Zrenianin
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Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; hu, Nagybecskerek; ro, Becicherecu Mare; sk, Zreňanin; german: Großbetschkerek) is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and the administrative center of the
Central Banat District The Central Banat District ( sr, Средњобанатски округ, Srednjobanatski okrug, ; hu, Közép-bánsági körzet) is one of seven administrative districts of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It lies in the geogr ...
in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city urban area has a population of 76,511 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 123,362 inhabitants (2011 census data). The old name for Zrenjanin is Veliki Bečkerek or ''Nagybecskerek'' as it was known under Austria-Hungary up until 1918. Zrenjanin is the largest city in the Serbian part of the Banat geographical region, and the third largest city in Vojvodina (after Novi Sad and
Subotica Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, ...
). The city was designated European city of sport.


Name

The city was named after Žarko Zrenjanin (1902–1942) in 1946 in honour and remembrance of his name. One of the leaders of the Vojvodina
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
Partisans during World War II, he was imprisoned and released after being tortured by the Nazis for months, and later killed while trying to avoid recapture. The former
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...
name of the city was ''Bečkerek'' (Бечкерек) or ''Veliki Bečkerek'' (Велики Бечкерек). In 1935 the city was renamed to ''Petrovgrad'' (Петровград) in honor of king Peter I of Serbia. It was called ''Petrovgrad'' from 1935 to 1946. In Hungarian, the city is known as ''Nagybecskerek'', 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 **Ger ...
as ''Großbetschkerek'' or ''Betschkerek'', 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, traditional ...
as ''Becicherecul Mare'' or ''Zrenianin'', in Slovak as ''Zreňanin'', in Rusin as ''Зрењанин'', in Croatian as ''Zrenjanin'', and in
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
as ''Beşkelek'' (meaning ''five melons'') or ''Beçkerek''. It is assumed that Zrenjanin's original name, Bečkerek/Becskerek, comes from Hungarian word ''kerek'' ("forest, grove") and the surname of the 14th-century nobleman, Imre Becsei, who had large estates in the area. Therefore, the name would be translated into English as "Becsei's Forest". The original name received an adjective meaning "great/big/major" in the languages of the Banat ( sr, Veliki or ''Велики'',
Danube Swabian 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 ...
: ''Groß'', hu, Nagy, ro, Mare), to distinguish it from a village of the same name in the
Romanian Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...
, that is usually referred to as small Bečkerek (cf.
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...
: ''Mali Bečkerek'' or ''Мали Бечкерек'',
Danube Swabian 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 ...
: ''Kleinbetschkerek'', ro, Becicherecu Mic, hu, Kisbecskerek).


History


Prehistory

Prehistory can be divided into the PalaeolithicOld Stone Age and the NeolithicNew Stone Age. In Zrenjanin's regions no archaeological sites of the Palaeolithic have been found. The only exception makes the discovery of mammoth’s head and other bones found on the banks of
Tisa River The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...
near Novi Bečej in the year 1952. The discovered archaeological sites, however, indicate that these regions had already been inhabited in the early Neolithic period about 5000 years BC. The most important archaeological site from this period is so-called
Krstić tumulus Krstić (, sr-cyr, Крстић) is a Serbian surname, a patronymic derived from the given name ''Krsta'' or ''Krsto''. It may refer to: *Aleksandar Krstić (footballer), Aleksandar Krstić, Serbian football agent and a former footballer *Bilja Kr ...
, near
Mužlja Mužlja ( sr-cyr, Мужља; hu, Muzslya) is a neighborhood of the Zrenjanin city in Serbia. Formerly, it had been a separate village that joined with Zrenjanin in 1981. Name In Serbian the neighborhood is known as ''Mužlja'' or Мужља ...
, about away from Zrenjanin. Here were found the ceramics, with interesting
ornament An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration * Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts * Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve ...
s. Beside the brewery ground have been found rough, with coloured fine ceramics, ornaments ( Starčevo culture). The middle Neolithic appeared in our area as
Vinča Vinča ( sr-cyr, Винча, ) is a suburban settlement of Belgrade, Serbia. It is part of the municipality of Grocka. Vinča-Belo Brdo, an important archaeological site that gives its name to the Neolithic Vinča culture, is located in the villa ...
and Potisje culture, in the down course of the
Tisa River The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...
. What makes this area important is the fact that the influence of two parallel cultures flew through it at the same time. The Iron Age has not been enough explored yet. A few regions with some archaeological materials from the Iron Age have been found: in the residential area Šumica a tip of a spear was found and near the oil factory, pieces of ceramics from the Bronze Age were discovered. At the beginning of the common era, this area was settled by many native tribes, but also by many newcomer tribes: the Illyrians, the Celts, the Goths, the Geths, the Sarmatian and Jazghs. In the end of the third century and in the middle of the fourth century, in the area of Zrenjanin and its surroundings, the Sarmatian tribe
Roxolani The Roxolani or Rhoxolāni ( grc, Ροξολανοι , ; la, Rhoxolānī) were a Sarmatian people documented between the 2nd century BC and the 4th century AD, first east of the Borysthenes (Dnieper) on the coast of Lake Maeotis (Sea of Azov), a ...
appeared. From this period a Sarmatian’s graveyard has been found in a city residential district, near the railroad bridge. Finally in the necropolis, not far from Aradac, “Mečka”, more than 120 graves, which date from the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh century, have been excavated in 1952.


