Kljajićevo (
Serbian Cyrillic
The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, t ...
: Кљајићево) is a village in
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 Hungar ...
. It is situated in the
Sombor
Sombor ( sr-Cyrl, Сомбор, ; hu, Zombor; rue, Зомбор, Zombor) is a city and the administrative center of the West Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city has a total population of 47,623 (), while ...
municipality, in the
West Bačka District
The West Bačka District ( sr, Западнобачки округ, Zapadnobački okrug, ; hu, Nyugat-bácskai körzet) is one of seven administrative districts of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It lies in the geographical region o ...
,
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 ...
province. The village has 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 ...
ethnic majority and its population numbered 6,012 people (2002 census).
Name
In
Serbian the village is known as ''Kljajićevo'' (Кљајићево), in
Croatian as ''Kljajićevo'', in
Hungarian as ''Kerény'', and in
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
**Ge ...
as ''Kernei'' or ''Gernei''.
History
Older settlements
Human settlement in the territory of present-day Kljajićevo has been traced as far back as the
Stone Age. In 1391, during the administration of the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
, settlement named Szent Király (Sveti Kralj) was mentioned at this location.
Ottoman administration
During the
Ottoman administration (16th–17th centuries), Bačka was part of the
Sanjak
Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ)
* Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province")
* Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region")
* el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...
of Segedin (
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...
). The former Hungarian population escaped during the Ottoman conquest and the area was then populated mostly by 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 ...
from the south. The village firstly was mentioned in 1590 in the Ottoman tax-lists (Defters) as ''Kernja'', a settlement near
Sombor
Sombor ( sr-Cyrl, Сомбор, ; hu, Zombor; rue, Зомбор, Zombor) is a city and the administrative center of the West Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city has a total population of 47,623 (), while ...
. Settlement was also mentioned under name ''Krnjaja'' in 1601 and was populated by ethnic Serbs. In the early 1700s Serbs managed cattle ranches in this area as part of the Austrian border defenses against the Ottoman Empire, and the area remained sparsely settled until the 1760s when the first
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 ...
(who called themselves
Shwoveh after the Serbian "Svabos" - Švabe) were settled in 100 new houses.
Habsburg administration
In 1699 the Bačka came into the possession of the
Habsburg monarchy of Austria. After
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...
assumed the throne in 1740, she encouraged vigorous colonization on crown lands, first 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 ...
and then of the entire nearby area, whose original Serb population had been decimated following the
Great Turkish War.
In 1763, the Imperial Advisor Anton von Cothmann, proposed to his Empress Theresia that Kernei and the surrounding territory should be settled. According to the "Conscriptio" from December 21, 1765, a new village was resettled and newly founded with 17 families, 57% of whom were ethnic Germans. Among those there were farmers, 2 smiths, 1 carpenter, 1 weaver and one innkeeper. The new settlers were primarily from Austrian possessions in Germany, Hungarians, and Bohemians; however, all the German-speaking settlers were commonly referred to as
Danube Swabian and came to call themselves "Schwowe" (Shwoveh). The village now was called “Kernjaja” or "Kernyaja". (Although the settlement had many official names over the years, it was always pronounced "Gernei" and written
Kernei by its
Shwovish inhabitants until 1945.)
In the following decades the number of settlers increased yearly, reaching 291 families arriving in Kernjaja between 1794/1796, among them 83% Germans, 11% Hungarians and 6% Bohemians.
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor from Austria extended the village with 78 new houses. The Catholic Church was built in 1791. At the beginning of 1767 pupils were taught in the cantor's house. The new school was built in 1911. The church has since been converted into an Orthodox Christian church.
In the year 1805, Kernei had 2,000 inhabitants. When the number of people reached 3,500 in 1850, the proportion of the non-German-speaking population was less than 5 percent. At that time there were roughly 50
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
in the village, with their own graveyard and street, but the last Jews left sometime around 1910.
The first migration away from Kernei to newly established settlements began around 1866. Beginning around 1900 a great wave of emigration to North America began. This led to local population numbers oscillating from year to year such that the town did not reach the 5,000 mark until 1910.
