Markušica ( sr-Cyrl, Маркушица, , ) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and a municipality in

Vukovar-Syrmia County Vukovar-Srijem County (), Vukovar-Sirmium County or Vukovar-Syrmia County, named after the eponymous town of Vukovar and the region of Syrmia, is the easternmost Croatian Counties of Croatia, county. It includes the eastern parts of the region of ...

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 ...

. Markušica is located south of the river Vuka and northwest of the town of

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city settlement's population was 28,111 in the 2021 census, while the total population was 30,842, making it the largest town of the county. It is a local tr ...

. The landscape of the Markušica Municipality is marked by the

Pannonian Basin The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorpholog ...

plains and agricultural fields of

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

common sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pro ...

and

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...

. The modern day municipality was established in 1997 by the

UNTAES The United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) was a UN peacebuilding transitional administration in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia, in the eastern parts of Croatia (m ...

administration as one of new predominantly Serb municipalities in order to ensure access to local self-government to Serb community in the region. Alongside Markušica it includes the villages of Gaboš,

Karadžićevo Karadžićevo ( sr-Cyrl, Караџићево) is a Settlement (Croatia), village in Croatia, municipality Markušica, Vukovar-Syrmia County. History Until 1920, the village was called Križevci. The settlement was originally a Puszta, pustara, a ...

, Ostrovo and

Podrinje Podrinje ( sr-Cyrl, Подриње) is the Slavic name of the Drina river basin, known in English as the Drina Valley. The Drina basin is shared between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, with majority of its territory being located in Eastern ...

. Before the United Nations administrator implemented anty-

gerrymandering Gerrymandering, ( , originally ) defined in the contexts of Representative democracy, representative electoral systems, is the political manipulation of Boundary delimitation, electoral district boundaries to advantage a Political party, pa ...

reorganization, Markušica and Podrinje were a part of the

Tordinci Tordinci (, sr-Cyrl, Тординци) is a Settlement (Croatia), village and a municipality in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in Croatia. Tordinci is underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the Areas of Special State Concer ...

Municipality, while Karadžićevo, Ostrvo and Gaboš were linked to Jarmina Municipality making Serb community minority in both of them. Markušica Municipality is connected with the surrounding area via

D518 road D518 is a state road connecting the Osijek bypass and the Vinkovci bypass. The road is long. The road, as well as all other state roads in Croatia, is managed and maintained by Hrvatske ceste, state owned company. Traffic volume Traffic is ...

and L209 Vinkovci–Gaboš–Osijek railway, with local stations in Gaboš and Ostrovo.

Geography

The municipality has a total area of . River Vuka flows through the municipality and territory of the municipality is completely flat, very fertile black soil. It is connected by D518 highway with the rest of the country.

History

One

Scordisci The Scordisci (; ) were an Iron Age cultural group who emerged after the Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe, and who were centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava), Margus (Morav ...

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

in Markušica dating back to late

La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a Iron Age Europe, European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman Republic, Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age ...

was excavated in the 1970s and 1980s as a part of rescue excavations in eastern Croatia. Archaeological site was a part of the settlement network of Scordisci in the area of

. Markušica was one of the feudal villages that existed in the region before the Ottoman rule in Hungary.Marković, M. (2003). Istočna Slavonija: Stanovništvo i naselja. Naklada Jesenski i Turk. Zagreb. After the end of

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

the village was settled by

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

Vlachs Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula ...

from surrounding areas and the eastern

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. In 1736 there were 40 inhabited houses in Markušica. In 1866 this number increased at 192 houses and 1003 inhabitants out of which 902 were Eastern Orthodox. Colonist settlements of Ada, Gaboš,

Križevci Križevci (; ; ; ) is a town in northern Croatia with a total population of 21,122 and with 11,231 in the town itself (2011), It is the oldest town in its county, the Koprivnica-Križevci County. History The first mention of "Upper Križeva ...

, and

Šodolovci Šodolovci ( sr-Cyrl, Шодоловци, ) is a village and a municipality in Osijek-Baranja County in eastern Croatia. In the seven villages of the Šodolovci Municipality, there were 1,653 inhabitants at the time of the 2011 census. The landsc ...

were established on the territory of the village municipality during the

land reform in interwar Yugoslavia The land reform in interwar Yugoslavia was a process of redistribution of agricultural land in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929) carried out in the interwar period. The reform's proclaimed social ideal was ...

