Žitište
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Žitište ( sr-Cyrl, Житиште, ; ; ) is a town and municipality located in the
Central Banat District The Central Banat District (, ) is one of Administrative districts of Serbia, administrative districts of Serbia. It lies in the geographical region of Banat. According to the 2022 census, the Central Banat District has a population of 157,711 ...
of the autonomous province of
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...
,
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
. As of 2022 census, the town itself has a population of 2,550, while Žitište municipality has 13,412 inhabitants.


Name

In Serbian, the town is known as ''Žitište'' (
Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...
: Житиште), in Romanian as ''Jitiște'' or ''Zitiște'', in German as ''Sankt Georgen an der Bega'', and in Hungarian as ''Bégaszentgyörgy'' or ''Begaszentgyörgy''. The Serbian name of the town derived from the Serbian word "žito" ("wheat" in English). Its old names used in Serbian were ''Begej Sveti Đurađ'' and ''Senđurađ''. The Hungarian name of the town derived from the Hungarian family name Szentgyörgyi.


History

Žitište was founded in the 14th century during the administration of the medieval
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
, under the name of Zenthgyurgh (Szentgyörgyi). In 1660/1666, it was called Senđurađ, which was recorded as a settlement repopulated by ethnic
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
during Ottoman rule. In the beginning of the 18th century, the settlement was completely abandoned and in 1723 it was recorded as an uninhabited heath. It was settled again in 1724 by Serb and Romanian settlers. In 1736/37, the settlement had 27 houses. Because of the Austro- Turkish war (1736–1739) and pestilence, the number of inhabitants decreased and in 1740 the population of the settlement numbered 18 houses. In 1753, Begej Sveti Đurađ was settled by 1,000 Serb frontiersmen from Pomorišje, Potisje and Veliki Bečkerek, and in the same year it was recorded on map as a "Serb-inhabited settlement". In 1758, Begej Sveti Đurađ had 45 houses, and in 1773 it had 182 houses. Its church was built in 1758, and it was also used as a school. In 1781, Begej Sveti Đurađ became a property of Isak Kiš (Kis Izsák), who was a trader of
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
origin. From 1800 to 1805, the settlement was moved to another location closer to the Begej river. Part of the Serb population moved from the settlement and settled in the Military Frontier, while German colonists settled in Begej Sveti Đurađ instead of them. Begej Sveti Đurađ was a municipality until 1877, when it was joined to the municipality of Veliki Bečkerek. In 1880, the population of the settlement numbered 3,041 people, of whom 1,983 were Catholics, 1,033 were
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
, 19 were
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 6 were others. In accordance with the census made in 1910, the linguistic distribution of the 2,814 inhabitants included 1,454 who spoke German, 1,034 who spoke Serbian and 214 who spoke Hungarian. In 1931, the population of Begej Sveti Đurađ included 1,318 inhabitants who spoke the
German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...
, 1,055 who spoke the
Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of ...
, 188 who spoke the
Hungarian language Hungarian, or Magyar (, ), is an Ugric language of the Uralic language family spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighboring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Out ...
, 34 who spoke other
Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...
, and 94 who spoke other languages. In 1940, population of Begej Sveti Đurađ numbered 3,055 people, of whom 1,642 were
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
, 1,387 were Catholics, 16 were
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 10 were others. As a consequence of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and
Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...
occupation, the German population left or was evicted from Begej Sveti Đurađ after the war, while 270 Serb families from Bosanska Krajina came to the settlement. In 1947, the name of the settlement was officially changed to Žitište. In 1960, Žitište became a seat of its
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
. On 2 July 2016, a man killed his wife in a mass shooting that occurred at a local cafe. Four others were also killed and an additional 22 were injured. The shooter was arrested by police after the attack.


Inhabited places

Žitište municipality includes the town of Žitište and the following villages: * Banatski Dvor * Banatsko Višnjićevo * Banatsko Karađorđevo * Međa * Novi Itebej () * Ravni Topolovac *
Srpski Itebej Srpski Itebej (; ) is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Žitište municipality, Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (78.21%) and a Hungarian minority (10.60%), with a population of 2,405 ...
* Torak () * Torda () * Hetin () * Čestereg


Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the population of the municipality of Žitište was 16,841 inhabitants.


Ethnic groups

;Municipality *
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
= 10,436 (61.97%) *
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...
= 3,371 (20.02%) *
Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...
= 1,412 (8.38%) * Romani = 832 (4.94%) * Others and undeclared = 790 (4.69%) Settlements with Serb ethnic majority are: Žitište, Banatsko Višnjićevo, Banatsko Karađorđevo, Međa, Ravni Topolovac,
Srpski Itebej Srpski Itebej (; ) is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Žitište municipality, Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (78.21%) and a Hungarian minority (10.60%), with a population of 2,405 ...
, and Čestereg. Settlements with Hungarian ethnic majority are: Novi Itebej (Magyarittabé in Hungarian), Torda, and Hetin (Tamásfalva in Hungarian). The settlement with Romanian ethnic majority is Torak (Begejci). Ethnically mixed settlement with relative Serb majority is Banatski Dvor (Szőllősudvarnok in Hungarian). ;Town According to the 2011 census the town of Žitište had 2,903 inhabitants, including: *
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
= 2,511 (86.50%) * Romani = 175 (6.03%) *
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...
= 58 (2.00%) * Others and undeclared = 159 (5.48%)


Language

Serbian, Hungarian, and Romanian language are officially used by municipal authorities.


Sports

* KK Sveti Đorđe,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
team


Gallery

Image:Zitiste church.jpg, The Eastern Orthodox church of Saint George, built in 1810. File:Orthodox church of Saint George in Žitište, Serbia, under reconstruction, September 2007.jpg, The Eastern Orthodox church of Saint George under re-construction File:Relief depicting Saint George, above the entrance of Orthodox church in Žitište, Serbia.jpg, Relief depicting Saint George, above the entrance of the Eastern Orthodox church Image:Rocky statue Zitiste.jpg, Monument of Rocky Balboa, built in 2007 in Žitište


Notable inhabitants

* Radomir Antić


Trivia

In 2007, local authorities unveiled a monument in the centre of the town, dedicated to famous, fictional boxer Rocky Balboa

In 2009, filmmaker Barry Avrich produced and directed the documentary, "Amerika Idol" about the making and dedication of the Rocky statue.


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 ...
*
List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina This is a list of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina, a province of Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = ...
*
Municipalities of Serbia The municipalities and cities ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, општине и градови, opštine i gradovi, separator=" / ") are the first-level Administrative divisions of Serbia, administrative division and the basic level of local government of Serbi ...
*
Central Banat District The Central Banat District (, ) is one of Administrative districts of Serbia, administrative districts of Serbia. It lies in the geographical region of Banat. According to the 2022 census, the Central Banat District has a population of 157,711 ...


References


Further reading

* Ljubica Budać, Begej Sveti Đurađ - Žitište, Žitište, 2000. * Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1996.


External links


Official web site of Žitište

Citizens' Association Rocky Balboa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zitiste Populated places in Serbian Banat Populated places in Vojvodina Municipalities and cities of Vojvodina Central Banat District