
Towns in Hungary