Middle Ages

The first historical records mentioning Zrenjanin (Bečkerek) date from the 14th century, the time when Charles I, King of Hungary and Croatia (1301–1342), used to visit Banat and spend time in his capital Timișoara. (Near today's Zrenjanin a coin was found with the inscription "Charles I".) Many noblemen came with the King, including the powerful Imre Becsei. The areas where Becsei settled down were named for him, “Bechereki” and “Beche” ( Novi Bečej). The oldest written records of Bečkerek date from
Budim Capitulum’s document Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
of collecting the Pope’s tens taxes in 1326, 1331 and 1332. Judging by the size of the taxes, Bečkerek of 1330s was an average village. The first settlers were the landless Hungarian peasants. There were the Serbs in Banat, too. During the reign of
Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370 ...
(1343–1382), more Serbs migrated to the area from the south, and with them many
Orthodox priests 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 ...
. After the
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
victory at the
battle of Nicopolis The Battle of Nicopolis took place on 25 September 1396 and resulted in the rout of an allied crusader army of Hungarian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, French, Burgundian, German, and assorted troops (assisted by the Venetian navy) at ...
(1396) the Hungarian King Sigismund (1387–1437) was considering defending the territory settled by the Serbs, and he is known to have visited Bečkerek on September 30, 1398. The town was granted to
Stefan Lazarević Stefan Lazarević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Лазаревић, 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall ( sr, Стефан Високи / ''Stefan Visoki''), was the ruler of Serbia as prince (1389–1402) and despot (1402–1427), ...
at the end of the 1403. The despot became the vassal of the Hungarian King; but he got Bečkerek and the title of the Great Head of the Torontál County.


Ottoman period

The Hungarian King Ferdinand appointed friar Djordje Martinović, a commander of his forces, to defend the town from the Ottomans. Hungary was attacked by 80,000 Ottoman soldiers under the command of Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha. On September 15, 1551, the siege of the town Bečej was raised and the town was taken after four days. On September 24 the Bečkerek fortress was sieged. Many people left town earlier and with few defenders the town couldn't be defended and those eighty, who left surrendered the next day. Malković was appointed the lord of Bečkerek. After the Ottomans had taken Timișoara in 1552, Banat became a special province, the Temeşvar Eyalet, which was made up of several sanjaks, one of which was the
Sanjak of Beçkerek Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province") ...
. During Ottoman occupation, the sanjak had a military administration. Due to good behaviour of the
rayah A raiyah or reaya (from , a plural of "countryman, animal, sheep pasturing, subjects, nationals, flock", also spelled ''raiya'', ''raja'', ''raiah'', ''re'aya''; Ottoman Turkish رعايا ; Modern Turkish râiya or reaya; related to the Arabi ...
, the inhabitants were exempt from war taxes. During the 165 years of Ottoman rule, Bečkerek consisted of two separate settlements: the settlement of Bečkerek and the village of
Gradnulica Gradnulica (Serbian Cyrillic: Граднулица) was a former village near Veliki Bečkerek (Zrenjanin) until the 18th century. Today, it is one of the biggest city quarters of Zrenjanin, Serbia. History Gradnulica was formed in Medieval period ...
. The town was divided into two parts, a Turkish and a Serbian. The Turkish part was fenced and closed, while the Serbian one was open. On the main square there was a large mosque built and inside the fortress there was a little one. There was a Turkish bath, and around it there were about twenty stores. Gradnulica was a disorderly village, whose centre was approximately on the crossroad of the present streets Sindjelićeva and Djurdjevska. Prior to Ottoman occupation, the citizens were Serbs and Hungarians. At the end of the 18th century there were about fifty Turkish families. According to the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699), the Temeşvar Eyalet, including Bečkerek, stayed under Ottoman rule, while bordering territories once again came under the Military Frontier. After the Austro-Turkish War of 1716–18 Bečkerek went under Habsburg rule.


Habsburg and Austrian period (1718–1914)

As a crown province, Banat belonged directly to the Vienna court. The first governor, appointed by the Emperor, was Count
Claudius Mercy Count Claudius Florimund de Mercy (1666 – 29 June 1734) was an Imperial field marshal, born at Longwy in Lorraine, now in France. His grandfather was the Bavarian field marshal Franz Freiherr von Mercy. Mercy entered the Austrian army a ...
. By the imperial edict on September 12, 1718, Banat was divided into 13 districts, with the main administration in Timișoara at its head. The District of Banat included a few settlements: Idjoš, Arač, Bečej, Itebej,
Elemir Elemir (; hu, Elemér) is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the province of Vojvodina. As of 2011 census, the village has a population of 4,338 inhabitants. Name In Serbi ...
, Ečka and Aradac. The first chief of this district was
Titus Vespanius Slucki Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...
. After the Turkish forces and Turks families had withdrawn, the land was left devastated without labour, which could till the soil and paid taxes. That's why the Austrian court tried to settle Banat as soon as possible. The colonization lasted from 1718 till 1724, when the town was settled mostly by Germans, but the Serbs never stopped arriving. The military frontier in Potisje was displaced. In the following years Italians, Frenchmen, Romanians arrived and then the Catalans from Barcelona, who escaped the repression after the War of the Spanish Succession and settled in a place which is now the suburb of Dolja within Zrenjanin. The town was called
New Barcelona Nova Barcelona (german: Neue Stadt Barcellona, sr, Нова Барселона) or New Barcelona, is the name of a short-lived colony of Catalan exiled Austracists existing from 1735 to 1738 that was created after the defeat of the supporters of H ...
. But the life was difficult in this marsh area with many contagious diseases, so many of them died and still many left. In the summer of 1738 there was the great plague. The Count Mersy wanted to turn marshes into fertile soil and he began to regulate the Begej River. In the middle and down course of the river a long canal was built, to make the river traffic possible between Bečkerek and Timișoara. On the first of November 1745
Sebastian Krazeisen Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...
began to make beer in the first brewery and that meant the first start of the industrialization. In the same year the first Serb’s school was mentioned. On 6 June 1769
Maria Theresa 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). ...
granted the Community of Great Bečkerek, the privilege of becoming the trading centre. By this privilege the whole social-economic life of the former Bečkerek was regulated and it got the status of the town. In 1769 the first hospital was built. In 1779, by the new organization of Torontál County, Bečkerek became its centre. The city was briefly restored to Ottoman administration from 1787 to 1788 during
Austro-Turkish War (1787–91) The term Austro-Turkish War may refer to: * Austro-Turkish War (1593–1606) * Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) * Austro-Turkish War (1683–1699) * Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718) * Austro-Turkish War (1737–1739) * Austro-Turkish War (1788–1 ...
. In the 18th century it developed into thriving economic and cultural centre, but the great fire destroyed a large portion of the town in 1807. The town was soon rebuilt. The fire came from the brewery, on 30 August 1807. After the fire a new regulation of streets had been done, houses had been built from stronger materials, roads had been rebuilt. The river traffic was especially intensive. The theatre building with an attractively decorated hall was built in 1839. In 1846 the Grammar School was opened and in 1847 the first printing shop. The
1848–49 Revolutions The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...
had its impact on Bečkerek. The Serbs revolted, aiming for autonomy within the Austrian Empire. At the May Assembly (13–15 May 1848), the Serbian Vojvodina was proclaimed, including most of what is today Vojvodina. Serbs from Bečkerek participated in the uprising against Hungarian authority (which refused Serb rights) and from 26 January to 29 April 1849 the town was under Serb rebel control. In 1849, the town became part of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar until 1860. Although that time was known in history as a period of
Bach's absolutism The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
, the second part of the 19th century brought the town new developing benefits. New industrial facilities and handicraft stores were opened in every part of the town. Late 19th and early 20th century was progressive period for Veliki Bečkerek. Railway arrived in 1883, while post office was opened back in 1737.


