The environs of Baja have been continuously inhabited since the end of theIron Age, but there is evidence of human presence sinceprehistoric times. The settlement itself was most likely established in the 14th century. After theOttoman Empire had conquered Hungary, it grew to prominence more than the other nearby settlements, and was granted town rights in 1696.
Today, Baja plays an important role in the life ofNorthern Bácska as a local commercial centre and the provider of public services such as education and healthcare. It has several roads and a railway connection to other parts of the country, and also offers local Public transport for its residents. Being close to theDanube and the forest ofGemenc, as well as having its own cultural sights, makes it a candidate for tourism, but this is not well established yet.
The city's Hungarian name is probably derived from aTurkic language. The commonly known "bull" name is likely not its real origin, but may have gotten its title from the first owner of the city, Baja. TheLatin name of the town isFrancillo. Baja also used to have a German name:Frankenstadt.
The South Slavs,Bunjevci andSerbs, who live in the city call Baja by the same name as Magyars do, but with a slightly different pronunciation ([baja] instead of[bɒjɒ]). Its spelling in SerbianCyrillic writing is Баја.
The city was first mentioned in 1308. The Bajai family was the first known owner of the town. In 1474 the settlement was given to the Czobor family byMatthias Corvinus.
During theTurkish Conquest in the 16th and 17th centuries it was the official center for the region and it possessed afortification. This era saw the immigration ofBunjevci andSerbs into the town. There was also an activeFranciscan mission with monks fromBosnia.
Kálmán Tóth Square, Baja
In the 18th century, Hungary with its regained territories was a part of theHabsburg Empire.Germans,Hungarians and Jews migrated into the town. Due to its location on theDanube, it became a transportation and commercial hub for the region. This was the place where grain and wine were loaded onto boats to be transported upriver toAustria and Germany. In 1727 the Czobor family regained its ownership. Until 1765, the inhabitants belonged to three nations;Bunjevac (under name ofDalmatians), theGermans and theSerbs. Following this, according to a government decree theNatio Dalmatica was changed into theNatio Hungarica, but even in 1768, the elected mayor swore the oath in theBunjevac language in theFranciscan Church.
In the 19th century Baja became a minor railway hub, but its importance declined as the railway toFiume (Rijeka) was built in order to get Hungarian grain seaborne. The city was still a commercial and service center for the region.
In 1918, after World War I, the ceasefire line placed the city under administration of the newly formedKingdom of Yugoslavia. By theTreaty of Trianon from 1920, the city was assigned to Hungary, and became the capital of the reduced county ofBács-Bodrog.
After World War II the city became known for itstextile mill and because of its important bridge crossing theDanube. Its importance is still evident as people from theBácska region (Serbian:Bačka) of Hungary come for higher education, government and business services.
The city's population was growing rapidly in the 20th century (especially in theinterwar period and during thesocialist era), but in the last decade its population declined significantly.[3]
The demographic evolution of Baja is the following:
Baja is located about 150 km (93 mi) south ofBudapest and 108 km (67 mi) southwest of Kecskemét, at the crossing of Road 55 and Road 51, on the riverDanube. Baja's main river isSugovica (also calledKamarás-Duna). Baja is at the meeting point of two large regions: theGreat Hungarian Plain (Alföld) andTransdanubia (Dunántúl). The RiverDanube separates the two regions. The occidental part of the city is where theGemencforest starts to spread out next to theIstván Türr Bridge. Gemenc is part of theDanube-Drava National Park. It can be discovered from Baja via anarrow gauge railway. Baja is located on the left bank of the river, on the Great Hungarian Plain. However, Baja is more similar to the cities ofTransdanubia. To the east, arable crops such as maize, wheat andbarley are grown.
Baja is at the meeting of the continental and mediterranean region of Hungary. The summers are hot (the temperature sometimes goes up to 36–37 °C) and stifling, while the winters are cold and snowy. It often rains in the spring. At summertime extreme torrential rains are getting common every now and then in the region.
The city plays an important role in the country'swater transport on the river Danube with its second biggest port in Hungary. Baja gives home to an extensive corporation: to AXIÁL Co. Axiál sells agricultural machines all over eastern Europe with great success. Gemenc Forest and Game Co. Ltd. is managing the nearbynature reserve,Gemenc. There are numerous commercial structures in the city, which prove important to the people living in and around Baja. Roughly 10 years ago aTESCO supermarket opened along with a shopping centre next to it.
The city has some museums andart galleries, most of them with permanent exhibitions. These include theIstván Türr Museum (exhibits objects of former local life), theIstván Nagy Gallery (a collection ofIstván Nagy's paintings), and theBunjevci House (aboutBunjevci traditions). The annualFisherman's Soup Boiling Festival is a famous event in Europe, which includes a great fish soup boiling contest, and other cultural occurrences.
Calvary Chapel in Baja
There are 15 churches in the city, representing the religion of each ethnicity. These religions include (with the number of believers) Roman Catholic (25 203),Protestant (1 623),Evangelist (268),Unitarian,Orthodox (90),Lutheran and Judaism (27).
There are three notable educational institutes in the city:Béla III High school and the Eötvös József College. A smaller observatory also exists. There is the MNÁMK (Magyarországi Németek Általános Művelődési Központja; English:General Culture Center of Germans Living in Hungary).
Baja's library got its name from the famousHungarian poet,Endre Ady. The library's building used to be Baja's synagogue. The building was offered by the city's Jewish community. TheHolocaust appreciation memorial stands in the synagogue's garden.
The library has a very large collection of pre-18th-century books. The "Ancient book" collection includes 4,352 volumes, and a lot more writings, because many of the volumes are collectives (for example, one of them contains 17 writings). The library has threeincunabulums.
Joakim Vujić, known as the "Father of Serbian Theatre", writer and playwright who lived and worked in the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth- century.
Jovan Pačić (1771–1849), Serbian writer, poet, translator, illustrator and watercolor painter, the first to translateGoethe in Serbian.
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