Trpinja | |
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| Municipality of Trpinja Općina Trpinja Општина Трпиња | |
 Firefighters inVera  World War II monument in Trpinja Trpinja Municipality locations | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
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  Trpinja Location of Trpinja in Croatia Show map of Vukovar-Syrmia County Trpinja Trpinja (Croatia) Show map of Croatia Trpinja Trpinja (Europe) Show map of Europe | |
| Coordinates:45°25′N18°54′E / 45.417°N 18.900°E /45.417; 18.900 | |
| Country |  Croatia |
| Region | Slavonia (Podunavlje) |
| County |  Vukovar-Syrmia |
| Municipal seat Largest settlement | Trpinja Bobota |
| Government | |
| • Municipal mayor | Miroslav Palić[3] (Independent[4]) |
| Area | |
| 122.8 km2 (47.4 sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 30.0 km2 (11.6 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 86 m (282 ft) |
| Population (2021)[6] | |
| 4,167 | |
| • Density | 33.93/km2 (87.89/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,130 |
| • Urban density | 37.7/km2 (97.6/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Trpinjanin (♂) Trpinjanka (♀) (pergrammatical gender) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 32224 Trpinja |
| Area code | 32 |
| Vehicle registration | VU |
| Official languages | Croatian,Serbian[2] |
| Municipality established | April 13, 1997[7] |
| Website | opcinatrpinja |
Trpinja (Serbian Cyrillic:Трпиња,Hungarian:Terpenye) is avillage and an eponymous municipality in theVukovar-Syrmia County in easternCroatia. The village is located on theD55 road betweenOsijek andVukovar. Landscape of the Trpinja Municipality is marked by thePannonian Basin plains and agricultural fields ofmaize,wheat,common sunflower andsugar beet.
The Municipality of Trpinja was established in 1997 by theUNTAES administration as one of newpredominantly Serb municipalities in order to ensure access to local self-government to Serb community in the region after the end of theCroatian War of Independence. The municipality is northernmost one in the Vukovar-Syrmia Country and there are in total 7 villages within municipal boundaries. At the time of 2011 census the municipality had a population of 5,572 and the village of Trpinja itself 1,537.
The villages of Trpinja,Bobota andVera share a common legend about the origin of their names. According to the legend, the ancestors of today's inhabitants of villages, who settled at the time of theGreat Serb Migrations underArsenije III Čarnojević, were called Bobe. They were fleeing from theOttoman Empire conquests of Balkan as they wanted to preserve theirreligious freedom.
This legendary religious commitment and orthodoxy was coined in the local phraseBobe endured for the faith or originally in SerbianBobe trpiše za veru. The family name of 'Bobe' was used as the basis for the name of Bobota, the word 'endured' (Serbo-Croatian:trpiti) the name of Trpinja was created and from the word 'faith' (Serbian:vera) the name of Vera was coined.[8]
Another story tells that the name of Trpinja originated from a landowner Trpimir who owned the land in the vicinity.[8]
Serbian together with theSerbian Cyrillic alphabet is the second co-official language within the boundaries of the municipality including all settlement except predominantly Croat oneĆelije.[1][9]: 2 The statute guarantees that Serbian Cyrillic alphabet will be used in text of seals and stamps, on plates of representative, executive and administrative bodies of the municipality, as well as on those of legal entities with public authority.[1] Pre-school education for the Serb community is organized and conducted in Serbian and Cyrillic according to the local statute.[1] Elementary education is provided in Serbian as well. As of 2023, most of the legal requirements for the fulfillment of bilingual standards have not been carried out. Official buildings do have Cyrillic signage, as do street signs and seals, but not traffic signs. Cyrillic is not used on any official documents, but there are public legal and administrative employees proficient in the script.[9]: 133, 134 Preserving traditional Serbian place names and assigning street names to Serbian historical figures is legally mandated and carried out.[9]: 135
The municipality is located on the border between historical regions ofSlavonia andSyrmia, in the southern part ofPannonian Basin in thePodunavlje region. The total area of the municipality is 123.87 km2 (47.8 sq mi).[10] The riverVuka flows through the municipality in length of 8 kilometers as well as an artificialBobota Canal in the length of 20 kilometers. The territory of the municipality is completely flat, with very fertileblack soil. The municipality shares borders withBorovo,Bogdanovci,Nuštar,Tordinci,Šodolovci andErdut municipalities, with the town ofVukovar and the city ofOsijek.