World War I and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

After the
Sarajevo assassination Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range while b ...
, more than 30 citizens of Bečkerek were accused by the Austria-Hungary’s authorities of high treason. Among them was Dr Emil Gavrila, who together with Svetozar Miletić and Jaša Tomić, worked very hard on the cultural and social strengthening of Serbs. Those Serbs recruited in the Austria-Hungary's army began to desert to avoid having to fight their own people. 7,000 of them formed volunteer detachments (people were from Banat and Srem) at the Eastern front and fought at Dobruja, but 79 of them fought on the Salonice front, too. After years, the Serbs forces made a breakthrough of the Salonice front in 1918 and began to liberate their own country. The First Army in command of Vojvoda Petar Bojović freed
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
on 1 November 1918 and began to occupy Vojvodina. On 17 November Serbian army arrived at Veliki Bečkerek. On 31 October 1918, the Serb Chamber of People of the town founded in the war conditions, as a temporary authority with Dr Slavko Župunski at its head. Serb army, the infantry iron regiment “Prince Mihajlo” and the infantry brigade with Colonel Dragutin Ristić in command came into the town on 17 November 1918. A few days after Vojvodina had been occupied, its provinces were attached to the Kingdom of Serbs and on December 1, 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was founded, as the first South Slavic state. The town of Veliki Bečkerek became the administrative centre of Torontal-Tamiš County, and after its repealing, the town became the headquarters of District Office. In 1929 the town became part of the
Danube Banovina Danube Banovina or Danube Banate ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Dunavska banovina, Дунавска бановина), was a banovina (or province) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of the geographical ...
. By the Town Council decision made on 29 September 1934, and confirmed by the Town Authority on 18 February 1935, the town was renamed Petrovgrad, after the king Peter I. It is near that town that the
Vera Renczi Vera Renczi (dubbed the Black Widow, Mrs. Poison or Chatelaine of Berkerekul), was a Romanian serial killer who was charged with poisoning 35 individuals including her two husbands, multiple lovers, and her son with arsenic during the 1920s. J ...
, the notorious "Black Widow", lived in her castle of Berkerekul, where, out of raging jealousy, she poisoned her two husbands, her 10-year-old son and 32 lovers starting in 1925. She placed all the corpses in zinc coffins in the chateau crypt and used to talk to them, drinking champagne. She was arrested in 1930, condemned to death, sentence commuted to life in prison because, at that time, Yugoslavia did not execute women. She became completely insane and died in the town asylum in 1960.


