Tovarnik | |
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 Clockwise, from top right:Tovarnik railway station,Serbian Orthodox Church of St. George, stable,Roman Catholic Church of Saint Matthew, Birthplace ofAntun Gustav Matoš and Municipal building | |
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  Tovarnik Location in Croatia Show map of Vukovar-Syrmia County Tovarnik Tovarnik (Croatia) Show map of Croatia Tovarnik Tovarnik (Europe) Show map of Europe | |
| Coordinates:45°10′N19°9′E / 45.167°N 19.150°E /45.167; 19.150 | |
| Country |  Croatia |
| Region | Syrmia (Podunavlje) |
| County |  Vukovar-Syrmia |
| Government | |
| • Municipal mayor | Anđelko Dobročinac (HDZ) |
| Area | |
| 64.5 km2 (24.9 sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 37.9 km2 (14.6 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | |
| 2,067 | |
| • Density | 32/km2 (83/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,385 |
| • Urban density | 37/km2 (95/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Tovarničanin (♂) Tovarničanka (♀) (pergrammatical gender) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 32249 |
| Area code | 32 |
| Vehicle registration | VU |
| Website | opcina-tovarnik |
Tovarnik (pronounced[tǒvaːrniːk],Hungarian:Felsőtárnok,German:Sankt Georg,Latin:Ulmo) is a municipality in theVukovar-Syrmia County inCroatia next to the border withSerbia with the town ofŠid and the village ofIlinci on the other side of the border. According to the2001 census, there are 2,775 inhabitants, 91.06% which areCroats.[3] The municipality is part ofSyrmia. It is the birthplace of great Croatian poetAntun Gustav Matoš. Tovarnik is underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as theFirst Category Area of Special State Concern by theGovernment of Croatia.[4]
The municipality is located in historical regions ofSyrmia. The total area of the municipality is 64.56 km2. The territory of the municipality is completely flat with very fertile black soil. The municipality shares borders with municipalities ofLovas to north,Tompojevci to northwest,Nijemci to west and southwest and theRepublic of Serbia to south, east and north-east where it borders the town ofŠid. The village is connected with the rest of the country by theD46 state road connecting it with the town ofVinkovci and continuing intoSerbia as theState Road 120 to the nearest town ofŠid.
Tovarnik municipality has a moderately warm and rainycontinental climate as defined by theKöppen climate classification. Due to the influence of continentality temperature differences within one year are more pronounced than in the rest of country.
With pronounced issue ofpopulation decline in eastern Croatia caused bypopulation ageing, effects of theCroatian War of Independence and emigration after theaccession of Croatia to the European Union, the population of the municipality dropped to 2,067 residents at the time of 2021 census.
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.[5] At the2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives electionsSerbs of Croatia fulfilled legal requirements to elect 10 members minority councils of the Tovarnik Municipality with Serb community electing only 6 members to the body in the end.[6]
During the classical time the settlement called Ulmo existed at the place of modern-day Tovarnik in what was thenRoman provincePannonia Secunda.[7]
The contemporary settlement was firstly mentioned in 1335.[7] The village was known as Tabornik but the name was changed into Tovarnik byEastern Orthodox settlers who moved into the village after the Ottoman conquest of the region.[8] Catholic religious document from 1632 states that the village is inhabited not only by Catholic population but by Turks and Orthodox who altogether live in 30 houses on the road which connectsBelgrade andIstanbul withBudapest.[7] On 28 March 1737 the village was purchased by theHouse of Eltz.[7] The local school was opened in 1758, post office in 1826 and theTovarnik railway station in 1890. In 1894 local Croat Reading House was established as well.[7]
Within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia Tovarnik war administratively part of ŠidSrez firstly within the pre-Yugoslav theSyrmia County (up to 1922), theSyrmia Oblast (1922–1929), after that theDanube Banovina (1929–1939) and ultimately theBanovina of Croatia (1939-1941).