Yugoslav administration
In 1918, as part of Banat, Bačka and Baranja, Krnjaja became part of the
Kingdom of Serbia, which later together with the Kingdom of Montenegro and the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs formed the
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). Between 1929 and 1941, the village was part of the Danube Banovina, one of the provinces of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
World War II
In 1941/42, the population of the village totaled about 6,000. When Axis Powers invaded and partitioned Yugoslavia in 1941, Krnjaja was placed under Hungarian administration. Under an agreement between Germany and Hungary, a local Nazi, Karl Gartner, became the "Ortsleiter" / "Town Leader" of Kernei. In October 1944 about half of the town fled the advancing Russian and Partisan armies. Another approximately 1000 men were in the German SS and Armed forces fighting the Russians and Partisans, and so away from the town. During the Battle of Batina, the front was stretched all the way to
Apatin
Apatin ( sr-cyrl, Апатин, hu, Apatin, hr, Apatin) is a town and municipality located in the West Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011 census, the population of the town is 17,411, while the municipali ...
and Bogojevo, and these places became military bases overnight. Many Kerneiers were forced to work on the front lines digging trenches and clearing roads. After October 1944, and the arrival of Yugoslav partisans, Krnjaja came under Yugoslav military administration. In December 1944, 340 young men and women were forcibly enslaved as war reparations to the Soviet Union to work in labor camps. On March 3, 1945, 2,325 Kerneiers were interned in
Gakovo
Gakovo () is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Sombor municipality, in the West Bačka District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population is 2,201 (2002 census).
Name
In Serbian language, Serbian, t ...
and
Kruševlje
Kruševlje ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевље) is a small settlement (hamlet) in Serbia. It is situated in the Sombor municipality, West Bačka District, Vojvodina province. It is mostly populated by Serbs.
Name
In Serbian language, Serbian, the vill ...
. 242 Kerneiers, mainly Hungarian, were left in Kernei and not interned in the camps. Many, perhaps most, of the internees gradually escaped in 1946 and 47 after 706 died in the camps, mainly in 1945 to 1946.
[Michael Eichhorn (1979). Kernei und die Kerneiers. Regensburg: Max Gstoettner.]
The antifascist council for the liberation of Yugoslavia (
AVNOJ) declared its mainly
Danube Swabian population German public enemies and voided their citizenship and all civil rights.
Modern Kljajićevo
After World War II, Krnjaja became part of the new Socialist Yugoslavia, within the People's Republic of Serbia and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. In this time, Serbs from
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 ...
(
Lika,
Gorski Kotar,
Žumberak, and
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 ...
) began living in the abandoned, expropriated buildings in the village. The current name of the village, Kljajićevo, was introduced in 1949 and derives from Miloš Kljajić, a popular hero who was born in Kordun and was killed in Žumberak in 1944. The streets are still lined with the
acacia trees planted by the Shwovish settlers, and they bloom in magnificent profusion in the spring.
Historical population
*1869: 4,071 in 460 houses
*1880: 4,012 in 583 houses
*1890: 4,368
*1900: 4,692 in 1,001 houses
*1910: 5,132
*1921: 5,314
*1941: 6,001
*1944: 6,347
*1945 (February): 2,567
*1945 (March): 242
*1961: 6,088
*1971: 5,805
*1981: 5,850
*1991: 5,737
Gallery
File:Karta sombor.png, Map of Kljajićevo and the neighborhood.
See also
*
List of places in Serbia
This is the list of populated places in Serbia (excluding Kosovo), as recorded by the 2002 census, sorted alphabetically by municipalities. Settlements denoted as " urban" (towns and cities) are marked bold. Population for every settlement is gi ...
*
List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina
This is a list of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina, a province of Serbia.
List of largest cities and towns in Vojvodina
List of urban settlements in Vojvodina
List of all urban settlements (cities and towns) in Vojvodina with populati ...
References
*Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1996.
External links
Kljajićevo WebsiteKljajićevo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kljajicevo
Places in Bačka
Sombor
West Bačka District