. The modern day Municipality of Markušica was established by the decision of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

diplomat and at the time Transitional Administrator for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium

Jacques Paul Klein Jacques Paul Klein is a retired United States diplomat, who served as head of three United Nations peacekeeping missions: the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, United Nations Transition ...

. As the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

was directly governed as an UN protectorate Transitional Administrator was the highest authority responsible for administrative affairs. Markušica Municipality was established as one of new predominantly Serb municipalities in order to ensure access to local self-government to Serb community in the region. Prior to the decision, the international community expressed concerns over the perceived gerrymandering, disenfranchisement of refugees and minority representation.

Demographics

Population

There are 2 555 inhabitants, the majority of the population which are

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 ...

, who make up 90.10% of the population according to the 2011 population census.

Languages

Due to the local minority population, the Markušica municipality prescribes 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. Official buildings do have Cyrillic signage, as do street signs and seals, but not traffic signs. Cyrillic is used most official documents, but there is a lack of Cyrillic fluency among public legal and administrative servants. Of all the municipalities in Croatia in which Cyrillic is co-official, it is most actively used by the administration in Markušica and Borovo. Preserving traditional Serbian place names and assigning street names to Serbian historical figures is legally mandated and carried out.

Religion

Most of the population are Serbian Orthodox that are practicing their religion in the church that was built in 1810 and re-built in 1989.

Politics

Joint Council of Municipalities

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

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 ...

, 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 The Erdut Agreement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Erdutski sporazum, Ердутски споразум), officially the Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, is an agreement reached on 12 November 19 ...

. As Serb community constitute the 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 Councillors to the number from Serb minority municipalities in Eastern Croatia.

Municipal government

The municipality assembly is composed of 13 representatives, plus additional seats for municipality minority groups if they don't get the proportional number of seats. Assembly members come from electoral lists winning more than 5% of votes. The dominant party in the municipality since the reintegration of eastern Slavonia in 1998 is Independent Democratic Serb Party. 681 or 33,32 % out of 2.044 voters participated in

2017 Croatian local elections The first round of the 2017 Croatian local elections was held on 21 May and the second round, where necessary, on 4 June. All seats of the county prefects, city and municipal mayors and members of county, municipal and city councils were up for el ...

with 93,69 % valid votes. With 92,80% and 632 votes, Budimir Brača from Independent Democratic Serb Party was elected as municipality major. As of 2017, the member parties/lists are: , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center !colspan=2, Party !Votes !% !Seats , - , bgcolor=#C50200, , align=left valign=top,

Independent Democratic Serb Party The Independent Democratic Serb Party ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Самостална демократска српска странка, Samostalna demokratska srpska stranka, SDSS) is a social-democratic political party in Croatia representing the interes ...

, , 638, , 100,00, , 13 , - , align=left colspan=2, Invalid/blank votes, , 43, , 6,31, , — , - , align=left colspan=2, Total, , 681, , 100, , — , - , align=left colspan=2, Registered voters/turnout, , 2.044, , 33,32, , — , - , align=left colspan=8, , - , align=left colspan=8, Source ''page 57-58''

Minority councils

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 ...

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 ...

fulfilled legal requirements to elect 10 members minority councils of the Markušica Municipality.

Economy

Markušica is an 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

Markušica Municipality is famous for a monument dedicated to a soldier killed in

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 ...

. The village has a unique monument to a female Soviet pilot from the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, who fought against the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

and whose plane was shot down here. The village also has an

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

from 1810, which was damaged in

Associations and Institutions

The village has a volunteer fire department.

Settlements

The municipality consists of the following settlements: * Gaboš, population 516 *

, population 194 * Markušica, population 1,009 * Ostrovo, population 612 *

, population 224

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Markusica Municipalities of Croatia Populated places in Vukovar-Srijem County Populated places in Syrmia Joint Council of Municipalities Serb communities in Croatia Archaeological sites in Croatia La Tène culture