Subotica

Subotica (Serbian: Суботица or Subotica, Hungarian: Szabadka, Croatian: Subotica, German: Mariatheresiopel) is a city and municipality in northern Serbia and Montenegro, in the North Backa District of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located at 46.07° North, 19.68° East, about 10 km from the border with Hungary. It is the second largest city of the Vojvodina region next to Novi Sad, with a population of 99,471 (according to 2002 census). The municipality of Subotica has a population of 148,401.

The municipality comprises the Subotica city, the town of Palić (Hungarian: Palicsfürdő) and 17 local communities.

Contents

1 Demographics 2 Name 3 Economy 4 Churches 5 Buildings 6 Education 6.1 Secondary Schools 6.2 Notable faculties 7 Famous citizens 8 See also 9 External links 10 Images

Demographics

Ethnic groups: Subotica is a multiethnic city and municipality. Its population is composed of: Hungarians 57,092 (38.5%), Serbs 35,826 (24.1%), Croats (11%), Bunjevci (11%), Yugoslavs (6%), Roma (2%), Montenegrins (1%), and others.

Languages spoken in Subotica: Serbian and Croatian (52%), Hungarian (39%), Roma (2%) and others (according to 2002 census).

Religion: Roman Catholic (70%), Serbian Orthodox, Protestant, etc.

The city serves as the cultural and political centre for the Vojvodina Hungarians, Vojvodina Croats and Bunjevci.

Places with Hungarian ethnic majority are: Palicsfürdő/Palić, Hajdújárás/Hajdukovo, Bácsszőlős/Bački Vinogradi, Alsóludas/Šupljak, Csantavér/Čantavir, Zentaörs/Bačko Dušanovo, Alsókelebia/Kelebija.

Places with Croatian/Bunjevci ethnic majority are: Mala Bosna, Ljutovo, Đurđin, Donji Tavankut, Gornji Tavankut, Bikovo, Stari Žednik.

Places with Serb ethnic majority are: Bajmok, Višnjevac, Novi Žednik, and Mišićevo.

Bajmok (Hungarian: Bajmok), Višnjevac (Hungarian: Meggyes) and Stari Žednik (Hungarian: Nagyfény) have over 20% Hungarians, as well as the places with Hungarian majority have also certain percent of Serbs, Croats and Bunjevci.

According to Bunjevački kalendar for 1868, ethnic composition of Subotica in this year looked like this:

• Bunjevci = 50,000
• Hungarians = 6,000
• Serbs = 3,500
• Others

According to the official census of 1910, Subotica's ethnic composition looked as follows: From the 94,610 inhabitans were

• Hungarians = 55,587
• Bunjevci = 33,208
• Serbs = 3,524
• Germans = 1,918
• Others = 373

It is interesting to note that according to 1850 data, Subotica had a population of 48,126 people. Before the First World War this number almost riched the 100,000. When Subotica became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1920, the largest city of the new-made country was not Belgrade or Zagreb, but Subotica.

Name

The city was mentioned first time as "Zabotka" or "Zobodka" in an Hungarian document in 1391. Since then this town has been called by over two hundred different names in various documents. The city's actual name in its Hungarian variant, "Szabadka", derives from the adjective which means "free". In Serbian and Croatian language "Subotica" stems from word "Saturday". The form "Szabadka" appeared for the first time in 1679, while the name "Subotica" used in Serbian-Croatian first appeared in 1653.

Economy

Surroundings of Subotica are mainly farmland but the city itself is an important industrial and transportation centre in Serbia. It is the administrative centre of the North Backa District.

Churches

Subotica is also the centre of the Roman Catholic diocese of the Backa region belonging to Serbia. Nearly 70 % of the city's population are Catholics. There are 9 Catholic parish churches, 2 Serbian Orthodox, and 1-1 Protestant churches, Lutheran and Calvinist, respectively.

Buildings

Unique in Serbia, Subotica has the most buildings built in art nouveau style. Especially the city hall (built in 1908-1910) and the Synagogue (1902) are from outstanding beauty. These were built by the same architects, by Marcell Komor and Dezső Jakab from Budapest, Hungary. Another exceptional example of art nouveau architecture is the actual Artistic Encounter building, which was built in 1904 by Ferenc J. Raichle.

The most remarkable church buildings are: the Catholic Cathedral of St. Theresa of Avila from 1797, the Franciscan Monastery from 1723, the Orthodox Church from the XVIII century, the Synagogue and Orthodox Church in Aleksandrovo, both from XVII century.

Education

Subotica is not university city, but has some widely respected secondary schools and faculties.

Secondary Schools

• Gymnasium "Svetozar Marković"
• Philological grammar school "Dezső Kosztolányi",
• Grammar school of ancient languages of the Catholic Diocise of Subotica "Paulinum"
• Music School
• Electro-mechanical school "MESŚC",
• School of economics "Bosa Milićević"
• Polytechnic school
• Chemistry school "Lazar Neśić"
• Medical school

Notable faculties

• Civil Engineering University, Electro-Mechanic-Informatic University "VTŚ"
• Economic University

Famous citizens

• Emperor Jovan Nenad (?-1527), a self-proclaimed "tsar"
• Dezső Kosztolányi (1885-1936), one of the most famous Hungarian writers
• Géza Csáth (1887-1919), a tragic physician-writer
• Tibor Sekelj (1912-1988), explorer, esperatnist, writer
• Danilo Kis (1935-1989), possibly the most well-known Serbian writer alongside the Nobel laureate Ivo Andric
• Péter Lékó (b. 1979), Hungary's number one chess player
• Jovan Mikic Spartak
• Djuro Stantic
• Ivan Saric
• Vilim Harangozo
• Sreten Damjanovic
• Momir Petkovic
• Refik Memisevic
• Zoran Kalinic
• Aleksandar Lifka

See also

• List of cities in Serbia and Montenegro

External links

• The official website of Subotica (http://www.subotica.co.yu/en/index.htm)
• The official business site of Subotica (http://www.subotica.biz/index.html)
• News from Subotica (http://www.subotica.net) (Serbian language)
• The official website of the Roman Catholic diocise of Subotica (http://www.suboticka-biskupija.info)
• SOS Synagogue (http://www.sos-sinagoga.org.yu)

Images

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