Žitište

Žitište Житиште (Serbian) Begaszentgyörgy (Hungarian) Jitiște (Romanian)
Town and municipality
Town center.
Coat of arms
Location of Žitište within Serbia
Coordinates: 45°29′N 20°33′E
Country	Serbia
Province	Vojvodina
District	Central Banat
Government
• Mayor	Mitar Vučurević (SNS)
Area
• Total	525 km^2 (202.7 sq mi)
Elevation	78 m (256 ft)
Population  (2022)[1]
• Total	13,412
• Administrative	2,550
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	23210
Area code	+381(0)23
Car plates	ZR
Website	zitiste.org

Žitište (Serbian Cyrillic: Житиште, pronounced [ʒîtiːʃte]; Hungarian: Begaszentgyörgy; Romanian: Jitiște) is a town and municipality located in the Central Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022 census, the town itself has a population of 2,550, while Žitište municipality has 13,412 inhabitants.^[2]

Name

In Serbian, the town is known as Žitište (Cyrillic: Житиште), in Romanian as Jitiște or Zitiște, in German as Sankt Georgen an der Bega, and in Hungarian as Bégaszentgyörgy or Begaszentgyörgy.

The Serbian name of the town derived from the Serbian word "žito" ("wheat" in English). Its old names used in Serbian were Begej Sveti Đurađ and Senđurađ.

The Hungarian name of the town derived from the Hungarian family name Szentgyörgyi.

History

Žitište was founded in the 14th century during the administration of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, under the name of Zenthgyurgh (Szentgyörgyi). In 1660/1666, it was called Senđurađ, which was recorded as a settlement repopulated by ethnic Serbs during Ottoman rule. In the beginning of the 18th century, the settlement was completely abandoned and in 1723 it was recorded as an uninhabited heath.

It was settled again in 1724 by Serb and Romanian settlers. In 1736/37, the settlement had 27 houses. Because of the Austro-Turkish war (1736–1739) and pestilence, the number of inhabitants decreased and in 1740 the population of the settlement numbered 18 houses. In 1753, Begej Sveti Đurađ was settled by 1,000 Serb frontiersmen from Pomorišje, Potisje and Veliki Bečkerek, and in the same year it was recorded on map as a "Serb-inhabited settlement"^{[citation needed]}. In 1758, Begej Sveti Đurađ had 45 houses, and in 1773 it had 182 houses. Its church was built in 1758, and it was also used as a school. In 1781, Begej Sveti Đurađ became a property of Isak Kiš (Kis Izsák), who was a trader of Armenian origin.

From 1800 to 1805, the settlement was moved to another location closer to the Begej river. Part of the Serb population moved from the settlement and settled in the Military Frontier, while German colonists settled in Begej Sveti Đurađ instead of them. Begej Sveti Đurađ was a municipality until 1877, when it was joined to the municipality of Veliki Bečkerek. In 1880, the population of the settlement numbered 3,041 people, of whom 1,983 were Catholics, 1,033 were Eastern Orthodox, 19 were Jews, and 6 were others. In accordance with the census made in 1910, the linguistic distribution of the 2,814 inhabitants included 1,454 who spoke German, 1,034 who spoke Serbian and 214 who spoke Hungarian.

In 1931, the population of Begej Sveti Đurađ included 1,318 inhabitants who spoke the German language, 1,055 who spoke the Serbian language, 188 who spoke the Hungarian language, 34 who spoke other Slavic languages, and 94 who spoke other languages. In 1940, population of Begej Sveti Đurađ numbered 3,055 people, of whom 1,642 were Eastern Orthodox, 1,387 were Catholics, 16 were Jews, and 10 were others.

As a consequence of World War II and Axis occupation, the German population left or was evicted from Begej Sveti Đurađ after the war, while 270 Serb families from Bosanska Krajina came to the settlement. In 1947, the name of the settlement was officially changed to Žitište. In 1960, Žitište became a seat of its municipality.

