Sremska Rača () is a village located in the city of
Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Sava, Sava river. , the city has a total population of 36,764 inhabitants, while its adminis ...
, Serbia. As of 2011 census, the village has a population of 624 inhabitants. A border crossing between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina is located in the village.
Name
In
Serbian, the village is known as ''Sremska Rača'' (Сремска Рача), in
Croatian as ''Srijemska Rača'', and in
Hungarian as ''Racsa''.
Sremska Raca is a settlement in Serbia in the municipality Sremska Mitrovica in the Srem district and is 35 km away from Sremska Mitrovica. It is located on a narrow belt between the Sava and Bosut rivers. According to the 2011 census report, there were 624 inhabitants.
Geographic features
Sremska Rača is a typical lowland area with an average altitude of 81m and a maximum altitude difference of 2m. The area of Sremska Rača has a slightly humid temperate continental climate. This is due to the clash of two basic climatic types - the drier, moderately continental climate of Vojvodina and the humid climate of the mountainous regions of Bosnia. The characteristics of this climate are moderately warm summers and cold winters. The coldest month is January. The average annual humidity is 78%. The maximum saturation of air humidity is in December (88%) and the minimum in August (73%). In other months, the saturation of the air depends on the amount of precipitation. The most common of the winds is the east - kosava followed by the west and northwest winds. The southern wind is the least frequent.
Historical development of the city
Sremska Rača is a settlement with a short development period. When the bridge over the Sava was built, Sremska Rača remained within the embankment. In 1931, Rača survived a catastrophic flood, which is why the
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
moved it outside the embankment in 1934 to the particularly flat terrain on which it remains today. Sremska Rača, 5 kilometres away from the river, has a rich historical past.
At the site of
Bela Crkva, about 1 kilometre south of the center of today's village, there is a famous Roman military settlement from the
first century. Many items such as metal bowls, armour and swords are stored in the Museum of Srem in
Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Sava, Sava river. , the city has a total population of 36,764 inhabitants, while its adminis ...
. Rača gained importance because of its favourable position on the Sava into which the Drina flows from the
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 ...
n side. There, from time immemorial was a major crossing over the Račan and a trade route crossroads as well. At the end of the river bend, situated was the town and fortress of Rača, and the village of Stara Rača was located 2 kilometres from the city on the eastern and western sides of the peninsula on the banks of the Sava.
In the Middle Ages, Rača was recorded in a single document in 1275. This property was first owned by Hungarian nobles from the Einard family, then by Somakoš Kukojevacki, Ivan Morović and finally by
Stephen Báthory. In the first half of the 14th century, Elizabeth, the wife of the Hungarian King
Charles I, rebuilt the abbey of St. Nicholas and handed it to the
Franciscans
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...
for the monastery. In the second half of the 14th century, after the death of King Lajos I or
Louis I Louis I may refer to:
Cardinals
* Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (1527–1578)
Counts
* Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158)
* Louis I of Blois (1172–1205)
* Louis I of Flanders (1304–1346)
* Louis I of Châtillon (died 13 ...
(son of
Charles I), records were kept of the "Royal Town of Rača at the mouth of the Drina River in the Sava". According to one document, citizens complained to the queen about clerks, who did not allow them to practice old, free customs. In doing so, the queen gave the citizens the freedom to choose between a chief and a juror, who would judge with her clerk. When
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 ...
fell under the Turkish
yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in dif ...
, Hungarian king
Matthias Corvinus
Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...
went on a campaign against the
Turks and stayed in Rača for two days. In 1529, it was probably conquered by the Turks.
Evliya Çelebi
Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...
wrote about Rača: “It was a beautiful city on the banks of the Sava River, laid on high, flat terrain covered with greenery. The city itself lay at the top of a cape. It had a triangular shape and was made of brick ... ”
In 1699 Rača became part of
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. Two years later, a 100-foot, 50-man cavalry and 100 border guards were set up in the town. The village was then populated by Serbs and in 1733 had 14 homes and 62 inhabitants. In 1784 the fortress of Rača was rebuilt because the old one was already destroyed. That year, the Austrian Emperor
Joseph II personally visited Rača and for that occasion, a road was built from the village of Rača to the fort. At the beginning of the 19th century, Rača had 58 houses and 445 inhabitants. At the end of the same century, the fort was rebuilt and redeveloped into a 300-strong
penitentiary. There were usually about 180 convicts and 20 guards in it. The unhealthy facility and the poor food made everyone feel sick Not long after, the object was bought by a merchant from
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 ...
who turned it into a
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...
. The fort was later sold again and the brick removed. In 1911 the
Šid
Šid ( sr-cyr, Шид, ; ) is a town and municipality located in the Srem District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It has a population of 12,628, while the municipality has 27,894 inhabitants (2022 census). A border crossing betw ...
-Rača railway was built. Between the two world wars, there was a municipality in Rača with a post office, telegraph and telephone, as well as a
gendarmerie
A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
station and financial administrative control bureau.
During the
Second World War
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 ...
, on 19 July 1943, the Second Srem Communist Partisan Detachment was formed in Sremska Rača, while on 17 January 1944, the Sixth Vojvodina Brigade was formed. During World War II, thousands of fighters passed through Rača, going to
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 ...
. Later, in memory of the fight, a song emerged: "When the Srem's set off from Fruška Gora". The head of the English military mission also visited Sremska Rača and described in the book "Partisan Pictures" the suffering of the population there.
During World War II, the entire village was burned down and the villagers cruelly massacred by the
13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar, which was also made up of Muslims from Bosnia. This act was carried out in retaliation for the Partisan attacks on German transport.
After World War II, out of 220 houses, only three remained, the rest was totally razed to the ground. In 1953, the local community, the post office and the veterinary community were reconstructed.
Historical population
* 1961: 1,001
* 1971: 1,043
* 1981: 942
* 1991: 777
* 2002: 773
* 2011: 624
See also
*
Rača Bridge
The Rača Bridge () is an international bridge over the Sava river, from Sremska Rača in Serbia to Bosanska Rača in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Bridge of Maria of Yugoslavia (Мост краљице Марије) was opened on 28 June 1934. T ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
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 ...
.
*
List of places in Serbia
This is the list of populated places in Serbia (excluding Kosovo), as recorded by the 2002 census, sorted alphabetically by municipalities. Settlements denoted as " urban" (towns and cities) are marked bold. Population for every settlement is ...
*
List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina
This is a list of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina, a province of Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ...
References
* Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1996.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sremska Raca
Populated places in Syrmia
Sremska Mitrovica