Bilje () is a municipality in the Baranja region of

Osijek-Baranja County Osijek-Baranja County (, , ) is a Counties of Croatia, county in Croatia, located in northeastern Slavonia and Baranya (region), Baranja which is defined part of the Pannonian Plain. Its center is Osijek. Other towns include Đakovo, Našice, Val ...

, in north-eastern

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. It is 5 km northeast of

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

, on the edge of the

Kopački Rit Kopački Rit is a nature park in eastern Croatia in the municipalities of Bilje and Kneževi Vinogradi. It is located northwest of the confluence of the Drava and the Danube, situated at the border with Serbia. It comprises many backwaters a ...

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes are pres ...

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

(1663-1736) constructed a hunting lodge here, Bilje Castle, which later became property of the Teschen branch of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

family.

Name

Its name derived from the Slavic word "bilje" ("herb" in English). In

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

the village is known as ''Belje'', in Hungarian as ''Bellye'', and in

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

as Биље. The area occupied by the

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' ...

of Bilje is 260.15 km².

Geography

The municipality of Bilje include following settlements and population (2011 census): *Bilje - 3,613 *

Kopačevo Kopačevo () is a settlement in the region of Baranya (region), Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Bilje, Croatia, Bilje municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 608 people. History In classical antiquit ...

- 559 * Kozjak - 69 * Lug - 764 *

Podunavlje Podunavlje is the name of the Danube river basin parts located in Croatia (Slavonia, Syrmia, and Baranya) and Serbia (Vojvodina, Belgrade and Eastern Serbia). Podunavlje is located on the southern edge of Pannonian Basin. In its wider meaning, ...

- 1 * Tikveš - 10 * Vardarac - 630 * Zlatna Greda - 5

Climate

Since records began in 1981, the highest temperature recorded at the local weather station was , on 24 August 2012.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 5,642 inhabitants in the municipality, including: *62.87%

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

*29.62%

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 ...

*3.83%

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 ...

*1.05%

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 ...

*0.71% Romani

Politics

Minority councils

Although though the

Government of the Republic of Croatia The Government of Croatia (), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia (), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government (), is the main executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the Prime Minister of Croatia, president o ...

does not guarantee official Croatian-Hungarian bilinguialism here, the statute of Bilje itself does. Preserving traditional Hungarian place names and assigning street names to Hungarian historical figures is legally mandated and carried out. Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting tasks for the local or regional authorities in which they are advocating for minority rights and interests, integration into public life and participation in the management of local affairs. At the

2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives elections The 2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives elections () were held on 7 May in certain regional (counties) and local administrative units (municipalities and towns & cities). Background Elections were announced in Nar ...

and

Serbs of Croatia The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Хрватски Срби, Hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in C ...

each fulfilled legal requirements to elect 10 members municipal minority councils of the Bilje Municipality.

History

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Bilje was part of the

Baranya County Baranya (, ; German language, German:Croatian language, Croatian:'' Baranjska županija'') is a Counties of Hungary, county () in southern Hungary. It is part of the Southern Transdanubia statistical region and the historical Baranya (region), B ...

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 ...

References

Literature

* {{authority control Populated places in Osijek-Baranja County Municipalities of Croatia Baranya (region) Populated places in Croatia where Hungarian is an official language