On 2 July 2016, a man killed his wife in a mass shooting that occurred at a local cafe. Four others were also killed and an additional 22 were injured. The shooter was arrested by police after the attack.^[3][4]

Inhabited places

Map of Žitište municipality

Žitište municipality includes the town of Žitište and the following villages:

• Banatski Dvor
• Banatsko Višnjićevo
• Banatsko Karađorđevo
• Međa
• Novi Itebej (Hungarian: Magyarittabé)
• Ravni Topolovac
• Srpski Itebej
• Torak (Romanian: Torac)
• Torda (Hungarian: Torontáltorda)
• Hetin (Hungarian: Tamásfalva or Hetény)
• Čestereg

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1948	36,375	—
1953	35,649	−0.40%
1961	33,514	−0.77%
1971	29,684	−1.21%
1981	25,579	−1.48%
1991	22,811	−1.14%
2002	20,399	−1.01%
2011	16,841	−2.11%
2022	13,412	−2.05%
Source: [5]

According to the 2011 census, the population of the municipality of Žitište was 16,841 inhabitants.^[6]

Ethnic groups

See also: Serbs in Vojvodina, Hungarians in Vojvodina, Romani people of Vojvodina, Romanians in Vojvodina, and List of Hungarian communities in Vojvodina

Municipality

• Serbs = 10,436 (61.97%)
• Hungarians = 3,371 (20.02%)
• Romanians = 1,412 (8.38%)
• Romani = 832 (4.94%)
• Others and undeclared = 790 (4.69%)

Settlements with Serb ethnic majority are: Žitište, Banatsko Višnjićevo, Banatsko Karađorđevo, Međa, Ravni Topolovac, Srpski Itebej, and Čestereg. Settlements with Hungarian ethnic majority are: Novi Itebej (Magyarittabé in Hungarian), Torda, and Hetin (Tamásfalva in Hungarian). The settlement with Romanian ethnic majority is Torak (Begejci). Ethnically mixed settlement with relative Serb majority is Banatski Dvor (Szőllősudvarnok in Hungarian).

Town

According to the 2011 census the town of Žitište had 2,903 inhabitants, including:^[6]

• Serbs = 2,511 (86.50%)
• Romani = 175 (6.03%)
• Hungarians = 58 (2.00%)
• Others and undeclared = 159 (5.48%)

Language

Serbian, Hungarian, and Romanian language are officially used by municipal authorities.

Sports

• KK Sveti Đorđe, basketball team

Gallery

• 
  The Eastern Orthodox church of Saint George, built in 1810.
• 
  The Eastern Orthodox church of Saint George under re-construction
• 
  Relief depicting Saint George, above the entrance of the Eastern Orthodox church
• 
  Monument of Rocky Balboa, built in 2007 in Žitište

Notable inhabitants

• Radomir Antić

Trivia

In 2007, local authorities unveiled a monument in the centre of the town, dedicated to famous, fictional boxer Rocky Balboa. [1]. In 2009, filmmaker Barry Avrich produced and directed the documentary, "Amerika Idol" about the making and dedication of the Rocky statue.

See also

• List of places in Serbia
• List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina
• Municipalities of Serbia
• Central Banat District

References

1. "Census 2022: Total population, by municipalities and cities". popis2022.stat.gov.rs.
2. "Census 2022 - excel table | ABOUT CENSUS". popis2022.stat.gov.rs. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
3. "Serbian man kills 5, injures 22, in cafe shooting". Reuters. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
4. "Serbia Gunman Kills 5, Including Wife, in Zitiste Cafe Attack". NBC News. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
5. "2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia" (PDF). stat.gov.rs. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
6. "Population by ethnicity – Žitište". Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS). Retrieved 11 March 2013.

Further reading

• Ljubica Budać, Begej Sveti Đurađ - Žitište, Žitište, 2000.
• Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1996.

External links

• Official web site of Žitište
• Citizens' Association Rocky Balboa Archived 2018-05-27 at the Wayback Machine