Bela Crkva ( sr-cyrl, Бела Црква, ; ; ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District 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 town has a population of 7,456, while the Bela Crkva municipality has 14,451 inhabitants (2022 census). Bela Crkva lakes at the outskirts of the town are a popular summer tourist destination.

Name

The name of the town ''Bela Crkva'' means "white church" in English. In Romanian, the town is known as ''Biserica Albă'' (formerly Albești), in German as ''Weißkirchen'', in Hungarian as ''Fehértemplom'' (formerly Fejéregyház), and in Turkish as ''Aktabya''.

History

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

findings of

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

s and burial with Greek-style pots dating to late fifth century BCE have been found in the area. The town was founded in 1717 when this region was included into the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

. It was part of the Banatian Military Frontier of the Monarchy and, since 1774, was a seat of the Illyrian (Serbian) section of the Banatian Frontier. Briefly, in 1787–1788, the town was controlled by the Ottomans. In 1848–1849, the town was part of autonomous

Serbian Vojvodina The Serbian Vojvodina () was a short-lived self-proclaimed autonomous province within the Austrian Empire during the Revolutions of 1848, which existed until 1849 when it was transformed into the new (official) Austrian province named Voivodes ...

, but in 1849 it was again placed under military administration. With the abolishment of the Military Frontier, the town was included into Temes county of the

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 ...

, one of two autonomous parts of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. The town was also a seat of the district since 1867. According to the 1910 census, the town itself was mainly populated by

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

with a group of French, but its surrounding municipal area was mainly populated by

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 ...

. Census recorded 11,524 citizens in the town, of whom 6,062 spoke German language, 1,994 Serbian, 1,806 Romanian, and 1,213 Hungarian. The municipal area numbered 36,831 inhabitants, of whom 20,987 spoke Serbian, 8,234 Romanian, and 4,791 German. The total population of the town and its municipal area counted together was 48,355, of whom 22,981 spoke Serbian, 10,853 German, 10,040 Romanian, and 2,122 Hungarian. In the 1920s, it was a center of Russian

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

in Yugoslavia. Between 1918 and 1945 Bela Crkva was part of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, 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" () h ...

. From 1945 until 1992 it was part of the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. From 1992-2006 it was part of

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

. Since 2006 it has been part of the independent republic of Serbia.

Inhabited places

Bela Crkva municipality includes the town of Bela Crkva and the following villages: * Banatska Palanka * Banatska Subotica * Vračev Gaj * Grebenac * Dobričevo * Dupljaja * Jasenovo * Kajtasovo * Kaluđerovo * Kruščica * Kusić * Crvena Crkva * Češko Selo

Demographics

According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Bela Crkva had 17,367 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

Settlements with Serb

ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

majority are: Bela Crkva, Banatska Palanka, Banatska Subotica, Vračev Gaj, Dupljaja, Jasenovo, Kajtasovo, Kaluđerovo, Kruščica, Kusić, and Crvena Crkva. The settlement with Romanian ethnic majority is Grebenac. The settlement with Hungarian ethnic majority is Dobričevo. The settlement with

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

ethnic majority is Češko Selo. The ethnic composition of the municipality (as of 2011 census):

Gallery

File:Bela Crkva, památník rudoarmějců.jpg, Bela Crkva monument dedicated to fallen Red Army Soviet soldiers File:Bela Crkva, ruský chrám.jpg, The Russian church File:Bela Crkva, Orthodox Church.jpg, The Romanian Orthodox church File:Bela_Crkva,_Catholic_church,_retouched.jpg, The St. Ana Catholic Church File:Bela Crkva, ulice II.jpg, Bela Crkva street File:Bela Crkva, ulice, pohled ke katolickému kostelu.jpg, Bela Crkva street File:Bela Crkva (Vojvodina).jpg, A typical sight in Bela Crkva, Vojvodina File:Lake of Bela Crkva.jpg, One of the lakes of Bela Crkva

References

External links

www.belacrkva.eu

www.belacrkva.rs

www.belacrkva.co.rs

www.bela-crkva.net
{{Authority control Populated places in Serbian Banat Populated places in South Banat District Municipalities and cities of Vojvodina Towns in Serbia