Straža ( sr-cyr, Стража; ro, Straja; hu, Temesőr) 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 ...

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

Vršac Vršac ( sr-cyr, Вршац, ; hu, Versec; ro, Vârșeț) is a city and the administrative centre of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the city urban area had a population of 35,701, while ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, in the

South Banat District The South Banat District ( sr, Јужнобанатски округ, Južnobanatski okrug, ; hu, Dél-bánsági körzet; ) is one of seven administrative districts of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The administrative center 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 ...

province.

Name

In Serbian, the village is known as ''Straža'' (Стража), in

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

as ''Straja'', in Hungarian as ''Strázsa'' (later ''Temesőr''), 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 ''Lagerdorf''.

History

Straža was established in the winter of 1716–17 by the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

imperial army as a base for soldiers sent to protect the town of Palanka from advancing Ottoman troops. After the army was recalled, several soldiers and artisans remained to form the settlement of ''Lagerdorf''. The historian Borovski confirms that after the Ottomans were expelled, the settlement was colonized by

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

. By 1734, the settlement already had its own post office and a German mill was built near the

Karaš River The Karaš (in Serbian, also Cyrillic: Караш) or Caraș (in Romanian) is a long river in the Banat region of Vojvodina, Serbia and Romania and a left tributary of the Danube. The Karaš drains an area of and although it has been channel ...

. By 1744,

settlers began to move into the settlement mostly from the

Oltenia Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...

province in lesser

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

. By 1782, the settlement's population swelled to over 1,000 people, 917 of which were

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

. It was controlled by the Ottomans between 1787–88. In October 1848, Serbian troops from

Alibunar Alibunar (; ro, Alibunar; hu, Alibunár) is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Alibunar town and Alibunar municipality have a population of 2,883 and 19,780 respectively. ...

were stationed in the settlement because of advancing Hungarian troops. The Serb army was nearly destroyed by Hungarian troops under the leadership of the general Jovan Damjanić (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 ...

by origin). In 1880, Lagerdorf was renamed ''Straža'' (''Straja'' in Romanian) and was referred to as ''Temes-Strazsa'' by the Hungarians in 1894 and ''Temesor'' in 1911. Name ''Straža'' itself is of Serbian origin (meaning "sentinel"). In 1854, the settlement's population was 1,195, in 1869, it reached 1,242, in 1880, the population was 1,510, in 1900 it was 1,606, and by 1910 the population was 1,678. During

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 ...

, 70 soldiers from Straža lost their lives. In 1921, a total of 1,482 people lived in the settlement: 1,389

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...

, 17

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 ...

, 14

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 Urali ...

, 10

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, and 52 others of various nationalities.

Historical population

*1961: 1,393 *1971: 1,254 *1981: 1,207 *1991: 1,107 *2002: 693 *2011: 538

Ethnic groups (2002 census)

The village has a

majority and its population numbering 538 people (2011 census). *Romanians = 557 (80.37%) *Serbs = 52 (7.5%) *Roma = 35 (5.05%) *Hungarians = 16 (2.3%) *others.

Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church in Straža was originally built in 1854 but was not in use until 1856 when the priest Stefan Popović was present. The interior was restored in 1935 by Karl and Josef Löffler while Ion Mităr was cleric. Jon Mităr served in Straža as chaplain until May 1943. He was succeeded by Ioan Ivașcu in June of the same year. From 1948 until 1978, Corneliu Șdicu served as chaplain. Moise Janeș became chaplain in 1979 and still serves today.

References

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

External links

Straža's Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Straza (Vrsac) Populated places in Serbian Banat Populated places in South Banat District Vršac Romanian communities in Serbia