Second World War and SFR Yugoslavia

After the Kingdom of Yugoslavia had capitulated on 18 April 1941, and Nazi Germany occupied the country, the German Forces came into Petrovgrad. The authority in Banat had domestic Germans Volksdeutsche, who immediately started to confiscate Jews' property and arrested patriots. The town was renamed Great Bečkerek and it was the headquarters of the occupation authority for Banat (1941-44), headed by Juraj Špiler, and a concentration camp in Cara Dušana Street. The camp existed for almost two years and thousands of people passed through it. In town there were many underground groups supported by the Communist Party, which fought the German occupiers and the Germans made reprisals. On 2 October 1944, the Red Army Forces came into town, and, after a short fight, took command of most vital public buildings. The following day the first meeting on National Liberation Committee for the town Petrovgrad was held. Eight members of the national liberation resistance, from the town and its surroundings were announced National Heroes: Žarko Zrenjanin,
Svetozar Marković Toza Svetozar (Cyrillic script: Светозар) is a Slavic origin given name and may refer to: *Svetozar Boroević (1856–1920), Austro-Hungarian Field Marshal *Svetozar Čiplić (born 1965), Serbian politician *Svetozar Đanić (1917–1941), Serb ...
, Pap Pavle, Stevica Jovanović,
Servo Mihalj Servo may refer to: Mechanisms * Servomechanism, or servo, a device used to provide control of a desired operation through the use of feedback ** AI servo, an autofocus mode ** Electrohydraulic servo valve, an electrically operated valve that c ...
, Dr. Boško Vrebalov,
Nedeljko Barnić Žarki Nedeljko ( sr, Недељко) is a Serbian masculine given name. It may refer to: *Nedeljko Bajić Baja (born 1968), singer *Nedeljko Bulatović (born 1938), footballer and football manager *Nedeljko Čabrinović (1895–1916), revolutionary *Nede ...
,
Bora Mikin Marko Bora may refer to: Geography * Bora (Australian), the site of an initiation ceremony in Australian aboriginal culture, sometimes known as Bora rings * Bora, Punjab, a village in India * Borá, a city in the São Paulo state in Brazil * Bora (wind) ...
. During World War II, the town infrastructure was kept almost saved. Except in the final fights for the town, there were no war actions on the territory of the town. The Germans tried to damage and destroy some industrial buildings, but it was prevented. Only Anau-Winkler’s mill and the monumental
Jewish synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish language, Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino language, Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word ...
in the centre of the town were destroyed. After World War II important social-political changes were made in the country, which, of course, had their influence on the development of Zrenjanin, newly named in 1946. In August 1945 the Agriculture Reform Act came into force, in June 1950 the Worker Self-Management Act, in 1959 the first direct urban plan of the town development, which indicated the urbanism-economic development of the town, was passed. The development, in the first after war decade, was directed by the directive plans, which were based on the principles of socialist economy in which the most important industrial branches were industry and agriculture. By the 1980s many people left their villages and moved into towns which brought many changes in the social, educational and ethnic structure of the town. There was permanently shortage of housing. That is why many new parts of the town and many new apartment buildings were built. Zrenjanin became an important agricultural, industrial, cultural and sport centre, at the time Zrenjanin was one of the most powerful industrial centres of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia led by
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
.


After 1991

The town's development has always been strongly affected by the social-economic circumstances reflecting the State surroundings that Zrenjanin found in. At the beginning of 1990s, when the war broke out on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and the country was falling apart, it led to rather hard social and economic crisis in this area, All that caused an economic stagnation, unemployment, large migrations of refugees from the former Yugoslav Republics: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The town experienced the first political changes by the introducing of multiparty system at the end of 1996 when the local government was ruled by the coalition Zajedno (Together) and in 2000 by the coalition Democratic opposition of Serbia. On March 24, 1999, the
NATO bombing of Serbia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...
began but the town was not targeted. Life in the town was quite normal, in spite of the dangerous situation elsewhere in the country. In the first years after the end of war activities the Town and its citizens have been adjusting to new economic and social-economic conditions, known as transition. Instead of previous large economic combines and companies plenty of new flexible private enterprises are established and foreign capital is starting to flow in Zrenjanin. New industrial and work and residential zones are formed and the Town's General Plan 2006-2026 and Sustainable Development Strategy 2006-2013 are made and approved. At the end of 2007, introducing a new national territorial organisation followed by necessary legislation, the Municipality of Zrenjanin has been upgraded to an administrative and territorial status of a city.


Geography

Zrenjanin is situated on the western edge of the Banat loess plateau, at the place where the canalized River
Begej The Bega or Begej ( ro, Bega; sr, / ; german: Bega; hu, Béga, formerly ''Kistemes''), is a 244 km (152 mile) long river in Romania (169 km; 105 mi.) and Serbia (75 km; 47 mi.). It rises in the Poiana Ruscă Mountai ...
flows into the former water course of the River
Tisa The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...
. The territory of the city is predominantly flat country. The City of Zrenjanin is situated at a longitude of 20°23’ east and a latitude of 45°23’ north, in the center of the Serbian part of the Banat region, on the banks of the Rivers
Begej The Bega or Begej ( ro, Bega; sr, / ; german: Bega; hu, Béga, formerly ''Kistemes''), is a 244 km (152 mile) long river in Romania (169 km; 105 mi.) and Serbia (75 km; 47 mi.). It rises in the Poiana Ruscă Mountai ...
and
Tisa The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...
. The city is located at 80 meters above sea level. Zrenjanin is around away from
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, and about from Novi Sad, which is also the distance to the present border with the European Union (Romania), which makes its position a particularly important transition center and potential resource in the directions north–south and east–west.


Inhabited places

The city administrative area includes the following villages: * Aradac *
Banatski Despotovac Banatski Despotovac (; hu, Ernőháza) is a village in Serbia. It is located in the municipal area of the City of Zrenjanin, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (98.2%) and its population nu ...
*
Belo Blato Belo Blato ( sr-cyr, Бело Блато; sk, Biele Blato or ; hu, Erzsébetlak, , , or ) is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. The ...
*
Botoš Botoš (; hu, Botos) is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (89.43%) and its population numberi ...
*
Čenta Čenta (; hu, Csenta) is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (95.19%) and the population is 3,1 ...
* Ečka *
Elemir Elemir (; hu, Elemér) is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the province of Vojvodina. As of 2011 census, the village has a population of 4,338 inhabitants. Name In Serbi ...
*
Farkaždin Farkaždin (; hu, Farkasd) is a village in Serbia. It is located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (94.94%) and its population numbering 1,386 people (2002 ce ...
*
Jankov Most Jankov Most ( sr-cyr, Јанков Мост; ro, Iancăid; hu, Jankahíd) is a village in Serbia. It is located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District, in the province of Vojvodina. The village has a Romanian ethnic major ...
* Klek *
Knićanin Knićanin (, ) is a village in Serbia. It is located in the Zrenjanin municipal area, in the Banat region (Central Banat District), Vojvodina province. Its population is 2,034 (2002 census) and most of its inhabitants are ethnic Serbs (97.39%) ...
*
Lazarevo Lazarevo (; hu, Lázárfő) is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (94.77%) and a total populat ...
*
Lukićevo Lukićevo (; hu, Zsigmondfalva) is a village in Serbia. It is located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (93.45%) and its population numbering 2,077 people ( ...
*
Lukino Selo Lukino Selo ( sr-Cyrl, Лукино Село, hu, Lukácsfalva, german: Lukasdorf) is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village h ...
*
Melenci Melenci (; hu, Melence) is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (93.40%) and its population num ...
*
Mihajlovo Mihajlovo ( sr-cyr, Михајлово, hu, Magyarszentmihály) is a village in Serbia. It is located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Hungarian ethnic majority (94.02%) and its ...
* Orlovat *
Perlez Perlez (; hu, Perlasz) is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (87.29%) and its population number ...
*
Stajićevo Stajićevo (; hu, Óécska) is a village in Serbia. It is located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (96.29%) and its population numbering 1,999 people (2002 ...
* Taraš *
Tomaševac Tomaševac (; hu, Tamáslaka) is a village in Serbia. It is located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (92.12%) and its population numbering 1,765 people (2002 ...