Trpinja municipality has a moderately warm and rainycontinental climate as defined by theKöppen climate classification. Due to the continental influence temperature differences during the year are more pronounced than in the rest of the country.
Trpinja is connected byD2 road with rest of the country.D55 road goes through the villageBršadin. County road Ž4111 goes through the villages ofPačetin,Bobota andVera.
Railway lineM601 that connectsVinkovci,Borovo Naselje andVukovar goes through the Trpinja municipality.
Name of the Trpinja settlement was first mentioned in 1329 in one document issued in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Document is today kept inBudapest,Hungary.[8] In fact in this period at the place of present Trpinja were settlementsMala Trpinja,Velika Trpinja andSlavenska Trpinja.[8] Villages were owned by the gentry until they were conquered by theOttoman Empire in 1536.[8] Ottoman authorities settledSerb population in this area, which resulted in decreased percentage of local Hungarians. Area was under Ottoman administration until 1691, when it was conquered by the Habsburg Monarchy. According to the census of 1732, Trpinja had 109 Serb families. Construction of the Serbian Orthodox church began in 1750 and was completed in 1755. The first school in Trpinja was opened in 1776, while in 1859 Trpinja had a factory for spinning silk.[8] In 1882, population of Trpinja numbered about 1,800 people in 400 homes. The inhabitants wereChristian Orthodox Serbs, except 2-3 families who were ofRoman Catholic faith.[8] Although the period ofFirst World War in the village was marked by disease and poverty, Trpinja residents hosted the population of the village ofJakovo. From 27 December 1920 (when they arrived in Vukovar) soldiers and families of theWhite Russian émigrés who were followers ofPyotr Wrangel settled inBobota,Pačetin,Bršadin, Trpinja and Vera.[11] The villagers participated in theanti-fascist struggle duringWorld War II, and one number of them ended up inconcentration camps ofIndependent State of Croatia.[8] During the war, 452 soldiers from Trpinja fought in the 9th Slavonian Brigade, of which 75 were killed.[8] 170Romani people from Trpinja were arrested byUstaše and taken toJasenovac concentration camp in 1942, no one of them returned.[8] According to the 1981 census, Trpinja had 2,243 inhabitants.
Between 1991 and 1997, Trpinja was controlled by the Serbs who rebelled against the democratically elected Croatian Government. During that time, the non-Serb population was subjected to unlawful arrests, imprisonment, physical, mental and sexual abuse and killings by the members of local Serb paramilitary formations. Civilians were physically and mentally abused on a daily basis, forced to sing Chetnik songs, threatened with mutilation by cutting off limbs and body parts, men were forced to kneel in the village center and graze the grass, women were threatened with rape, with one being raped and another forced to drink blood that was leaking from the broken nose of an abused man. Ten captives from Trpinja, as well as civilians captured inBorovo and severely wounded civilians from the Borovo Commerce hospital, who had previously been brutally beaten, had been executed in the nearby Bobotski kanal. In 2016, 10 Serbs were convicted for war crimes against prisoners of war and civilians to prison sentences ranging between 5 and 20 years.[12][13][14] During theBattle of Vukovar,Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and various paramilitary forces fromSerbia tried to break through theVukovar defense from the direction of Trpinja, namely throughTrpinjska cesta, the road that connected Trpinja and Vukovar. However, the Croatian soldiers of theCroatian National Guard (ZNG) and civilian volunteers, led by Major generalBlago Zadro, offered strong resistance, during which they destroyed about 30 JNA tanks and armored vehicles which gave road the nickname "tank graveyard".[15] Trpinja was reintegrated into Croatia with theErdut Agreement.
There are 1,537 inhabitants in village Trpinja and 5,572 inhabitants in the municipality according to the 2011 census.[16] The majority of the population areSerbs, making up 89.75% of the population according to the 2011 population census.[17] 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 4,167 residents at the time of 2021 census.
Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord is aSerbian Orthodox church in village of Trpinja listed inRegister of Cultural Goods of Croatia. On the territory of the municipality there are alsoSerbian OrthodoxChurch of St. George in Bobota as well as churches in Vera, Pačetin and Bršadin. There is also Roman Catholic church in village of Ćelije.
