Inđija (Serbian Cyrillic: Инђија, pronounced[ǐndʑija]) is a town and a municipality located in the Srem District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2024, the town has total population of 28,450, while the municipality has 47,433 inhabitants. It is located in the geographical region of Syrmia.
Name
According to the legend, the name of the town comes from Turkish word "ikindia" – meaning evening prayer and is related to the time after 1699 when the town fell under Turkish rule. On the other hand, there is the claim that the town was named after the name of Orthodox women – Inđija. Newest researches states that name of the city is taken from Latin word "Indigena" meaning "indigenous". This theory is most relevant, due to presence of ancient Illyrian, Celtic and Roman settlements in neighbourhood of modern Inđija. In Serbo-Croatian, the town is known as Inđija (Serbian Cyrillic: Инђија), in Hungarian as Ingyia, in German as India, in Slovak as India or Indjija, and in Rusyn as Индїя.
Map of Inđija municipality - Town of Inđija with surrounding villages.SVG map of Municipality of Indjija's settlements
The first verifiable evidence of Inđija's existence is in the Charter of Despot Jovan Branković from 1496, but it may have existed as early as 1455 as possession of Hungarian noble family Sulyok. During the Ottoman administration (16th-18th centuries), Inđija was mostly populated by ethnic Serbs, and was part of the OttomanSanjak of Syrmia.
Since 1717, Inđija was part of the Habsburg monarchy, and became a feudal domain of Count Marko Pejačević of the Pejačević family that originated from Chiprovtsi, Bulgaria. The old medieval Inđija was placed a little bit to the north than today town. The present-day Inđija was founded by the Serb settlers from Beška and Patka in 1746. According to the description from 1746 it had 60 households, while in 1791 it has already grown to 122 households with 1,054 residents. In the second half of the 18th century, this new settlement was mostly populated by ethnic Serbs. Germans and Czechs start settling in Inđija at the beginning of the 19th century, while Hungarians migrated there towards the end of the century. During the time, Germans became dominant population in the town.[citation needed]
First fairs started to take place in Inđija at the beginning of the 19th century, when the state's postal service was established. Telegraph became operational in Inđija in 1850, while postal money transfers commenced in 1886. The first bank was established in 1897, and the first trade school in 1897. The first electric plant in Inđija started with its operations in 1911.[citation needed]
The industrial progress in Inđija was initiated with the establishment of mills in the mid 19th century, and the first larger steam operating mill, with a capacity of 10 cars of wheat per day, was built by a company from Budapest in 1890. After the mills, the brick factories followed, while the carpentry tradition and furniture production started in 1876. At the beginning of the 20th century, a famous fur factory was established, while the spirits factory was built in 1912.
Industrial development of Inđija is largely related to the development of railroad infrastructure. The railroad reached Inđija in 1883, from two directions: from Subotica and Zagreb in the north and west respectively, continuing towards Belgrade. This has practically positioned Inđija on the crossroads of two key Balkan railroad directions.
Since 1918, Inđija was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929). After the World War I, first factories were established producing anything from strollers for children, nails, jam, powdered eggs, and parachutes, to textiles and metal processing industry right after the World War II. In the first half of the 20th century Inđija became a traditional trading destination and headquarters of successful trade companies. The first modern road in Serbia the so-called "International Road" (Novi Sad–Beograd) passed through Inđija in 1939.[citation needed]
Prior to World War II, 5,900 of the total population of 7,900 was composed of ethnic Germans. The town was at the time one of the most developed settlements in Vojvodina, and a spiritual and cultural center of Germans in the Syrmia region.
During the World War II (1941–1944), the town belonged to the Independent State of Croatia. After the defeat of Axis Powers, in 1944, the German army was expelled and most of the Yugoslav Germans were forcibly removed from the country. Those who remained in Yugoslavia were sent to prison camps. After camps were abolished (in 1948), most of the remaining Yugoslav Germans were expulsed to Germany. After 1944, new migratory patterns intensified and, according to 1953 census, Inđija was mainly populated by Serbs. Population of the town increased from 7,758 in 1948 to 26,247 in 2002.
As of the 2002 census, 87.61% of the town population are Serbs. Inđija is also one of the economically most advanced Serbian municipalities, and a premium investment destination.[citation needed]
Inhabited places
Inđija municipality includes the town of Inđija and the following villages:
The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):[5]
Activity
Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
297
Mining and quarrying
-
Manufacturing
5,609
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
74
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities
283
Construction
380
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
2,289
Transportation and storage
601
Accommodation and food services
358
Information and communication
116
Financial and insurance activities
143
Real estate activities
15
Professional, scientific and technical activities
328
Administrative and support service activities
263
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security
375
Education
612
Human health and social work activities
792
Arts, entertainment and recreation
102
Other service activities
198
Individual agricultural workers
371
Total
13,207
Society and culture
New Orthodox churchMunicipality building in IndjijaMonument dedicated to WWI hero Milunka Savić
Culture
Numerous cultural historical monuments, modern and prehistoric, are testify to the turbulent history of this region. Remains of Roman and medieval fortress and a monument to the Battle of Slankamen talk about the strategic importance of this area of the Danube, which was the border of various empires through history.
Urban core Indjija dates from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, from the period of industrial development and the period of German nationality residents settling when building of Municipal Administration, house of Vojnovics,[6] the Roman Catholic Church of St. Peter, the building of the presbytery and townhouses with frontage eclectically designed with elements Baroque, Classical, Renaissance and Art Nouveau were built. Somewhat earlier Church "Vavedenja presvete Bogorodice" was formed, which by its proportions, is one of the most beautiful and most suitable buildings in Srem preserved from the eighteenth century.
With its new pedestrian zone with a monumental square, modern building of the Cultural Center[7] floral arrangements and street furniture, Indjija builds an image of the European city tailored for a modern man.
On June 26, 2007 there was a concert of The Red Hot Chili Peppers held in Inđija. The concert lasted for about 1 hour and 20 minutes and was a part of Green Fest. Around 90,000 to 100,000 people, many of them from neighbouring countries, came to see one of today's most popular bands.
Sport
Inđija has a football club FK Inđija competed in the Serbian First League and an American football club Inđija Indians competing in the SAAF league. Woman handball club ŽRK Železničar Inđija finished sixth in Handball Super League of Serbia for Woman.[8] Basketball club named Železničar is currently playing in third division, but has participated in Basketball League of Serbia in 2011–12 season.
Indjija was elected as one of the hosts of the 2009 Summer Universiade, which was held in Serbia in July 2009.
Education
Indjija has 10 elementary school, 3 middle schools[9] and Faculty of Technical Sciences(Novi Sad) Department for Software Engineering[10]
Elementary schools
Dušan Jerković
Petar Kočić
Jovan Popović
Braća Grulović - Beška
Branko Radičević - Maradik
Dr Đorđe Natošević - Novi Slankamen
Ruža Đurđević Crna, Čortanovci
Slobodan Bajić Paja, Novi Karlovci
22. jul, Krčedin
Petar Kočić - Ljukovo
Middle Schools
Technical School Mihajlo Pupin
Đorđe Natošević School
Gymnasium (Gimnazija) Indjija
Religion
Inđija has two main churches: Serbian Orthodox Church (from 1756) and Roman Catholic Church (from 1867−1872). There is also a new Orthodox church. Smaller, home-based, Protestant congregations also exist.
