Crkveni Bok is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in central

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, in the municipality of Sunja,

Sisak-Moslavina County Sisak-Moslavina County ( hr, Sisačko-moslavačka županija) is a Croatian Counties of Croatia, county in eastern Central Croatia and southwestern Slavonia. It is named after the city of Sisak and the region Moslavina just across the river Sava. ...

. It is located in the

Banija , settlement_type = Geographic region , image_skyline = Banovina-Banija-Банија.jpg , image_caption = Collage of Banovina Photos , image_shield = , shield_size ...

region, in the fertile plains on the right bank of the

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...

river, to the east of the town of Sunja and some 20 km north-west of village of Jasenovac.

History

The village of Crkveni Bok was established in the late 17th century when

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Serbs from Podkozarje area in Bosnia settled there. The village 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 l ...

which, at the time, was expanding onto former Ottoman territories such as

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by ...

Kordun The Kordun () region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora (Peter's mountain) mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Within C ...

Banija , settlement_type = Geographic region , image_skyline = Banovina-Banija-Банија.jpg , image_caption = Collage of Banovina Photos , image_shield = , shield_size ...

and lower

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

. During the

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 ...

, the village was a part of the Nazi-puppet state, the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...

. At the time, the Crkveni Bok municipality comprised the villages of Crkveni Bok,

Strmen Strmen is a village in central Croatia, in the municipality of Sunja, Sisak-Moslavina County. It is located in the Banija region. History The village of Strmen was established in the late 17th century by the Orthodox Serb settlers from Podkozarj ...

and

Ivanjski Bok Ivanjski Bok is a village in central Croatia, in the municipality of Sunja, Sisak-Moslavina County. It is located in the Banija region, in the fertile plains on the right bank of the Sava river, to the east of the town of Sunja and some 20 ...

. Already in early autumn of 1941, the villages' population was subjected to conversion to the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

faith. The three villages, often referred to as the "

Banija , settlement_type = Geographic region , image_skyline = Banovina-Banija-Банија.jpg , image_caption = Collage of Banovina Photos , image_shield = , shield_size ...

Triangle", suffered heavy demographic losses with nearly 30% of its population perishing in the

Culture

The local branch of the Serb Cultural Society of Prosvjeta was established in the village in 1945. In 1971, after the

Croatian Spring The Croatian Spring ( hr, Hrvatsko proljeće), or Maspok, was a political conflict that took place from 1967 to 1971 in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, at the time part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As one of six republic ...

, all activities of the SKD Prosvjeta were suspended along with the activities of

Matica hrvatska Matica hrvatska ( la, Matrix Croatica) is the oldest independent, non-profit and non-governmental Croatian national institution. It was founded on February 2, 1842 by the Croatian Count Janko Drašković and other prominent members of the Illyri ...

. The cultural association in Crkveni Bok was re-established in 1974 under the new name, KUD “Savski lugovi” Crkveni Bok.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the village of Crkveni Bok has 117 inhabitants. This represents 28.82% of its pre-

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

population. According to the 1991 census,Izdanje Državnog zavoda za statistiku RH: Narodnosni sastav stanovništva RH od 1880-1991. godine. 95.32% of the village population were ethnic

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 ...

(387/406).
:NOTE: From 1957-1971 includes data for Blinjska Greda settlement. From 1981 census on, Blinjska Greda settlement is reported separately.

Notable natives and residents

References

Populated places in Sisak-Moslavina County Serb communities in Croatia {{SisakMoslavina-geo-stub