Danube Banovina or Danube Banate ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Dunavska banovina, Дунавска бановина), was a banovina (or province) of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 191 ...

between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of the geographical regions of Syrmia,

Bačka Bačka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska () is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hunga ...

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...

, Baranya,

Šumadija Šumadija (, sr-Cyrl, Шумадија) is a geographical region in the central part of Serbia. The area used to be heavily covered with forests, hence the name (from ''šuma'' 'forest'). The city of Kragujevac is the administrative center of ...

, and Braničevo. The capital city of the Danube Banovina was

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the P ...

. The province was named after the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

River.

Banovina Palace, Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia - 20050516

Population

According to the 1931 census, the Danube Banovina had 2,387,495 inhabitants. The population of this region was composed of: *

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...

and

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic ...

(56.9%) *

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

(18.2%) *

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

(16.3%)

Borders

According to the 1931

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, *"The Danube Banovina is bounded on the south-west by the boundaries ... of the

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...

and Drina Banovinas, on the north and north-east by the State frontiers with

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, up to the point where the latter frontier meets the

. The boundary then follows the course of the Danube up to the eastern boundary of the district of Ram and then turns along the south-eastern boundary of the Požarevac district. It then follows the eastern boundaries of the districts of Morava, Lepenica, Kragujevac, and Gruža, as far as the Dulenski Crni Vrh (hill 919), turning towards the Gledic Mountains and thence over the Krečane (hill 760) and Brzak (hill 822) up to the boundary of the Drina Banovina on Mount Kotlenik, near Crni Vrh (hill 768)."

History

In 1931, Mitrovica and

Šid Šid ( sr-cyr, Шид, ) is a town and municipality located in the Srem District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It has a population of 14,893, while the municipality has 34,188 inhabitants. A border crossing between Serbia and ...

districts were transferred from Drina Banovina to Danube Banovina. In 1939, when the new Banovina of Croatia was formed,

and Ilok districts were transferred from the Danube Banovina to that of Croatia. In 1941, the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

occupied the Danube Banovina. Bačka and Baranja regions were attached to

, while Syrmia was attached to the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...

. The remainder of the former Danube Banovina (including Banat, Šumadija, and Braničevo) were part of the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia. However, Banat had autonomy as a region ruled by its ethnic German minority. In 1945 the region was restored as a province of Serbia within a federal Socialist Yugoslavia. The province was officially renamed as '' Vojvodina'', its historical name, with the capital at the city of

. The new province consisted of Syrmia, Banat and Bačka regions. Baranja was included in the People's Republic of Croatia, while Šumadija and Braničevo were included in Serbia Proper.

Cities

Some large cities of the Danube Banovina were: *

Subotica Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Subotica i ...

Petrovgrad Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; hu, Nagybecskerek; ro, Becicherecu Mare; sk, Zreňanin; german: Großbetschkerek) is a city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbi ...

(now Zrenjanin) * Sombor *

Velika Kikinda Kikinda ( sr-Cyrl, Кикинда, ; hu, Nagykikinda) is a city and the administrative center of the North Banat District in Serbia . The city urban area has 38,069 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 59,453 inhabitants. The ...

(now Kikinda) * Mitrovica (now Sremska Mitrovica) * Kragujevac *

Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade. According t ...

* Požarevac

Bans of Danube Banovina (1929–1941)

* Daka Popović (1929–1930) * Radoslav Dunjić (1930) *

Svetomir Matić Svetomir Lj. Matić (Serbian: Светомир Матић; 24 November 1870 in Kraljevo, Principality of Serbia – 2 May 1931 in Novi Sad, Serbia, Kingdom of Yugoslavia) was a Serbian and Royal Yugoslav Army general. He participated in the wars ...

(1930–1931) * Milan Nikolić (1931–1933) *

Dobrica Matković Dobrica Matković ( sr-cyr, Добрица Матковић; 29 November 1887 – 9 October 1973) was a Serbian veteran of the World War I and a politician. Appointed as head of the Department for State Protection in 1929, he served as governor of ...

(1933–1935) * Milojko Vasović (1935) * Svetislav Paunović (1935–1936) * Svetislav Rajić (1936–1939) * Jovan Radivojević (1939–1940) * Branko Kijurina (1940–1941) * Milorad Vlaškalin (1941)

References and further reading