Bačka Topola ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка Топола, ; , ) is a town and municipality located in the

North Bačka District The North Bačka District (, ) is one of administrative districts of Serbia. It lies in the Bačka geographical region. According to the 2022 census, the North Bačka District has a population of 160,163 inhabitants. The administrative center ...

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 ...

. The municipality is composed of 23 local communities and, according to the 2022 census, has population of 26,228 while the town itself has 11,930 inhabitants. Four official languages are used in the municipality: Serbian, Hungarian, Rusyn, and Slovak.

Name

The name of the town is derived from the Serbian word ''topola'' (топола) ("poplar" in English). The first part of the name of the town was given to designate its location in the region of

Bačka Bačka ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska (), is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary. ...

in contrast to places with similar names, like Topola in

Šumadija Šumadija ( sr-Cyrl, Шумадија, ) is a geographical region in the central part of Serbia. The area used to be heavily covered with forests, hence the name (from ''šuma'' 'forest'). The city of Kragujevac is the administrative center of t ...

or Banatska Topola in

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

History

The town was mentioned first in 1462 under name ''Fibaych''. This settlement was a part of the Kingdom of Hungary, and was inhabited by Hungarians in the middle ages. The village was destroyed in the 16th century and new smaller settlement was later built at its location. Name ''Topola'' was first recorded in 1543, while according to the Ottoman defters from 1580, 1582, and 1590, it was mentioned as a village, whose population numbered between 21 and 23 houses. At this time, the inhabitants of the settlement were

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 ...

. In 1704, Topola was destroyed by

kuruc Kuruc (, plural ''kurucok''), also spelled kurutz, refers to a group of armed anti- Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711. Over time, the term kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national inde ...

rebels. In 1731, Topola was mentioned as an uninhabited heath. In 1750, the new settlement was founded at this location and 200 Hungarian and Slovak families arrived here from

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary (, "Upland"), is the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been called ''Felső-Magyarország'' ( literally: "Upper Hungary"; ). During the ...

. The period of historical improvement starts in 1803 with the arrival of Krai family, who built their castle, planted a park, and bred horses and greyhounds. The development was abruptly interrupted by the upheaval of 1849. In the late 19th century the town recovered, and the prominent Church of the Immaculate Virgin Mary was completed in 1906. It was a district center in

Bács-Bodrog County Bács-Bodrog County (, , ) was an administrative county () of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1802 to 1920. Most of its territory is currently part of Serbia, while a smaller part belongs to Hungary. The capital of the county was Zombor (present-day ...

as "Topolya" until 1918, when it became part of

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

(renamed to

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in 1929). It was part of Yugoslavia until 1991, with the exception of Hungarian occupation between 1941 and 1944 during

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 ...

Inhabited places

Bačka Topola municipality includes the town of Bačka Topola and the following villages: * Bagremovo () * Bački Sokolac * Bajša () * Bogaraš () * Gornja Rogatica * Gunaroš () * Karađorđevo * Kavilo () * Krivaja * Mali Beograd * Mićunovo * Njegoševo * Novo Orahovo () * Obornjača () * Pačir () * Panonija * Pobeda () * Srednji Salaš * Stara Moravica () * Svetićevo * Tomislavci * Zobnatica () Note: For the inhabited places with an absolute or relative Hungarian ethnic majority, the names are also given in Hungarian.

Demographics

According to the 2022 census results, the municipality of Bačka Topola has a population of 26,228 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

Local communities with a Hungarian majority are: Bačka Topola (Hungarian: ''Topolya''), Bajša (Hungarian: ''Bajsa''), Pačir (Hungarian: ''Pacsér''), Stara Moravica (Hungarian: ''Bácskossuthfalva''), Zobnatica (Hungarian: ''Andrásnépe''), Bogaraš (Hungarian: ''Bogaras-Felváros''), Obornjača (Hungarian: ''Nagyvölgy''), Bagremovo (Hungarian: ''Brazília''), Gunaroš (Hungarian: ''Gunaras''), Novo Orahovo (Hungarian: ''Zentagunaras''), and Kavilo (Hungarian: ''Rákóczifalu'' or ''Kavilló''). Local communities with a Serb majority are: Gornja Rogatica, Srednji Salaš, Panonija, Orešković, Bački Sokolac, Karađorđevo, Mićunovo, Njegoševo, Krivaja, Svetićevo, and Mali Beograd. Pobeda (Hungarian: ''Győztes'' or ''Pobedabirtok'') is an ethnically-mixed local community with a Hungarian relative majority. Krivaja, Mali Beograd, and Svetićevo have over 20% Hungarians, as well as other minorities, while Bačka Topola, Pačir, Zobnatica, and Pobeda have over 20% Serbs. The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of employed people per their core activity (as of 2016):

Culture

The Museum of Bačka Topola is located in a historic baroque castle, dating back from the 1810s. The lower floor contains a permanent exhibit about notable local residents. The Cultural Center of Bačka Topola hosts theater plays, music performances, and other events, in Hungarian and Serbian languages. The Carnival of Honey is a major cultural event with thousands of attendees, held in September.

Sport

The most popular local football team is TSC Bačka Topola, which plays in the

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

(1st national tier). Founded in 1913, it is one of the oldest football teams in the region.

Notable people

* Branko Bošković former football player *

Andrija Kaluđerović Andrija Kaluđerović (; born 5 July 1987) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career The much-travelled Kaluđerović made his senior debut for OFK Beograd under manager Stevica Kuzmanovski, coming on a ...

football player * Félix Lajkó violinist, zither player, composer, movie actor * Nikola Žigić former football player * György Mezey former football player and manager *

Branislav Simić Branislav Simić ( sr-cyrl, Бранислав Симић; born 21 March 1935) is a retired Greco-Roman wrestler from Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of ...

Greco-Roman wrestler, Olympic champion * Eleonora Wild former basketball player, Olympic and World Championship silver medalist * István Dudás former football player * Paul Kray soldier * Dušan Tadić football player

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Bačka Topola is twinned with: * Belváros-Lipótváros,

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Gheorgheni Gheorgheni (; ) is a Municipiu, city in Harghita County, Romania, with a population of 15,844, as of 2021. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The city administers four villages: Covacipeter (''Kovács ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

* Kiskunmajsa,

Rožňava Rožňava (, , Latin: ''Rosnavia'') is a town in Slovakia, approximately by road from Košice in the Košice Region, and has a population of 19,182. The town is an economic and tourist centre of the Gemer. Rožňava is now a popular tourist attr ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

* Szentes,

* Taksony,