Neighbourhoods in Zrenjanin

* Bagljaš * Berbersko * Bolnica * Brigadira Ristića *
Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
*
Četvrti Jul Četvrti Jul ( sr, Четврти Јул) is a neighbourhood of Zrenjanin, Serbia. It is located some 1.5 kilometres to southeast from the city centre. It is residential area, consisting of 50 buildings with 4 or 5 storey each, in the street of t ...
* Čontika * Dolja * Dunavska * Duvanika *
Gradnulica Gradnulica (Serbian Cyrillic: Граднулица) was a former village near Veliki Bečkerek (Zrenjanin) until the 18th century. Today, it is one of the biggest city quarters of Zrenjanin, Serbia. History Gradnulica was formed in Medieval period ...
* Lesnina *
Mala Amerika Mala Amerika ( sr-cyrl, Мала Америка; literally: "Little America") is one of the local communities in the city of Zrenjanin, Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked c ...
*
Mužlja Mužlja ( sr-cyr, Мужља; hu, Muzslya) is a neighborhood of the Zrenjanin city in Serbia. Formerly, it had been a separate village that joined with Zrenjanin in 1981. Name In Serbian the neighborhood is known as ''Mužlja'' or Мужља ...
, a former village, joined with Zrenjanin in 1981 *
Nova Kolonija A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
*
Putnikovo Putnikovo () is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Kovačica municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (97.53%) and its population numbering 243 people (2002 census). Historica ...
*
Ruža Šulman Ruža (Serbo-Croatian for "Rose") may refer to: * Ruža (given name) * '' Ruža na asfaltu'' * '' Ruža vetrova Beograda'' * ''Ruža vjetrova ''Ruža vjetrova'' ( en, Wind Rose), often abbreviated to ''RV'', is a Croatian television soap opera ...
* Šećerana * Šumica *
Zeleno Polje Zeleno Polje ( hu, Szentistvánpuszta, sr-Cyrl, Зелено Поље) is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Petlovac municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 43 people. H ...


Climate

The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is Dfa (Humid Continental Climate). The average temperature for the year in Zrenjanin is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of . The highest recorded temperature in Zrenjanin is , which was recorded in July. The lowest recorded temperature in Zrenjanin is , which was recorded in January. The average amount of precipitation for the year in Zrenjanin is . The month with the most precipitation on average is June with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of . There are an average of 126.8 days of precipitation, with the most precipitation occurring in May with 12.4 days and the least precipitation occurring in August with 7.5 days.


Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the total population of the city of Zrenjanin was 123,362.


Ethnic groups

Settlements with Serb ethnic majority are: Zrenjanin, Banatski Despotovac, Botoš, Elemir, Ečka, Klek, Knićanin, Lazarevo, Lukićevo, Melenci, Orlovat, Perlez, Stajićevo, Taraš, Tomaševac, Farkaždin, and Čenta. Settlements with Hungarian ethnic majority are: Lukino Selo and Mihajlovo. Settlement with Romanian ethnic majority is Jankov Most. Ethnically mixed settlements are: Aradac (with relative Serb majority) and Belo Blato (with relative Slovak majority). The ethnic composition of the city administrative area:


Urbanization

;Changing demographics of Zrenjanin proper Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:560 height:260 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:100000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:10000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1948 text:1948 bar:1953 text:1953 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2002 text:2002 bar:2011 text:2011 PlotData= color:barra width:25 align:left bar:1948 from:0 till: 38564 bar:1953 from:0 till: 44168 bar:1961 from:0 till: 55539 bar:1971 from:0 till: 71424 bar:1981 from:0 till: 81270 bar:1991 from:0 till: 81316 bar:2002 from:0 till: 79773 bar:2011 from:0 till: 76511 PlotData= bar:1948 at: 38564 fontsize:S text: 38.564 shift:(-2,5) bar:1953 at: 44168 fontsize:S text: 44.168 shift:(-8,5) bar:1961 at: 55539 fontsize:S text: 55.539 shift:(-10,5) bar:1971 at: 71424 fontsize:S text: 71.424 shift:(-10,5) bar:1981 at: 81270 fontsize:S text: 81.270 shift:(-10,5) bar:1991 at: 81316 fontsize:S text: 81.316 shift:(-10,5) bar:2002 at: 79773 fontsize:S text: 79.773 shift:(-10,5) bar:2011 at: 76511 fontsize:S text: 76.511 shift:(-20,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:


Religion

According to the 2002 census, most of the inhabitants of the Zrenjanin municipality were
Orthodox Christians Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...
(77.28%). Other faiths include Roman Catholic (12.01%), Protestant (2.13%), and other. Orthodox Christians in Zrenjanin belong to the Eparchy of Banat of the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...
with seat in Vršac. Zrenjanin is also the centre of the Roman Catholic diocese of the Banat region belonging to Serbia.


