The May Assembly 1848 in Sremski Karlovci

May Assembly ( sr, Мајска скупштина / Majska skupština) was the national assembly of the

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...

s in

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

, held on 1 and 3 May 1848 in

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ; hu, Karlóca; tr, Karlofça) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danu ...

, during which the Serbs proclaimed autonomous Serbian Vojvodina. This action was later recognized by the supreme Austrian authority in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The May Assembly was part of the European Revolutions of 1848.

Prelude

After news of the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

revolution of 1848 reached the Austrian Empire, the absolutist reign of Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich was weakened. At this time the regions of

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...

Bačka Bačka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska () is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungar ...

and

Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the ex ...

were administratively divided between the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary (in the north) and the Habsburg

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and ...

(in the south). A sizeable percent of the Austrian soldiers serving on the Military Frontier were ethnic

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their ...

, who protected Austrian borders in exchange for certain political freedoms that they were able to enjoy within the frontier, whose administration functioned independently from the county-system of the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. After the outbreak of the revolution in the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary on 15 March 1848, the new government of the kingdom refused to accept the Serbs' request for recognition of their national rights, taking a stance that all citizens of the Kingdom of Hungary are

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...

. Serbs, whose national rights and freedoms were previously regulated within the Habsburg monarchy saw the Hungarian position as a degradation of their status. After the initial Serb political demands for recognition of their national rights were rejected by the new government of the Kingdom of Hungary, Serb demands became more radical and the Serb national movement turned against the new revolutionary government of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Assembly

Realizing that Hungarian revolutionary leaders are not willing to recognize national rights of the Serbs, political leaders of the Serbs decided to hold an assembly on which a separate Serb

voivodeship A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...

within Austrian Empire would be proclaimed. Assembly was held on 1–3 May 1848 in

(a town within the Habsburg

). The beginning of the May Assembly was declared from the balcony of

Sremski Karlovci City Hall Sremski Karlovci City Hall is located at the center of Sremski Karlovci, Serbia. City hall was built in the period between 1808 and 1811 in the neoclassicism style. It was constructed to be garrison of the nearby Petrovaradin fortress in Novi S ...

. The assembly proclaimed a creation of Serbian Vojvodina and its political alliance with the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia. During the assembly, Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan

Josif Rajačić Josif Rajačić ( sr-Cyrl, Јосиф Рајачић; 20 July 1785 – 1 December 1861), also known as Josif Rajačić-Brinski, was a metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch, administrator of Vojvodina, and baron. Life Rajačić was ...

was elevated to the dignity of the Serbian

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in ce ...

(a title formerly held by Arsenije Čarnojević) while Stevan Šupljikac was declared for a

Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...

(duke) of the newly formed voivodeship. Đorđe Stratimirović was elected for the Vožd (leader of Serb national movement).

The decisions of the Assembly

The assembly officially adopted the following decisions: * Serb nation is politically free and independent under the House of Austria and general Hungarian crown. * We proclaiming Serbian Vojvodina, which includes

with the

Frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts ...

, Baranja,

with the Bečej District and the

Šajkaš Battalion Šajkaš () is a village located in the Titel municipality, South Bačka District, Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011 census, it has a population of 4,374 inhabitants. Name In Serbian the village is known as ''Šajkaš'' (Шајкаш), in Croa ...

with the

and the Kikinda District. * Serbian Vojvodina forming the political alliance with the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia. * Permanent People's Board is formed, as an executive body of the People's Assembly. * We recognizing Vlach ( Romanian) ethnic independence. * We appointing the Board which will bring these decisions in front of the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

and the

Croatian Croatian may refer to: * Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * S ...

Assembly. * We appointing delegation for the Slavic Congress in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Aftermath

Decisions of the May Assembly were later recognized by the Austrian emperor, who reciprocated to Serbs for participating in the war against Hungarian rebels by official formation of a separate crownland named Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar (formed in 1849). The new Voivodeship was independent from Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary and was directly subordinated to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. It consisted of the regions of

and

(municipalities of

Ilok Ilok () is the easternmost town in Croatia forming a geographic salient surrounded by Vojvodina. Located in the Syrmia region, it lies on a hill overlooking the Danube river, which forms the border with the Bačka region of Serbia. The popula ...

and Ruma), excluding parts that were within the Habsburg Military Frontier. This Voivodeship, however, had somewhat different borders from Serbian Vojvodina that was proclaimed in 1848 and essentially functioned as an administrative district. It was more ethnically mixed and included eastern parts of Banat with mainly Romanian population, while parts of the Military Frontier in which Serbs formed the majority were not included into new Habsburg crownland.

References

External links

About May Assembly
(Serbian) Serbian Revolution Serbian Vojvodina History of Syrmia Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire 1848 in Serbia 1848 in the Austrian Empire