Mirkovci | |
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  Mirkovci  Mirkovci  Mirkovci | |
| Coordinates:45°16′16″N18°51′00″E / 45.271°N 18.850°E /45.271; 18.850 | |
| Country |  Croatia |
| Region | Syrmia (Podunavlje) |
| County |  Vukovar-Syrmia |
| City | Vinkovci |
| Area | |
• Total | 26.0 km2 (10.0 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 95[2] m (311.68 ft) |
| Population (2021)[3] | |
• Total | 2,731 |
| • Density | 110/km2 (270/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Mirkovčanin (♂) Mirkovčanka (♀) (pergrammatical gender) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Vehicle registration | VK |
Mirkovci (Serbian Cyrillic:Мирковци,Hungarian:Szegfalu,German:Sankt Emrich) is avillage andsuburb of the town ofVinkovci in easternCroatia. It is geographically within theSyrmia andPodunavlje region. The village is located immediately southeast of Vinkovci separated from the rest of the town by Vinkovci-Gunja railway. At the time of 2011 Census, the local population was 3,283.
Mirkovci is a multiethnic settlement with Croat majority and Serb minority. Up until the end of theCroatian War of Independence Serbs were the majority population.
The area in which the village is located has been continually inhabited since theNeolithic period. During the Roman EmpireColonia Aurelia Cibalae was established in the region during the reign ofHadrian and gained the status of urban settlement during the reign ofCaracalla. EmperorsValentinian I andValens were born in Cibalae.
From 1526 to 1687 Syrmia was part of theOttoman Empire within theBudin Eyalet. At the end of this period theGreat Migrations of the Serbs occurred resulting in Serb settlement in the region which was at the time part ofHabsburg monarchy. Mirkovci was established in 18th century within theSlavonian Military Frontier, which acted as thecordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire in which Serb colonists were defending the Monarchy in return for land-grants and internal self-administration granted inStatuta Valachorum.[2] Soldiers from Mirkovci fought inAustro-Turkish War (1788–1791),Napoleonic Wars, various battlefields during theRevolutions of 1848 under the command ofJosip Jelačić andJoseph Radetzky von Radetz, theSecond Italian War of Independence and theThird Italian War of Independence.[2]Serbian OrthodoxChurch of St. Nicholas was constructed in period between 1804 and 1813. The village remained a part of the Slavonian Military Frontier until 1881 when the former was disestablished. Between 1881 and the end ofAustro-Hungarian rule the village was part of theKingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and itsSyrmia County.
During theSecond World War, 107 ethnic Serbs were transferred and killed in theJasenovac concentration camp operated by the Croatian fascistUstashe regime.[4] At that time Serbs living under the rule ofIndependent State of Croatia were exposed topersecution of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia. There are today 5 memorial plaques inSerbian Cyrillic alphabet commemoratingYugoslav Partisans and victims of Fascism which were set on the local community hall in 1958 during theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia time.
During theCroatian War of Independence, Mirkovci was under the control of Serb rebel forces. It was a part of theself-proclaimedSAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (1991–1992),Republic of Serbian Krajina (1992-1995) andUnited Nations protectorate ofEastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (1995-1998).[5] In his bookWarrior's Honour: Ethnic War and the Modern Conscience, Canadian authorMichael Ignatieff writes;
During the war, Mirkovci was the seat of the Municipality of Mirkovci which covered areas of pre-war Vinkovci Municipality within the Republic of Serbian Krajina. The village was one of the main centers of Serb rebellion in Eastern Croatia.[2]
Between 1996 and 1998 Mirkovci was under theUnited Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium administration.
The UNTAES mission made an executive decision to create the so-called Transitional Municipality of Mirkovci at the time of transition of the region to the control of the Croatian Government.[7] In January 1997 Transitional AdministratorJacques Paul Klein established new municipalities ofTrpinja,Negoslavci,Markušica,Šodolovci andJagodnjak with Serb majority which are today part of theJoint Council of Municipalities.[7] In Mirkovci and Tenja a suburb ofOsijek, the economic and cultural centre of Slavonia, were declared so called transitional municipalities with Serb ethnic majority which were to become part of Vinkovci and Osijek respectively after an additional transitional period of one year.[7] The new Transitional Municipality of Mirkovci covered the village of Mirkovci exclusively and not as in Krajina the entire area of pre-war Municipality of Vinkovci which were under the Serb rebel control.
The period after the reintegration is marked by population increase, uncommon for the rest of the region, and the changing demographic composition of the village. A number of ethnic Croat refugees fromBosnia were settled in the village, while a significant number of Serbs decided to emigrate toSerbia or third countries inEurope and elsewhere. Today Croats constitute an absolute majority in the village with significant Serb minority. In 2010 the construction of theRoman Catholic church ofAloysius Stepinac was completed after 10 years of works making it the first Roman Catholic church in Mirkovci.[8]
One of the political issues of local significance was the naming of streets in the village. Elected leaders of new Croat ethnic majority community wanted to change street names in the village which were named during the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and remained unchanged until the end of UNTAES mandate. At that time streets in Mirkovci were named afterVuk Stefanović Karadžić,Boško Buha,Veljko Vlahović,Edvard Kardelj,People's Liberation Army of Macedonia, 4 July-Fighter's Day and29 November-Republic Day.[9] Majority needed for the change was achieved in August 2010 when the new names afterVukovar and other cities and rivers in Croatia were proposed to the City Council of Vinkovci.[9] Special 4 members commission was formed with 2 ethnic Croats and 2 Serbs tasked with creation of proposal for 42 new street names acceptable to both communities.[9]
Mirkovci are bordering village between regions ofSlavonia andSyrmia. Its elevation is 95 meters above thesea level.[2] The village lies in a flatland north to theBosut river. 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.
Elementary School in Mirkovci was established in 1759 making it one of the oldest elementary schools in the region.[10] In 1877 it moved to its current location with expansions and renovations taking place in 1900, 1959, 1969, 1992 and 2006.[10] In 2006 the school took the name ofNikola Tesla marking 150th anniversary of scientist's birth.[10]
In period between 1967 and 1997 school was known under the name Elementary School Simo Lončar.[11] After the end of reintegration process relevant Croatian authorities decided to register school under the name Elementary School Mirkovci which it kept until 2006.
Education is conducted in two groups, either in Croatian or Serbian language.[11] In school year 2009–10 233 pupils attended the school.[11]
Notable people who were born or lived in Mirkovci include:
Villages of Vukovar-Syrmia County | ||
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