Economy

The city of Zrenjanin used to be the fourth largest industry center in former Yugoslavia. The economy of Zrenjanin is diverse, as it has developed processing industry, agriculture, forestry,
building industry Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...
, and transport. As of September 2017, Zrenjanin has one of 14 free economic zones established in Serbia. The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):


Transportation

Zrenjanin no longer has a public transport operator, for the first time in its recent history, following the privatization and subsequent bankruptcy o
Autobanat
It used to operate as the city's public transport company and as the regional public transport service to the nearby cities of ( Novi Sad,
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, Kikinda, Vršac), etc. In the past river traffic on the
Begej The Bega or Begej ( ro, Bega; sr, / ; german: Bega; hu, Béga, formerly ''Kistemes''), is a 244 km (152 mile) long river in Romania (169 km; 105 mi.) and Serbia (75 km; 47 mi.). It rises in the Poiana Ruscă Mountai ...
river used to be most developed mode of cargo transport. Veliki Bečkerek got a railway in 1883, when it linked the city to
Velika Kikinda Kikinda ( sr-Cyrl, Кикинда, ; hu, Nagykikinda) is a city and the administrative center of the North Banat District in Serbia . The city urban area has 38,069 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 59,453 inhabitants. The c ...
. There are many taxi companies in Zrenjanin and the regulations are either lacking or are not enforced by the authorities.


Culture


Main sights

*
City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
, built in 1816, re-constructed in 1887, neobaroque,
Gyula Partos Gyula may refer to: * Gyula (title), Hungarian title of the 9th–10th century * Gyula (name), Hungarian male given name, derived from the title ; People * Gyula II, the ''gyula'' who was baptized in Constantinople around 950 * Gyula III, the ''g ...
and Ödön Lechner. * Finance palace, today National museum, built in 1894 in Neorenaissance style by István Kiss. * Zrenjanin Theatre, built in 1839, classicism, the oldest theatre building in Serbia. * Zrenjanin Court House, built between 1906 and 1908, romanticism, Sandor Eigner and Marcus Rehmer. * Uspenska Serbian Orthodox church, built in 1746, baroque, the oldest church in the city. * Vavedenska church, built in 1777 in Baroque style. *
Slovak evangelic church Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arkan ...
, built in 1837, classicism. * Zrenjanin Cathedral, built between 1864 and 1868, romanesque, Franz Xaver Brandeisz. * Zrenjanin Protestant church, built in 1891, neogothic, Ferenc Zaboretzky. *
Zrenjanin Synagogue Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; hu, Nagybecskerek; ro, Becicherecu Mare; sk, Zreňanin; german: Großbetschkerek) is a city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia ...
, built in 1896, Moorish Revival,
Lipót Baumhorn Lipót Baumhorn ( hu, Baumhorn Lipót, german: Leopold Baumhorn, 28 December 1860, Kisbér – 8 July 1932, Kisbér) was a Hungarian architect of Jewish heritage, the most influential Hungarian synagogue architect in the first half of the 20th ...
, demolished in 1941 by Nazis. * Bukovac palace, built in 1895, neorenaissance. * Old Vojvodina hotel, built in 1886, neorenaissance, Ferenc Pelzl. * Zrenjanin Grammar School building, built in 1846, re-constructed in 1937 and later. *
Small bridge Small Bridge () is the oldest bridge in Zrenjanin, Serbia. Today's steel bridge was built in 1904, on the site of an older movable wooden bridge, when it was named Franz Josef Bridge (, German: , Hungarian: ), and after 1919 Events Jan ...
, built in 1904, the oldest bridge in the city. * Trade academy, built in 1892, neorenaissance, István Kiss. *
Bence House Bence House (Serbian: ''Бенцеова кућа'') is a palace in Zrenjanin, Serbia. It was built in 1909 in the style of Vienna secession. History The palace was projected as a modern department store. The owner of the palace was Miksa Benc ...
, built in 1909, secession. * Dry Bridge, built in 1962, without river since 1985. *
Eiffel Bridge Eiffel Bridge can refer to: * Eiffel Bridge, Láchar, a bridge in Spain * Eiffel Bridge, Ungheni, a railway bridge in Ungheni, Moldova * Eiffel Bridge, Tsagveri, a railway bridge in Tsagveri, Georgia * Eiffel Bridge, Zrenjanin, a bridge in Zrenjani ...
, built in 1904, replaced by a new bridge in 1969. * Dunđerski palace, built in 1910, secession. * House of Soko, built in 1927, academism, Dragiša Brašovan.


In popular culture

*Zrenjanin (under the name of Petrovgrad) is mentioned in the novel "Waiting for Robert Capa" of Spanish author
Susana Fortes Susana Fortes (born in 1959 in Pontevedra, Spain) is a Spanish writer and columnist. Fortes graduated in geography and history at the University of Santiago de Compostela and in American history at the University of Barcelona. She combines her p ...
. Jewish protagonist's brothers who are running from persecution, are settling in Serbian village Petrovgrad, just on Romanian border, because there was never tradition of
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
in the village.


Tourism

Zrenjanin has many places of interest like
City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
, the cathedral, Freedom Square, King Aleksandar I Street, etc. There is a Tourist Information Office in the building of National Museum (Subotićeva 1).


