Erdut ( sr-Cyrl, Ердут, ) is a village and a municipality in eastern

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

some 37 km east of the major city of Osijek. Lying on the border with neighbouring

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, it was the site of the signing of the

Erdut Agreement The Erdut Agreement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Erdutski sporazum, Ердутски споразум), officially the Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, was an agreement reached on 12 November 1 ...

, which initiated the

UNTAES The United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) was a UN peacebuilding transitional administration in the Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia in the eastern parts of Croatia ...

transitional administration over the Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia. The village of Erdut is the third largest in the municipality, after

Dalj Dalj ( sr-Cyrl, Даљ, hu, Dálya, german: Dallia, la, Teutoburgium) is a village on the Danube in eastern Croatia, near the confluence of the Drava and Danube, on the border with Serbia. It is located on the D519 road, south of its intersec ...

and Bijelo Brdo. The municipality is part of the

Osijek-Baranja County Osijek-Baranja County (, hr, Osječko-baranjska županija, hu, Eszék-Baranya megye) is a county in Croatia, located in northeastern Slavonia and Baranja. Its center is Osijek. Other towns include Đakovo, Našice, Valpovo, Belišće, and B ...

in eastern

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baran ...

. The municipal center is in the largest village of Dalj.

Name and languages

The name Erdut comes from the local Hungarian name (''Erdőd'') meaning "forest road". In other languages, the village in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

is known as ''Erdung'' and in Serbian as Ердут. Due to the local minority population, the Erdut municipality prescribe the use of not only Croatian as the official language, but the

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and K ...

and

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, t ...

alphabet as well.

Geography

The municipality has a total area of 158 km² (61 sq mi) and is the largest member municipality of

Joint Council of Municipalities sr, Заједничко веће општина , logo = Joint Council of Municipalities Logo.png , size = 150px , alt = , caption = Flag of The Joint Council of Municipalities , ...

. The Drava (5.6 km) and

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 , p ...

(34.825 km) rivers flow through the municipality. The territory of the municipality is completely flat very fertile black soil. The elevation of the village of Erdut is 158 m. It is located at the end of the

D213 road D213 is a state road in Slavonia region of Croatia connecting Dalj and nearby Erdut border crossing to Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Cen ...

near border crossing with Serbia. The railway station is located in Novi Erdut (''New Erdut'') hamlet, about 1 km south of the village, on the

Vukovar Vukovar () ( sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, hu, Vukovár, german: Wukowar) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern region of Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka and the Danube. Vukovar is the seat of ...

-Erdut-

Bogojevo Bogojevo ( sr-Cyrl, Богојево; hu, Gombos) is a village located in Odžaci municipality, West Bačka District, Serbia. The village has an ethnic Hungarian majority and its population numbering 1,744 people (as of 2011 census). History B ...

(Serbia) railway.

History

The settlement was first mentioned in 1335 under the Hungarian name Erdöd and then as a city in 1472. It was successively ruled by

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

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 1918 ...

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. It was established in p ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Croatian War of Independence

When Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, eastern Slavonia was soon overrun by the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...

and Serb

paramilitaries A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

, led by the notorious warlord, Željko Ražnatović known by the name

Arkan Željko Ražnatović (, ; 17 April 1952 – 15 January 2000), better known as Arkan (), was a Serbian mobster, politician, sports administrator, paramilitary commander and head of the Serb paramilitary force called the Serb Volunteer Guard duri ...

. The battle for Erdut quickly ended that summer as the entire

Croat 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, Ge ...

ian population was expelled or killed along with other minorities including

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...

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

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 Urali ...

Ruthenians Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in ...

and

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

in an act of ethnic cleansing.''The New York Times''; May 10, 1992 Their homes were soon occupied by other Serbs. Many buildings and homes were destroyed, including the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Arkan soon set up a training camp for his Serb Volunteer Guard in Erdut, which became headquarters until the end of the war, when Croatian forces returned according to a peaceful Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium.

Erdut Agreement

On November 12, 1995, officials signed what is commonly called the

in which the part of eastern Slavonia still occupied by Serbs would be integrated back into Croatia, gradually allowing some of the exiled refugees to return to their homes. This agreement was the basis for the establishment of

. Erdut has been under Croatian control since 1998.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2011 census, the municipality has a population is 7,308. The municipal population consists of

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

(55,56%),

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, ...

(37,96%) and

(5,06%). There are 4 settlements in municipality:

Religion

Dalj is seat of the

Eparchy of Osječko polje and Baranja Eparchy of Osječko polje and Baranja (Serbian Cyrillic: Епархија осјечкопољска и барањска or Епархија осечкопољска и барањска; hr, Osječkopoljska i baranjska eparhija) is an eparchy (d ...

of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Politics

Joint Council of Municipalities

The Municipality of Erdut is one of seven Serb majority member municipalities within the

, inter-municipal sui generis organization of ethnic Serb community in eastern Croatia established on the basis of

. 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.

Municipality government

The municipality assembly is composed of 13 representatives. As of 2021, the member parties are:

Economy

Erdut development index is between 50 and 76% of the Croatian average, and is underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the First Category Area of Special State Concern by the Government of Croatia.

Culture

Points of Interest

The municipality is home of

, and there is also Erdut Castle.

Notable natives and residents

Milutin Milanković Milutin Milanković (sometimes anglicised as Milankovitch; sr-Cyrl, Милутин Миланковић ; 28 May 1879 – 12 December 1958) was a Serbian mathematician, astronomer, climatologist, geophysicist, civil engineer and popularizer of ...

, born in

* Anton Tittjung, World War II concentration camp guard, who was stripped of his U.S. citizenship for his wartime activities.

References

External links

* {{authority control Municipalities of Croatia Slavonia Joint Council of Municipalities Croatia–Serbia border crossings Populated places on the Danube Serb communities in Croatia