Syrmia County (, , , ) was a historic administrative subdivision (''

županija A ''županija'' (singular; plural ''županije'') is a Croatian term for administrative subdivisions. The etymology is the South Slavic term '' Župa'', which means parish in Croatian. The similar Slovene term župnija is used to mean that. Th ...

'') 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 ...

. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the

Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River), were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire existence (30 March 1867 – 16 ...

(

Transleithania The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River), were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire existence (30 March 1867 – 16 ...

), the Hungarian part of

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 ...

. The region of

Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...

is today split between

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 ...

and

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 capital of the county was

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 ...

().

Geography

Syrmia County shared borders with other Croatian-Slavonian counties of Požega and

Virovitica Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungary, Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). I ...

, the

Austro-Hungarian 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 between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

land of

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 ...

, the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

, and the Hungarian counties of Bács-Bodrog and Torontál. The County stretched along the right (southern) bank of the river

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 ...

and the left (northern) bank of the river

Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...

, down to their confluence. Its area was 6,866 km² around 1910.

Background

By the 13th century, two counties were formed in this region: Syrmia (in the east) and Vukovar (in the west). Syrmia County was an administrative division of the Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages. This area was taken by the

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 ...

in 1521 and the two counties were abolished. The territory was then (in 1544) included into Ottoman Sanjak of Syrmia. 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 ...

took one part of Syrmia from the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

in 1688, while the other part was taken by Habsburgs in 1718. The entire region was incorporated into the

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...

, which was then extended from Western

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 ...

, where it stood in 1683, all the way to

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

History

Syrmia County was re-established in 1745 as part of the

Kingdom of Slavonia The Kingdom of Slavonia (, , , , sr-Cyrl, Краљевина Славонија) was a kingdom of the Habsburg monarchy and the Austrian Empire that existed from 1699 to 1868. The kingdom included northern parts of present-day regions of Sla ...

, a

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

province, which was part of both the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia and the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. This new county did not cover the whole of its later territory – the southern and furthest eastern parts instead passed to the

Slavonian Military Frontier The Slavonian Military Frontier ( or ; ; ; ) was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. It was formed out of te ...

(and partially to the Banat Military Frontier 1849–60). The Kingdom of Slavonia was mainly inhabited by Serbs and Croats. In 1848 and 1849, the area of the county was part of the Serbian Voivodship, a Serbian autonomous region proclaimed at the May Assembly in Karlovci. Between 1849 and 1860 the eastern part of the county was part of the

Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar The Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar, or Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat (, , , ), was a crownland of the Austrian Empire that existed between 1849 and 1861, centered in Temeschwar. It was created by reorganization of admini ...

, a separate crown land of the

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 ...

, formally becoming part of the Neusatz District from 1854;Gesetz vom 1. Februar 1854, RGBl. 28/1854: the western part around

passed to the Slavonian Osijek County.Gesetz vom 3. Juni 1854, RGBl. 136/1854: After 1860, Syrmia County was established again, and was reincorporated into the Kingdom of Slavonia, which was a completely separate Habsburg province at the time. In 1867, as a consequence of the between the Austrians and the Hungarians, the Kingdom of Slavonia was incorporated into

, the half of

run from

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, and in the Hungarian-Croatian Settlement of 1868, it was incorporated into Croatia-Slavonia, a formally separate kingdom within the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, which had a certain level of autonomy and was ruled by its own '' ban''. In 1881 the Slavonian Military Frontier was abolished; the Petrovaradin district and part of the Brod district would be merged into Syrmia County by 1886. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the area of Syrmia County became part of the newly formed

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 ...

in 1918 and this was confirmed by the Treaty of Saint-Germain in September 1919. The County of Syrmia was an official administrative division of the

between 1918 and 1922, and then was transformed into the Province (Oblast) of Syrmia (de facto it was carried out in 1924).

Demographics

*According to the census of 1870, the area of the county under civil administration (so excluding the area of the county under the administration of the slavonian military frontier) had 120,352 inhabitants. *According to the census of 1890, the county had 347,022 inhabitants. In 1900, the county had a population of 381,739 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Serbian: 168,982 (44.3%) * Croatian: 100,360 (26.3%) *

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 ...

: 67,027 (17.6%) * Hungarian: 23,539 (6.2%) * Slovak: 11,415 (3.0%) * Ruthenian: 4,345 (1.1%) * Romanian: 601 (0.2%) * Other or unknown: 5,470 (1.4%) According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: *

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 ...

: 172,818 (45.3%) *

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

: 171,142 (44.8%) *

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

: 22,473 (5.9%) *

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

: 5,750 (1.5%) *

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

: 4,681 (1.2%) *

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

: 3,894 (1.0%) * Unitarian: 2 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 979 (0.3%) Syrmia ethnic map

In 1910, the county had a population of 414,234 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: * Serbian: 183,109 (44.2%) * Croatian: 106,198 (25.6%) *

: 68,086 (16.4%) * Hungarian: 29,522 (7.1%) * Slovak: 13,841 (3.3%) * Ruthenian: 4,642 (1.1%) * Romanian: 587 (0.1%) * Other or unknown: 8,249 (2.0%) According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: *

: 189,007 (45.6%) *

: 182,140 (44.0%) *

: 25,927 (6.3%) *

: 7,512 (1.8%) *

: 5,722 (1.4%) *

: 3,779 (0.9%) * Unitarian: 7 (0.0%) * Other or unknown: 140 (0.0%)

Subdivisions

Hrvatski skolski muzej Zupanija Sriemska 300109

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Syrmia county were: The towns of

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

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 ...

, and

Županja Županja (, , ) is a town in eastern Slavonia, Croatia, located 254 km east of Zagreb. It is administratively part of the Vukovar-Syrmia County. It is inhabited by 12,090 people (2011). Županja lies on the Sava river opposite Bosnia and He ...

are currently in

, 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 ...

. The towns of

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 ...

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 ...

, Irig, Mitrovica (Sremska Mitrovica), Stara Pazova,

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-Cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka Districtautonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danube, from Novi Sad. According to the 202 ...

and Petrovaradin are currently in

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 ...

(

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 ...

province).

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 ...

is currently in

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 ...

n region of

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

References

Literature

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Srijem County 1924 disestablishments Former counties of Croatia Vojvodina under Habsburg rule Counties in the Kingdom of Hungary History of Slavonia History of Syrmia States and territories established in the 18th century

Geography

Background

History

Demographics

Subdivisions

See also

References

Literature