Sports

Zrenjanin has a long sports tradition. First clubs were established during the 1880s. It was the home town of Proleter football club from 1947 until 2005. As of 2021
FK Radnički Zrenjanin FK or fk may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise. * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block. * Funky Kong, a video game character. Place ...
plays in Serbian League Vojvodina division, which is the third level football league in Serbia. The city was designated European city of sport in 2021.


Notable residents

*
Dezső Antalffy-Zsiross Dezso d'Antalffy (born Dezső Antalffy-Zsiross;Names in Hungarian usually begin with the surname (Antalffy-Zsiross Dezső). To Germans, he was Desider von Antalffy, and Désiré d'Antalffy in France; in the United States he was known as Dez ...
, Hungarian organist and composer *
Tibor Várady Tibor Várady (born May 25, 1939, Zrenjanin Yugoslavia) is a legal scholar. He has also earned recognition as a writer. He was one of the founders of the Hungarian language avant-garde literary magazine "Új Symposion" published in Novi Sad (Yugo ...
, lawyer, member of
SANU Sanu may refer to: *Sanu, Iran, village in the Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran *Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU), an academic institution in Serbia *Sudan African National Union, a political party in Sudan *South American native ungulate ...
and former Minister of Justice of FR Yugoslavia (1992) *
János Bartl János Bartl (1878–1958), a descendant of a German craftsman family which had emigrated to Hungary, was one of the most important magic supply dealers of the pre-war era. Biography His parents called him Johann, but on his Hungarian birth cert ...
, magician *
Nenad Bjeković Nenad Bjeković (, ; born 5 November 1947) is a Serbian football administrator and former player and manager. Club career Born in Lazarevo, a village near Zrenjanin, Bjeković started out at his local club Zadrugar Lazarevo, before switching to P ...
, former Serbian football player * Dejan Bodiroga, Serbian basketball player, Olympic silver medalist, World and European champion * Ivan Boldirev, ice hockey player * Jovana Brakočević, Serbian volleyball player, Olympic silver medalist and European champion *
Branimir Brstina Branimir Brstina ( sr-cyr, Бранимир Брстина; born 4 January 1960) is a Serbian actor. References External links * 1960 births Living people People from Kikinda Serbian male television actors Serbian male film actors Z ...
, Serbian actor *
Žarko Čabarkapa Žarko Čabarkapa ( sr-cyrl, Жарко Чабаркапа, ; born 21 May 1981) is a Montenegrin–Serbian professional basketball executive and former player who is Player personnel director at Fenerbahçe Basketball. Standing at , he played ...
, Serbian basketball player, World champion * Konstantin Danil, Serbian painter *
Željko Đurđić Željko Đurđić (, ; 8 November 1962 – 28 July 2014) was a Serbian handball goalkeeper. Known locally by the nickname ''Džigi'', he captained RK Proleter Zrenjanin to the 1990–91 European Handball Cup final where Proleter narrowly lost t ...
, Serbian
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
player *
Dejan Govedarica Dejan Govedarica (, ; born 2 October 1969) is a Serbian retired football player. Career He played three seasons for FK Proleter Zrenjanin (1989–1992), 3 and a half seasons for FK Vojvodina (1992-February 1996), little more than season and a ...
, Serbian football player * Nikola Grbić, born in Zrenjanin, lived in Klek, Olympic and European champion * Vladimir Grbić, born in Zrenjanin, lived in Klek, Olympic and European champion * Ivan Ivanji, Novelist *
Vladimir Ivić Vladimir Ivić (; born 7 May 1977) is a Serbian football manager and former player who is currently head coach of Krasnodar. A former Serbia and Montenegro international, Ivić is best remembered for his time with Partizan and PAOK at club le ...
, Serbian football player * Đura Jakšić, Serbian painter, studying painting as a student of Danil * Todor Kuljić, sociologist *
Vilmos Lázár Vilmos Lázár de Szkáros (24 October 1817, Nagybecskerek (present-day Zrenjanin, Serbia) – 6 October 1849, Arad) was a honvéd colonel in the Hungarian Army. He was executed for his part in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and is conside ...
, Hungarian general * Ivan Lenđer, Serbian swimmer, World and European junior champion *
Mile Lojpur Milan "Mile" Lojpur (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан-Миле Лојпур) (4 March 1930 – 29 July 2005) was a Serbian and Yugoslav rock musician, notable as one of the first rock and roll musicians in Yugoslavia and one of the pioneers of the Yu ...
, first Serbian and Yugoslav
rocker Rocker or rockers may refer to: Places *Rocker, Montana, a neighborhood in Butte, Montana, United States People *Rocker, a British drummer, formerly of The Flatmates *Fermin Rocker (1907–2004), painter and illustrator *John Rocker (born 1974), ...
*
Željko Lučić Željko Lučić (born 24 February 1968), is a Serbian operatic baritone who has had an active international career since 1993. He was a member of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad from 1993 to 1998 and at the Frankfurt Opera from 1998 to 2 ...
, operatic baritone * Todor Manojlović, writer, literary and art critic *
Aleksandar Markovski Aleksandar Markoski (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Маркоски; born 17 September 1975) is a Serbian former Association football, football player. Career statistics References External links