The Municipality of Trpinja is one of seven Serb majority member municipalities within theJoint Council of Municipalities, inter-municipalsui generis organization of ethnic Serb community in eastern Croatia established on the basis ofErdut Agreement. As Serb community constitute majority of the population of the municipality it is represented by 2 delegated Councillors at the Assembly of the Joint Council of Municipalities, double the number of Councilors to the number from Serb minority municipalities in Eastern Croatia.[18]
The municipality assembly is composed of 15 representatives with one additional member added in 2017 to achieve proportional representation of municipal ethnic Croat community. Assembly members come from electoral lists winning more than 5% of votes. Dominant party in Trpinja since the reintegration of eastern Slavonia in 1998 isIndependent Democratic Serb Party with rise of support for independent lists in recent years. Some 2,557 or 56.67% out of 4,512 voters participated in2017 Croatian local elections with 92.14% valid votes.[19] With 58,31% and 1.505 votes independent Miroslav Palić was elected as municipality major with Svetislav Mikerević from Independent Democratic Serb Party coming second with 39,29 %.[19] As of 2017, the member parties/lists are:
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates list of group of voters-Miroslav Palić | 1,109 | 47.07 % | 8 | ||||
| Independent Democratic Serb Party | 815 | 34.59 % | 5+1 | ||||
| Candidates list of group of voters-Miroljub Maširević | 164 | 6.96 % | 1 | ||||
| Social Democratic Party of Croatia | 136 | 5.77 % | 1 | ||||
| Candidates list of group of voters-Tatjana Milinković | 132 | 5,60 % | 0 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 201 | 7.86 % | — | ||||
| Total | 2,557 | 100 | — | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 4,512 | 56.67 % | — | ||||
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| Source: :[19]page 87-90(in Croatian) | |||||||
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.[20] At the2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives electionsSerbs of Croatia each fulfilled legal requirements to elect 10 members minority councils of the Trpinja Municipality.[21]
Trpinja is an underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as theFirst Category Area of Special State Concern by theGovernment of Croatia.[22] The most common economic activities aretillage andanimal husbandry.
Elementary School in Trpinja is one of the oldest schools in the region, established in 1776. Classes at the school take place exclusively in theSerbian (exceptions areCroatian andforeign languages).[23] Upon completion of eight years of elementary school, students usually continue their education in secondary schools in Vukovar where they could attend classes in Serbian. The three most popular universities after high school areUniversity of Novi Sad,University of Osijek andUniversity of Belgrade.
Coat of arms of Trpinja Municipality is in yellow (golden) color with green clover with three leaves in the middle. Flag of Trpinja Municipality is a monochrome blue with the coat of arms in the middle of the flag.[24]
Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Trpinja was built from 1753 until 1757.[25] The church is a cultural monument and is on the list ofimmovable cultural heritage ofRepublic of Croatia. Valuable objects in the church are also on the list of movable cultural heritage of Republic of Croatia. Object is in regular use and is also open for visitors at certain time. Tourist visitors pay no entrance.
At the central site in Trpinja there is a monument dedicated to fallen soldiers fromWorld War II and the fallen soldiers and victims of war in 1991.
Local cultural society "Mladost" was founded in 1995. Its work preserves and promotes the folk customs and culture ofSerbs of the Croatian Danube region.
In the village exist a volunteer fire department Trpinja,[26] folk Cultural and Artistic Association "MLADOST", Serbian Cultural Society "Prosvjeta",[27] football club "Sinđelić", chess club "Trpinja",[28] Hunting Association "Srndać" and Hunting Association "Trpinja",[29] Association of subsidiaries of pensioners of Trpinja municipality and Subsidiary of pensioners of Trpinja,[30] "Treća životna dob" ("Third age"), The association of anti-fascist fighters of the National Liberation War and Anti-Fascists of Trpinja municipality.[31]
There are seven villages in the municipality.[32]
| Settlement | Population |
|---|---|
| Bobota | 1,540 |
| Bršadin | 1,357 |
| Ćelije | 121 |
| Ludvinci | 113 |
| Pačetin | 548 |
| Trpinja | 1,537 |
| Vera | 458 |
Local amateur football clubSinđelić, which is named afterStevan Sinđelić, has won several lower-league championships. In 2011 Sinđelić was a champion of the regionalVeterans League of Joint Council of Municipalities. TheChess Club Trpinja is also active.
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