Bački Petrovac

Bački Petrovac ( sr-Cyrl, Бачки Петровац; ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 5,227, while the municipality has 11,512 inhabitants.

Name

In Serbian Cyrillic the town is known as Бачки Петровац, in Serbian Latin as ''Bački Petrovac'', in Slovak as ''Petrovec'' or ''Báčsky Petrovec'', in Hungarian as ''Petrőc'', and in German as ''Petrovacz''.

Bački Petrovac is the economical, cultural and administrative center of the municipality. It is a settlement of a town character, while the other three are villages of Pannonian type.

History

Being in south Bačka which according to special climatic and other conditions is one of the most fertile parts of Serbia, very suitable for settling down, here in this region people made their settlements very early. The first written records about Petrovac appears in the 13th century when Petrovac is mentioned as a church parish belonging to Bač County. Later that name is changed into Petrovac. Its first inhabitants were the Hungarians and Serbs. In the first half of the 18th century (1745) the Slovaks settled here. Since then Petrovac developed so that it represents cultural, economic, clerical and political center of the Slovaks in this region.

The first library was founded in Petrovac in 1845, and the first theater play was performed here in 1866. Slovak Gymnasium was established in Petrovac in 1919.

Inhabited places

Bački Petrovac municipality includes the town of Bački Petrovac and the following villages:
* Gložan ()
* Kulpin ()
* Maglić

Note: for the places with Slovak majority, the names are also given in Slovak.

Demographics

According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has 11,512 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic Slovaks form a majority of the population in the municipality. Settlements with Slovak majorities are: Bački Petrovac (Slovak: Báčsky Petrovec), Gložan (Slovak: Hložany), and Kulpin (Slovak: Kulpín). There is one settlement with a Serb majority: Maglić. The town is located in southern Bačka (hence the name), some 25 km northwest of Novi Sad, the capital of Vojvodina. It is the cultural center of Slovaks in the province, and other places in the eponymous municipalities are also inhabited by many Slovaks.

The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Economy

Agriculture is the most important economic activity based on the production of field crops (wheat, corn, broom weed, sugar beet, hop), cattle, breeding dud ponetry and vegetable crops. Besides agriculture there is also some industry manufacture, metal and chemical. Manufacture of wood civil engineering, printing activities, etc.

The following table gives a preview of total number of employed people per their core activity (as of 2017):

Cultural Monuments

The Slovak Evangelical Church in Bački Petrovac was errected in 1783, and enlarged and refurbished in 1822. Next to the church is a one-story parish house, with two rows of windows, decorated with plant and geometric motifs. The complex is protected as a cultural monument of great importance.

The oldest house in Bački Petrovac dates back from the late 18th century. It contains typical ethnographic objects from this area and is a part of the traditional architecture complex of the Museum of Vojvodina Slovaks.

Gallery

Image:Oldest house in Bački Petrovac (2).jpg, The "Oldest house in Bački Petrovac" built in 1799
Image:Evangelist Church in Bački Petrovac (2).jpg, The Evangelist Church in Bački Petrovac
Image:Gymnasium Jan Kolar.jpg, The building of the Ján Kollár Gymnasium and Students' Home in Bački Petrovac, first half of the 20th century
File:Proclamation Bački Petrovac WWII.jpg, WW2-era poster from Bački Petrovac in Hungarian and Serbian, threatening twentyfold reprisal for the killing of soldiers by partisans
Image:Matica slovenská in Bački Petrovac (2).jpg, Matica slovenská in Bački Petrovac
Image:Slovak Vojvodina Theatre.jpg, The Slovak Vojvodina Theatre in Bački Petrovac
Image:Workers building a road in Bački Petrovac (1).jpg, Workers building a road in Bački Petrovac
Image:Zuska Medveđova gallery.jpg, Gallery of Zuzka Medveďová in Bački Petrovac
Image:Catholic church in Bački Petrovac.jpg, The Catholic Church in Bački Petrovac

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Bački Petrovac is twinned with:
* Babušnica, Serbia
* Martin, Slovakia
* Nitra, Slovakia
* Ružomberok, Slovakia
* Stará Ľubovňa, Slovakia
* Vukovar, Croatia
* Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany

See also

* List of places in Serbia
* List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina

References

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

External links

*

Ján Kollár Grammar School


Petrovec Online community


Matica slovenská v Srbsku


Vladimír Hurban Vladimírov Theatre


Hlas Ľudu weekly magazine

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Places in Bačka
Populated places in South Bačka District
Municipalities and cities of Vojvodina
Slovak communities in Serbia
Towns in Serbia