Bač (Serbian Cyrillic:Бач,pronounced[bâːtʃ]^ⓘ;Hungarian:Bács) is a town and municipality located in theSouth Bačka District of the autonomous province ofVojvodina,Serbia. The town has a population of 4,405, while the municipality has 11,431 inhabitants.^[4] The entire geographical region between the riversDanube andTisza, today divided between Serbia and Hungary, was namedBačka after the town.^[5]

Bač Бач (Serbian) Bács (Hungarian)[1] Bač (Slovak)[1]
Town andmunicipality
Bač Fortress Bač Town Hall Bač Town Centre Church of St. John Church of St. Paul Turkish Bath Bođani Monastery Franciscan Monastery Šiljak Gate Kalvarija View of the fortress and the town of Bač
Coat of arms
Location of the municipality of Bač within Serbia
Coordinates:45°23′N19°14′E / 45.383°N 19.233°E /45.383; 19.233
Country	Serbia
Province	Vojvodina
Region	Bačka (Podunavlje)
District	South Bačka
Municipality	Bač
Settlements	6
Government
• Mayor	Lela Milinović (SNS)
Area [2]
• Town	111.89 km2 (43.20 sq mi)
• Municipality	367.48 km2 (141.88 sq mi)
Elevation	83 m (272 ft)
Population  (2022 census)[3]
• Town	4,405
• Town density	39/km2 (100/sq mi)
• Municipality	11,431
• Municipality density	31/km2 (81/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	21420
Area code	+381 21
Official languages	Serbian together withHungarian andSlovak on the entire territory andCroatian inBođani andPlavna andRomani inVajska[1]
Website	www.bac.rs

InSerbian, the town is known asБач (Bač); inSlovak asBáč; inCroatian (Šokac) asBač; inHungarian asBács; inGerman asBatsch; inLatin asBach orBacs; and inTurkish asBaç. Along with Serbian, Slovak and Hungarian are also in official use in the municipality administration.

In the ninth and tenth centuries, the name of the town wasBagasin.^[6] TheByzantine writerJohn Kinnamos writes thatΠαγάτζιον is the most important city inSirmium.^[7] In 1154, the Arab geographerIdrisi mention it under nameBakasin and claim that "it is a famous city that was mentioned among old big cities".

The current name of the town was first recorded in 1094. In 1111 the parish was mentioned asBache.^[8] This name probably derived from the same personal name. InSerbian this name is written asBač (Бач), inHungarian asBács, and inRomanian asBaci, although the Romanian population used this word as a title rather than as a name. The name is of uncertain origin and its existence was recorded amongVlachs,Slavs andHungarians in the Middle Ages. The origin of the name could bePaleo-Balkanic,^[9]Romanian,Slavic,^[10] orOld Turkic.^[11]

In theRomanian,Baci means "tenant, mountaineer or chieftain of the shepherd habitation in the mountain". The name could be spread into other languages by the Vlach shepherds. However, a similar name,Bača, was recorded among old Russians, which implies the possibility of Slavic origin.^[12] Hungarian linguists claim that a similar but originally different Hungarian personal name was derived from the Old Turkicbaya dignity in the formBácsa, which later evolved intoBács.^[13] It is not certain whether name of the town came from Vlach-Slavic or from the Hungarian name. Some Hungarian historians assume that the town was named after the first comes of the county, Bács ispán (Bač župan).^[14] However, the existence of that person is not historically confirmed and his ethnic origin is uncertain.

There are several more places with same name (inNorth Macedonia,Slovenia,Montenegro andAlbania), as well as a large number of place names beginning with letters "bač-" or "bács-" that are scattered all over theBalkans andCentral Europe, as well as in some other regions.^[15]

Evidence show that the area was inhabited already in the youngerNeolithic. The town later developed on an island in themeander of theMostonga river and for centuries was accessible only by the wooden bridge. The river is channeled today as part of theDanube–Tisa–Danube Canal system and has two proper bridges, so the fortress and the old town are now on a dry land.^[5]

Bač is one of the oldest towns inVojvodina. The archeological research showed that an ancientRoman settlement existed in this area. Bač was first mentioned in 535 AD, in a letter written by Eastern Roman emperorJustinian. In 873 AD, the town was mentioned asAvar fortress, inhabited by both, Avars andSlavs. In this time, theSaint Methodius, a creator of theSlavic alphabet, converted toChristianity Slavs that lived inBačka and Bač.

