
Irig (, ; ) is a town and municipality located in the
Srem District
The Srem District (, ) is one of administrative districts of Serbia. It lies in the geographical regions of Syrmia and Mačva. According to the 2022 census, the Srem District has a population of 282,547 inhabitants. The administrative center is ...
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 4,415, while Irig municipality has 10,866 inhabitants.
Name
In
Serbian, the town is known as ''Irig'' (Ириг), in
Croatian as ''Irig'', in
Hungarian as ''Ireg'' or ''Ürög'', 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 ...
as ''Irick'', in
Slovak as ''Irig'', and in
Rusyn as Ириґ.
History
Irig was first mentioned in the historical documents in 1225. In the 15th century, the masters of the town were Serbian despots
Vuk Grgurević,
Đorđe Branković
Đorđe Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Бранковић; anglicized as George; also known as Saint Maksim; 1461–1516) was the last male member of the Branković dynasty, and titular Despot of Serbia from 1486 to 1497. The title was grant ...
, and
Jovan Branković
Jovan Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Јован Бранковић, ; c. 1465 – 10 December 1502) was the titular Despot of Serbia from 1493 until his death in 1502. The title of Despot (court title), despot was given to him by Hungarian king Vladislas I ...
. During the 15th and 16th century, ten Orthodox monasteries were built in the surrounding of Irig (Two of those were located just near the town).
Between 1526 and 1699, the town was under
Ottoman administration. During this time, it belonged to the
Sanjak of Syrmia, and was the administrative seat of one of the seven nahijas in that sanjak. In 1665, the town had 2,000 houses, one mosque and two monasteries. In this time, Irig was mostly inhabited by Muslim population.
Since 1699, Irig was part of 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 ...
. In the 18th century, Irig was one of the most important market centers in Srem and most of its inhabitants were Serbs.
In 1795–1796, the population of the town was decimated by plague. Popular local story claims that the patient zero was Anđelija Kuzmanović. She attended her sister's funeral in the village of
Krnješevci near
Stara Pazova, and brought back with her the plague infested rug to Irig, thus inadvertently spreading the disease. Kuzmanović died from plague on 14 June 1795. Historically, the plague was brought to
Zemun
Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality in the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown ...
by the Ottoman merchants and soldiers in the spring of 1795. Frightened citizens escaped to their relatives on Fruška Gora, spreading the disease.
Austrian authorities didn't try to heal the diseased, except for providing some painkiller medications, as their main goal was to isolate Irig and the surrounding villages as denizens of Irig also fled into the mountain. Punishment for the breaking out of the military imposed quarantine was death. After four months the residents returned only to find the scorched town: out of 912 houses, Austrian authorities burned or demolished 402. From the total population of 4,813, 2,548 died of this disease. It took over 120 years for Irig to reach the 1795 population. In appreciation for establishing the strict border between two towns and preventing the spreading of the plague into the nearby
Ruma
Ruma (; ) is a town and municipality in the Srem District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the town has a population of 27,747, while the municipality has a population of 48,621.
History
Traces of organized human life ...
, citizens of Ruma built the memorial on the location of this "border crossing", made from 800 bricks taken from the demolished houses in Irig, which still stands.
[ Built in 1797 and named "Kipovi" ("Statues"), the monument is protected as the cultural monument.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Irig was a district capital in the ]Syrmia County
Syrmia County (, , , ) was a historic administrative subdivision ('' županija'') of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen ( Transleithania), the Hungarian par ...
of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (; or ; ) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was created in 1868 by merging the kingdoms of Kingdom of Croatia (Habs ...
.
According to the 1900 census, the population of the Irig municipality numbered 22,313 inhabitants, of whom 16,893 were Orthodox Serbs, while the town of Irig itself had 5,196 inhabitants, of whom 3,936 were Orthodox Serbs. According to the 1910 census, the population of the Irig municipality numbered 25,320 inhabitants, of whom 18,331 spoke Serbian, 3,552 Hungarian, 1,816 Croatian, and 1,031 German.
Since 1918, Irig was part of the 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 ...
(later renamed to 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 ...
) and subsequent South Slavic and Serb states. During World War II, 417 inhabitants of the town were executed by German fascists.
Characteristics
Located on the southern slopes of Fruška Gora, Irig has a specific microclimate which provides excellent conditions for viticulture
Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...
.
In the area surrounding Irig, there are 8 monasteries surviving today, built in the 15th and 16th century: Velika Remeta, Krušedol, Staro Hopovo, Mala Remeta, Novo Hopovo, Jazak, Grgeteg and Vrdnik.[
Serbian reading-room (''Srpska čitaonica'') is the oldest Serbian library in Vojvodina. It was founded in 1842 by Dimitrije Krestić, ]archimandrite
The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...
of the Krušedol monastery. Originally it was located in three rooms of the local school (two were reading-rooms, one was library). Today it is situated in the Culture House, with 45,000 books, numerous painting, documents and photographs. The library contained first edition of works of Dositej Obradović
Dositej Obradović ( sr-Cyrl, Доситеј Обрадовић, ; 17 February 1739 – 7 April 1811) was a Serbian writer, biographer, diarist, philosopher, pedagogue, educational reformer, linguist and the first minister of education of Se ...
, oldest editions of the '' Letopis Matice srpske'', etc.
From the earliest days, both local and foreign newspapers (from Belgrade, Serbia, Pest, Croatia, Germany, etc.) could be read in it. 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 ...
, German soldiers and officers used the library as their quarters. Before their withdrawal, they blew up the building which then burned to the ground. The inhabitants rebuilt it themselves. Over 500 old books were donated by the citizens. The first theatrical shows in Irig were played in 1905.[
]
Inhabited places
Irig municipality includes the town of Irig and the following villages:
* Velika Remeta
* Vrdnik
* Grgeteg
* Dobrodol
* Jazak
* Krušedol Prnjavor
* Krušedol Selo
* Mala Remeta
* Neradin
* Rivica
* Šatrinci
Demographics
According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Irig has 10,866 inhabitants.
Ethnic groups
The total population of the Irig municipality is 10,866, which includes:
*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 ...
= 8,534 (78.54%)
*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 ...
= 762 (7.01%)
*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 ...
= 232 (2.14%)
* Roma = 166 (1.53%)
* Others and undeclared = 1,172 (10.79%)
Most of the local communities are ethnically Serb, while two have a Hungarian majority: Šatrinci (Hungarian: Satrinca) and Dobrodol (Hungarian: Dobradópuszta).
Economy
The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):
Twin cities
* Topolčani
Topolcani () is a village in the Prilep Municipality of North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to ...
, North Macedonia
See also
*List of cities in Serbia
This is the list of cities and towns in Serbia, according to the criteria used by Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, which classifies the settlements into ''urban'' and ''other'', depending not only on size, but also on other administr ...
*Municipalities of Serbia
The municipalities and cities ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, општине и градови, opštine i gradovi, separator=" / ") are the first-level Administrative divisions of Serbia, administrative division and the basic level of local government of Serbi ...
*Syrmia District
The Srem District (, ) is one of administrative districts of Serbia. It lies in the geographical regions of Syrmia and Mačva. According to the 2022 census, the Srem District has a population of 282,547 inhabitants. The administrative center is ...
References
Other sources
*Dr Željko Vučković - Stevan Pištević, Povesnica Kulturno-umetničkog društva "Zmaj" u Irigu 1905–2005, Irig, 2005.
*Ladislav Varga, Mozaik žitelja iriških, Novi Sad, 2001.
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Populated places in Srem District
Municipalities and cities of Vojvodina
Towns in Serbia
Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Great Importance