* Living people 1975 birt ...
, Serbian football player *
Brižitka Molnar Brižitka Molnar ( sr-cyrl, Брижитка Молнар; born 28 July 1985 in Torak, Serbia) is a retired Serbian volleyball player who plays as an outside hitter. She competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics where she was eliminated with the ...
, Serbian volleyball player, European champion *
Maja Ognjenović Maja Ognjenović ( sr-cyrl, Маја Огњеновић; born 6 August 1984) is a Serbian volleyball player and the captain of the Serbia women's national volleyball team. With the national team, she won the gold medal at the 2011 Women's European ...
, Serbian volleyball player, Olympic silver medalist and European champion * Joe Penner (József Pintér), American radio and film comedianJoe Penner biography (in Hungarian)
/ref> *
Snežana Pantić Snežana Pantić (Serbian Cyrillic: Снежана Пантић; nee Perić; 18 June 1978 – 9 February 2022) was a Serbian professional karate competitor and the most successful Serbian female karateka. Biography Born in Zrenjanin, SR Serbia, ...
, Serbian professional karate competitor, World champion *
Nebojša Popov Nebojša (Cyrillic script: Небојша ) is a Slavic given name, meaning "fearless". People with the name include: In arts and entertainment *Nebojša Bradić (born 1956), Serbian theater director *Nebojša Glogovac (born 1969), award-winning ...
, sociologist, member of the
Praxis School The Praxis school was a Marxist humanist philosophical cycle, whose members were influenced by Western Marxism. It originated in Zagreb in the SFR Yugoslavia, during the 1960s. Prominent school's theorists include Gajo Petrović and Milan Kangr ...
*
Marianna Schmidt Marianna Schmidt (1918 – May 27, 2005) was a Hungarian-Canadian artist who worked primarily as a printmaker and painter. Life Schmidt was born in Nagybecskerek, Hungary (later Yugoslavia) in 1918. Her early life was disrupted by war and ...
, Hungarian-Canadian printmaker and painter * Milorad Stanulov, Serbian rower, two-time Olympic medalist *
Mario Szenessy Mario Szenessy (14 September 1930 in Veliki Bečkerek, Yugoslavia (today Zrenjanin, Serbia) – 11 October 1976 in Pinneberg, Germany) was a Hungarian-German author, translator, and literary critic. Biography Mario Szenessy grew up in the Voj ...
, Hungarian-German author *
Uglješa Šajtinac Uglješa Šajtinac (Serbian Cyrillic: Угљеша Шајтинац; born 1 October 1971 in Zrenjanin, Yugoslavia) is a Serbian writer and playwright. Biography Šajtinac grew up in an artistic parents home, his mother Mirjana is an actress, his ...
, Serbian writer *
Nada Šargin Nada Šargin ( sr-cyr, Нада Шаргин: born 19 January 1977) is a Serbian actress.Vukica Strugar (10 May 2015 Novosti.rs. Retrieved on 2019-04-04. She appeared in more than twenty films since 2003. Selected filmography References ...
, Serbian actress *
Ivana Španović Ivana Vuleta (; sr-cyr, Ивана Вулета, , ; born 10 May 1990) is a Serbian long jumper, two-time World indoor champion, three times European indoor champion and reigning European champion. In 2013, Vuleta became the first Serbian tr ...
, Serbian long jumper, Olympic bronze medalist and European champion *
Duško Tošić Duško Tošić ( sr-Cyrl, Душко Тошић, ; born 19 January 1985) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Early career Born in Zrenjanin, Tošić began his career in his native Serbia playing for ...
, Serbian football player *
Zoran Tošić Zoran Tošić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Тошић, ; born 28 April 1987) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Greek Super League club Lamia. He has built a reputation as a free-kick specialist and a tricky dribbler. Toši ...
, Serbian football player * Zvonimir Vujin, Serbian boxer, two-time Olympic medalist *
Zvonimir Vukić Zvonimir Vukić (; born 19 July 1979) is a Serbian former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. A former Serbia and Montenegro international, Vukić appeared at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Club career Vukić started out at his hometow ...
, Serbian football player *
Jelena Živković Jelena Lavko ( sr-cyr, Јелена Лавко; née Živković; born 6 July 1991) is a Serbian handball player for Minaur Baia Mare and the Serbian national team. She was also capped several times for the Serbian national team and participated ...
, Serbian handball player, World Championship silver medalist *
Rudolf Wegscheider Rudolf Wegscheider (18 October 1859 – 8 January 1935) was an Austrian chemist of Banat Swabian origin. Wegscheider studied chemistry and was the founder of the Austrian School of Chemistry. He taught at the University of Vienna, and from 1 ...
, Austrian chemist *
Kija Kockar Kristina "Kija" Kockar ( sr-cyr, Кристина "Кија" Коцкар; born 26 May 1989) is a Serbian singer and TV personality, who rose to prominence by winning the first season of Serbian reality TV show ''Zadruga''. Personal life Kristi ...
, Singer


International relations


Twin towns – sister cities

Zrenjanin is twinned with: * Békéscsaba, Hungary * Arad, Romania * Timișoara, Romania * Laktaši, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina


See also

* List of places in Serbia *
Central Banat District The Central Banat District ( sr, Средњобанатски округ, Srednjobanatski okrug, ; hu, Közép-bánsági körzet) is one of seven administrative districts of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It lies in the geogr ...
* Banat *
Zrenjanin Airport Zrenjanin Airport (Serbian language, Serbian Latin: ''Aerodrom Zrenjanin'', Cyrillic: ''Аеродром 3peњaнин'') , also known as Ečka Airport ( sr, Аеродром Ечка / ''Aerodrom Ečka''), is an airport in the Zrenjanin Municipal ...


References

;Bibliography * Milan Tutorov, ''Banatska rapsodija - istorika Zrenjanina i Banata'', Novi Sad, 2001.


External links

*
Tourist organization of Zrenjanin

Zrenjanin online camera
{{Authority control Populated places in Serbian Banat Populated places in Vojvodina Populated places established in the 14th century Municipalities and cities of Vojvodina Central Banat District Holocaust locations in Yugoslavia Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Great Importance Starčevo–Körös–Criș culture