In the tenth century, this region became part of theKingdom of Hungary. In the Middle Ages the town was the seat of theBacsensis County. The foundation date of the county is a disputed question, some historians assume that it was one of the first counties of the Kingdom established byStephen I but there is no documentary evidence of its existence in that time.^[16] The first known prefect (comes) of the county was recorded in 1074 and his name wasVid.

KingLadislaus I made the town the seat of a new archbishopric in 1085. Previously historians assumed that Bač (Bacs) was a bishopric before that time. The first archbishop, Fabian (1085–1103) helped the king in the course of the campaign againstCroatia and was rewarded with the title.^[17]

Gyula Városy proved that king Ladislaus only moved the seat of thearchbishopric of Kalocsa to Bač (Bacs), where he built a cathedral and established a chapter house around 1090. After 1135 the archbishops moved back to their former seat inKalocsa. Later the diocese was called the "Archbishopric of Kalocsa-Bacs" (first mentioned in 1266).^[18]

In 1154, the Arab geographerIdrisi wrote that Bač is a rich town with many merchants and craftsmen, a place with a lot of wheat and many "Greek scholars" which could refer toOrthodox priests and monks.

In the early 13th century.Ugrin Csák, Archbishop of Kalocsa, founded a hospital in Bač, as the first such facility in this part of Europe. PopeGregory IX wrote about the "Bačka hospital" in 1234, as being open for the sick and poor.^[5]

The town prospered with the Hungarian kingCharles Robert I built the fortress in the first half of the 14th century. The fort developed and reached its full extension by the 16th century. From the 15th century, it was the most important Hungarian ramparts against the invadingOttoman forces. The pivotal moment was the disastrous Hungarian defeat in 1526 at theBattle of Mohacs, so the Ottomans conquered Bač in 1529.^[5] During the war between Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary, in the 16th century, Serbian despotStevan Berislavić successfully defended the Bač fortress from the Ottomans for a long time until the fortress finally fell.

During theOttoman rule (16th-17th century), Bač was a seat of a kaza of Bač inSanjak of Segedin. Since 1686 the town was underHabsburg. The fortress was mined with explosives in 1704, during theRákóczi's War of Independence.^[5] During the Austrian rule, manyGermans settled in Bač during this time. After 1918, Bač was part of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and subsequentSouth Slavic states. It was occupied by Hungary between 1941 and 1944 duringWorld War II.

Bač Fortress is the best preserved medieval fort in Vojvodina. Section of Bač below the fortress is calledPodgrađe. It consists of 36 houses in the typical lowland Vojvodina style and is protected, together with the fort, as theSpatial Cultural-Historical Units of Exceptional Importance. The section is directly accessed via the bridge across the canal and through the gate ofŠiljak. The houses were built from the 18th to the 20th century, and residents are not allowed to change façades without prior consent from the institutes in charge of protection.^[5]

The fort used to have 8 towers, but five are preserved today. There are four side towers and the tallest, over 20 m (66 ft),keep (donžon). The fortress was left to the elements from 18th to 20th century. First occasional archaeological explorations began in the 19th century, but the survey in earnest began in the 20th century.^[5] Reconstruction and conservation project, which includes the exploration works, started in 2006. The fortress was restored, archaeological sections were conserved while the visitors center was open in the keep. The project was awarded the 2018Europa Nostra Award, European Union prize for cultural heritage.^[19]

One of the first modern pharmacies in this part of Vojvodina was open in Bač in 1828. It was founded by the Gebauer family, in their family home. The house still exists today and, though the interior is changed, the originaldisplay window and the stairs are preserved.^[5]

Bač municipality includes the town of Bač (together withMali Bač settlement) and the following villages:

• Bačko Novo Selo
• Bođani
• Vajska (together withLabudnjača andŽiva settlements)
• Plavna
• Selenča

Zvonik, aRoman Catholicmagazine inCroatian, was founded in Bač in 1994.

According to the 2022 census, the Bač municipality has 11,431 inhabitants.^[4]

• 1961: 6,321
• 1971: 5,916
• 1981: 5,994
• 1991: 6,046
• 2011: 5,390
• 2022: 4,405

The ethnic composition of the municipality:^[4]

Settlements with Serb ethnic majority are: Bač, Bačko Novo Selo, and Bođani. The settlement with Slovak ethnic majority is Selenča. Ethnically mixed settlements with relative Serb majority are Vajska and Plavna.

