Erdut () is a village and a municipality in 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 ...

some 37 km east of the major city 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 ...

. Lying on the border with neighbouring

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 ...

, it was the site of the signing of the 1995 Erdut Agreement, which initiated the UNTAES transitional administration over the Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia. The village of Erdut is the third largest in the municipality, after

Dalj Dalj ( sr-Cyrl, Даљ, , , ) is a village on the Danube in eastern Croatia, near the confluence of the Drava and Danube, on the border with Serbia. It is located on the D519 (Croatia), D519 road, south of its intersection with the D213 road and t ...

and Bijelo Brdo. The municipality is part of the

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 eastern

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

. The municipal center is in the largest village of Dalj.

Name and languages

The name Erdut comes from the local Hungarian name (''Erdőd'') meaning "forest road". In other languages, the village in German is known as ''Erdung'' and in Serbian as Ердут. Due to the local minority population, the Erdut municipality prescribe the use of not only Croatian as the official language, but 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 ...

and

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 ...

alphabet as well. As of 2023, most of the legal requirements for the fulfillment of bilingual standards have been carried out. Cyrillic is used on official seals, buildings and street and traffic signs. Cyrillic is used on most but not all official documents. There public legal and administrative employees proficient in the script. Preserving traditional Serbian place names and assigning street names to Serbian historical figures is legally mandated and carried out.

Geography

The municipality has a total area of 158 km² (61 sq mi) and is the largest member municipality of

Joint Council of Municipalities The Joint Council of Municipalities in Croatia (; ; abbr. ЗВО, ZVO) is an elected consultative sui generis body which constitutes a form of cultural Self-governance, self-government of Serbs of Croatia, Serbs in the eastern Croatian Podunav ...

. The

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

(5.6 km) and

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

(34.825 km) rivers flow through the municipality. The territory of the municipality is completely flat very fertile black soil. The elevation of the village of Erdut is 158 m. It is located at the end of the D213 road near border crossing with Serbia. The railway station is located in Novi Erdut (''New Erdut'') hamlet, about 1 km south of the village, on the

Vukovar Vukovar (; sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, , ) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern Regions of Croatia, regions of Syrmia and Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka (river), Vuka and the Danube. Vukova ...

-Erdut- Bogojevo (Serbia) railway.

History

The settlement was first mentioned in 1335 under the Hungarian name Erdöd and then as a city in 1472. It was successively ruled by

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

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 ...

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 ...

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

and

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 ...

Croatian War of Independence

When Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, eastern Slavonia was soon overrun by the Yugoslav People's Army and Serb paramilitaries, led by the notorious warlord, Željko Ražnatović known by the name Arkan. The battle for Erdut quickly ended that summer as the entire

Croat 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 ...

ian population was expelled or killed along with other minorities including

Czechs The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...

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 ...

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 ...

Ruthenians A ''Ruthenian'' and ''Ruthene'' are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common Ethnonym, ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term ...

and

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

in an act of

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...

. Their homes were soon occupied by other Serbs. Many buildings and homes were destroyed, including the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Arkan soon set up a training camp for his Serb Volunteer Guard in Erdut, which became headquarters until the end of the war, when Croatian forces returned according to a peaceful Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium.

Erdut Agreement

On November 12, 1995, officials signed what is commonly called the Erdut Agreement in which the part of eastern Slavonia still occupied by Serbs would be integrated back into Croatia, gradually allowing some of the exiled refugees to return to their homes. This agreement was the basis for the establishment of

. Erdut has been under Croatian control since 1998.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2011 census, the municipality has a population is 7,308. The municipal population consists of

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 ...

(55,56%),

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 ...

(37,96%) and

(5,06%). There are 4 settlements in municipality:

Religion

Dalj is seat of the Eparchy of Osječko polje and Baranja of the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

Politics

Joint Council of Municipalities

The Municipality of Erdut is one of seven Serb majority member municipalities within the

, inter-municipal

sui generis ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind" or "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". It denotes an exclusion to the larger system an object is in relation to. Several disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. ...

organization of ethnic Serb community in eastern Croatia established on the basis of Erdut Agreement. As Serb community constitute majority of the population of the municipality it is represented by 2 delegated Councillors at the Assembly of the Joint Council of Municipalities, double the number of Councilors to the number from Serb minority municipalities in Eastern Croatia.

Municipal government

The municipality assembly is composed of 13 representatives. As of 2021, the member parties are:

Minority councils

Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting the local or regional authorities, 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 Erdut Municipality.

Economy

Erdut development index is between 50 and 76% of the Croatian average, and is underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the First Category Area of Special State Concern by the

Government 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 ...

Culture

Points of Interest

The municipality is home of Eparchy of Osječko polje and Baranja, and there is also Erdut Castle.

Notable natives and residents

Milutin Milanković Milutin Milanković (sometimes Anglicisation of names, anglicised as Milutin Milankovitch; sr-Cyrl, Милутин Миланковић, ; 28 May 1879 – 12 December 1958) was a Serbian mathematician, astronomer, climatologist, geophysics, geo ...

, born in

* Anton Tittjung, World War II concentration camp guard, who was stripped of his U.S. citizenship for his wartime activities.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{authority control Municipalities of Croatia Slavonia Joint Council of Municipalities Croatia–Serbia border crossings Populated places on the Danube Serb communities in Croatia