Kopačevo ( hu, Kopács) is a settlement in the region of Baranja,

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 ...

. Administratively, it is located in the Bilje municipality within the

Osijek-Baranja County Osijek-Baranja County (, hr, Osječko-baranjska županija, hu, Eszék-Baranya megye) is a county in Croatia, located in northeastern Slavonia and Baranja. Its center is Osijek. Other towns include Đakovo, Našice, Valpovo, Belišće, and B ...

. Population is 608 people.

History

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

location of present-day village was a part of a long Roman

Danubian Limes The Danubian Limes (german: Donaulimes), or Danube Limes, refers to the Roman military frontier or ''limes'' which lies along the River Danube in the present-day German state of Bavaria, in Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria a ...

three grave areals which were researched by archaeologists from Hungary before World War II, but two of them were destroyed in 1950 due to the dam construction. One necropolis was dated in the

Late Antique Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...

period. First historical mention of the village comes from year 1212 during the reign of

Andrew III of Hungary Andrew III the Venetian ( hu, III. Velencei András, hr, Andrija III. Mlečanin, sk, Ondrej III.; 1265 – 14 January 1301) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1290 and 1301. His father, Stephen the Posthumous, was the posthumous son of ...

. 1713 it is mentioned as a Hungarian village with 18 families. Village is mentioned one source from 1591 in the period of Ottoman rule over the medieval

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 ...

when it was

waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitab ...

with 100 Hungarian families living on it. 1713 it is mentioned as a Hungarian village with 18 families. According to local legend, prior to the arrival of Ottomans, there was a grand castle in the village. Dravafok or Dravatorok, early 20th century steamboat port and

telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

station, belonged to the village. According to

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pécs The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pécs ( Hungarian: ''Pécsi Egyházmegye'', la, Dioecesis Quinque Ecclesiensis) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in Hungary. The Cathedral of Pécs is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint P ...

data, village had 1203 inhabitants in 1839 and reached its peak in 1849 with 1412 inhabitants. All up until the 1918 and establishment of

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

village, together with the rest of Baranya, was part of

Baranya County Baranya ( hu, Baranya megye, ) is a county () in southern Hungary. It is part of the Southern Transdanubia statistical region and the historical Baranya region, which was a county (''comitatus'') in the Kingdom of Hungary dating back to the ...

. In 1920 post

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...

was formally signed. During the Kingdom of Yugoslavia village was within the Danube Banovina. In

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 opposing ...

after the Invasion of Yugoslavia it was part of

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

transferred the region to the

Socialist Republic of Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Socia ...

. Due to the proximity of

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

river and its backwaters fishing was an important economic activity with up to the 200 fishermen in the village at its peak. Fishermen houses used the sign of fish on the facade of their homes so that urban visitors can know that they can buy fish at that place. After the establishment of Kopački Rit nature park in 1976 fishing was limited so the importance of vegetable production increased. Village is still organizing fishing festival every September attended by up to 2,000 visitors annually. Prior to Croatian War of Independence village had 805 inhabitants. During the war the village was within the boundaries of self-proclaimed SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia,

Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, ...

and after the

Erdut Agreement The Erdut Agreement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Erdutski sporazum, Ердутски споразум), officially the Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, was an agreement reached on 12 November 1 ...

was signed under the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium.

Nature

Village of Kopačevo is affected by regular

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing due to its proximity to both Danube and Drava rivers. Usually there are two floods annually, one in the

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

known as a green flood, and one in August. Village is located next to the Kopački Rit, one of the most important, largest and most attractive preserved intact

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Religion

Reformed Christian Church in Kopačevo was built in the 1804-1808 period. Its current form it got in 1848 during the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although t ...

. During the Croatian War of Independence church was heavily devastated. It was reconstructed in 1999 with financial support of

Government of Hungary The Government of Hungary ( hu, Magyarország Kormánya) exercises executive (government), executive power in Hungary. It is led by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Prime Minister, and is composed of various ministers. It is the principal organ of p ...

. Prior to present day church, at the same spot there was a church from the 12th century that burned in the fire in 1666. Local fold story tells that at the same location there was one even older

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church from the 4th century. Local population of Kopačevo was among the first to accept

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

in the 16th century and village became important center of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

in the region.

Twin settlements

* Kozármisleny * Somberek

References

External links