Town

• Serbs (70.22%)
• Croats (8.36%)
• Hungarians (6.87%)
• Yugoslavs (4.47%)
• Slovaks (2.33%)

In the 17th century some Šokci Croats from Tuzla area migrated to Bač as refugees. Today they comprise less than 9% of the population.

According to the 2002 census, 66% of inhabitants of the Bač municipality speakSerbian as mother tongue. Other spoken languages includeSlovak (20%),Romanian (4%),Hungarian (3%),Croatian (3%), andRomani (2%).

Serbian, Slovak, and Hungarian are officially used by municipal authorities.

The following table gives a preview of total number of employed people per their core activity (as of 2017):^[21]

Seats in the municipality parliament won in the 2012 local elections:[1]

• Democratic Party (9)
• Serbian Radical Party (2)
• SNS (6)
• Socialist Party of Serbia (5)
• LSV (3)

• Bač Fortress;
• Bođani monastery;^[5]
• Remains of theTurkish bath;^[5]
• Kalvarija, memorial locality which consists of 12 pillars built in the 19th century and dedicated to the Christian saints;^[5]

In 2017 the fortress was visited by 6,500 tourists. Other attractions include the Provala Lake, which was formed in the mid-20th century after a flood of the Danube, and a Berava stream, popular among the fishermen.^[5]

Origins can be traced to the 12th century.^[5] In 1169,canons from the knighthoodOrder of the Holy Sepulchre built a small church in theRomanesque style. They used some building materials from much older previous edifices. Franciscans took over the church in 1300. In the second half of the 14th century, the Franciscans expanded it, forming a monastery. The inner corridors are designed to practically form the cubes. Franciscans added the tallbell tower and the monastery building, all in theGothic style. A nice,Renaissance stylesink is still preserved. The monastery was surrounded by amoat and the walls with towers, as was the usual for the monasteries in Hungary at the time. After the Ottoman conquest, the monastery was converted to amosque in the 16th century. Some of the Ottoman adaptations still remain, like the south wall'smihrab - aniche in the wall that indicates the direction ofMecca. With the withdrawal of the Ottomans, the Franciscans returned in the 17th century.^[22][23]

The present appearance of the complex dates from the 1734-1768 period. Visually, the monastery is today a combination of Gothic, Romanesque and Classicist architecture. The dining room still has a largedoorknob from 1736. The monastery hosts a mechanicalpipe organ, one of the oldest in this part of Europe. The original one was acquired in 1716 and was "like the one thatBach plays on". It was replaced with the larger and bigger one, which was made in 1826 and installed in 1827. It has 2manuals, 16registers, almost 1,000organ pipes and is fully functional.^[22][23]

Restoration of the monastery, dedicated to theAssumption of Mary, began in 2016. The remains of the old moat were discovered during the digging. During the reconstruction, one part of the monastery was adapted into the museum. A permanent archaeological exhibition was set, which shows the continuous habitation of the area, from the Prehistoric time until the 18th century. As the monastery holds numerous Franciscan relics, books, dishes, cloths and other items, they are also exhibited. The idea is to make this one part of the "diffused museum" within the scopes of the "Centuries in Bač" project, which would also include the fortress and the Serbian OrthodoxBođani monastery.^[22] The reconstruction was finished in June 2019.^[23]

Artifacts in the museum include bricks from the Roman period, which have the gameNine men's morris or the crosses carved on. Also exhibited are the 13th century remains of thefresco paintings, including the frescoCrucifixion of Jesus with Virgin Mary which was discovered accidentally in 2011. There is also an icon ofMary, Mother of God, painted in 1684, which is protected by the state in 1948 with some of the old and rare books from the monastery library.^[23]

•  
  Orthodox Church of Saint John in Bač
•  
  Saint Paul the Apostle Catholic Church
•  
  The new Orthodox Church inMali Bač
•  
  The Franciscan Monastery

Bač istwinned with:

•  Vlist, Netherlands
•  Vukovar, Croatia^[24]
•  Senica, Slovakia

• Municipalities of Serbia
• List of places in Serbia
• List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina
• Bačka

• Slobodan Ćurčić,Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1996.

• www.bacfun.com - News/Multimedia - Official site
• www.turizambac.org - web site of Turistic organization Bac