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During the World War II Tovarnik was a part ofIndependent State of Croatia, apuppet state led by the fascistUstaša organization which at the time ruled the entireSyrmia region and implementedgenocide of Serbs on its territory. The historical Serb village of Ivanci, which was located south ofIlača, wascompletely destroyed on 30 November 1943 while 73 inhabitants were murdered in half an hour byNazi German forces.[9] The village of Ivanci was center of theYugoslav Partisans in Syrmia with established local branches ofWomen's Antifascist Front of Yugoslavia andLeague of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia.[9] Surviving villagers found rescue inŠidski Banovci, Tovarnik and Ilača.[9] After theSyrmian Front broke through on 12 April 1945 localDanube Swabians and some Croats in Tovarnik (51 in total) were exposed to a wave of executions of suspected collaborators who were executed by being pushed from the tower of theChurch of St. George.[10] Protestant Danube Swabians from Šidski Banovci were expelled despite the fact that they helped to save survivors from Ivanci and were more protective of local Orthodox population than Catholic Danube Swabians.[9]
Some minor issues regarding the border between theAutonomous Province of Vojvodina, a part of theSocialist Republic of Serbia, andSocialist Republic of Croatia were left unresolved by theAnti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia on 24 February 1945. In order to settle the matter, the federal authorities set up a five-member commission presided over byMilovan Đilas in June 1945. As one of disputed territories District of Šid was identified. Commission concluded that District of Šid, with Tovarnik as a part of it at the time, shall become a part of theAutonomous Province of Vojvodina. Commission's demarcation was partially changed in several instances including in the case of District of Šid where Tovarnik,Ilača andŠidski Banovci were subsequently transferred to theSocialist Republic of Croatia. In 1960-1962 the general land management project was completed enabling drained of a couple of curlers and subsequent agricultural use of the land.[7]
At the time of March1991 Croatian census out of total 3001 inhabitants of Tovarnik there was 2136 (71,2%)Croats, 670 (22,3%)Serbs, 105Yugoslavs and 90 members of other groups.[7]
During theCroatian War of Independence, Tovarnik was attacked and captured by theJNA and Serb rebels on 22 September 1991, a total of 80 Croat civilians werekilled by Serb forces during and after Serb forces attacked and occupied the village.[11] Serb forces had expelled 95% of the 2,500 Croat inhabitants by the end of 1991 and had destroyed 75% of the homes and buildings in the village.[12]
After the signing of theErdut Agreement in 1995 between the authorities of the Republic of Croatia and the local Serb authorities of the self-proclaimedEastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia the region came under the direct administration of theUnited Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium which lasted for two years between 1996 and the beginning of 1998.
The village of Tovarnik is located next to the border withSerbia. While nearly 80% of the border consist of theDanube river, there is a 70 kilometers-long so-called "Green Border" near Tovarnik which at the time of the so-called crisis enabled the easier entrance for migrants and/or refugees from Serbia, especially ever sinceHungary erected a fence on its border with Serbia. Parts of the Croatia-Serbia border are known minefields from theCroatian War of Independence period, which represent a considerable threat for unfamiliar individuals. According to the Croatian Minister of InteriorRanko Ostojić, police in the area have enough people and equipment to protect the Croatian border against undocumented border crossings removing the need for fence.[13] Croatian PresidentKolinda Grabar-Kitarović and First Deputy Prime MinisterVesna Pusić have also rejected the option of building a fence along the Croatian border with Serbia.[14][15] Croatian Prime MinisterZoran Milanović said his country is ready to help refugees coming to Europe, insisting that people fleeing conflict should be given the right to remain in the EU.[16]
On 15 September 2015, first major waves of refugees from theSyrian Civil War crossed the Croatian border as it was a new main route after Hungary seals borders.[17] On September 15, 2015, Hungary announced it would start arresting people crossing the border illegally, and as of early 16 September, Hungary had detained 519 people and pressed criminal charges against 46 for trespassing.[18] Thousands of migrants were subsequently led to pursue alternative routes through Croatia from Serbia.[18] After Hungary closed its border with Serbia on September 15, refugees headed towards the Serbian town ofŠid, less than 10 kilometers from the Croatian border. Several buses filled with refugees arrived on the Croatian border crossing of Tovarnik, where the CroatianVukovar-Syrmia County Care and Rescue teams as well as theCroatian Red Cross were on standby awaiting them.[19] On September 17 at 3:30 AM, more than 5,000 individuals have arrived in Tovarnik.[20] Since the number of refugees is rising and expected to peak at 20,000, it is likely that they will be moved toZagreb Fair as planned.[21] Interior MinisterRanko Ostojić said Croatia is "absolutely full" by the evening of 17 September 2015, and Croatia decided to close its border with Serbia.[22]
In early 2019 villages of Tovarnik,Ilača andBanovci organized joint demonstrations againsttruck drivers from countries other thanCroatia andSerbia which are causing heavytraffic congestion on the D46 road while waiting to cross the state border between Croatia and Serbia.[23][24] Citizens requested redirection of all truck transportation, with the exception of Croatian and Serbian trucks traveling to one or the other state, to be removed from the D46 road and redirected toA3 motorway.[23]
The settlements ofIlača and Tovarnik comprise the Tovarnik municipality.
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Subdivisions ofVukovar-Syrmia County | ||
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