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Ilok () is the easternmost town in Croatia forming a geographic salient surrounded by Vojvodina. Located in the
Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...
region, it lies on a hill overlooking the Danube river, which forms the border with the Bačka region of Serbia. The population of the settlement of Ilok is 5,072, while the total town population is 3,407 (census 2021). The town is home to a Franciscan monastery and
Ilok Castle Ilok Castle ( hr, Iločki dvorac or ''Gradina Ilok'') or Odescalchi Castle overlooks the town of Ilok in eastern Croatia. It is built on a hill above the town centre, offering views on the Danube and the Pannonian Plain. The castle was originally ...
, which is a popular day trip for domestic tourists.


Name

In Croatian, the town is known as ''Ilok'', 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 **Ger ...
as ''Illok'', in Hungarian as ''Újlak'', in Serbian Cyrillic as Илок and in
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
as ''Uyluk''. In Hungarian language "Újlak" means "new dwelling or lodge".


History

The area of present-day Ilok was populated since the neolithic and Bronze Ages. One Scordisci archaeological site dating back to late La Tène culture was excavated in the 1970s and 1980s as a part of rescue excavations in eastern Croatia. The Romans settled there in the 1st or 2nd century and built Cuccium, the first border fortification on the Danube. The
Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
settled here in the 6th century. The area was later ruled by the
Bulgarian Empire In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...
, with a period of Frankish and Croat rule under Ljudevit Posavski, but after that the Bulgarians return, and stayed there until it was included into the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. In 12th and 13th centuries the market-town of Ilok was mentioned in documents under various names (Iwnlak, Vilak, Vylok, Wyhok, Wylak). At the end of the 13th century, Hungarian kings gave the Vylak castrum to the powerful Csák noble family. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Ilok was a capital of the semi-independent medieval state of Upper Syrmia ruled by
Ugrin Csák Ugrin (III) from the kindred Csák ( hu, Csák nembeli (III.) Ugrin, hr, Ugrin Čak, sr, Угрин Чак; died in 1311) was a prominent Hungarian baron and oligarch in the early 14th century. He was born into an ancient Hungarian clan. He ac ...
. After 1354, the town of Ilok belonged to Nicholas and Paul Garay (in Croatian references Gorjanski), and then to Nicholas Kont of Orahovica and his descendants, among which was his grandson
Ladislaus Ladislaus ( or according to the case) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin. It may refer to: * Ladislaus of Hungary (disambiguation) * Ladislaus I (disambiguation) * Ladislaus II (disambiguation) * Ladislaus III (disambiguation) * Ladi ...
, great-grandson
Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...
and the last member of the Újlaki (Iločki) family - Lawrence. Nicholas was the Ban of All Slavonia from 1457 to 1463, and his son, Lawrence was a duke of
Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...
from 1477 to 1524. In 1526, the town came under Ottoman rule. During this time, it was mainly populated by Muslims. In 1566–69, Ilok had 238
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
and 27
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
houses. In 1572, it had 386 Muslim, and 18 Christian houses. In 1669, the population of Ilok numbered 1,160 houses, and town possessed two mosques. It was kaza centre in Sanjak of Syrmia. Habsburg army firstly occupied Ilok in 1688, but Ottomans recaptured it in 1690. In 1697,
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
army definitively retook Ilok from the Ottomans and the Muslim population fled. During the Habsburg rule, Ilok belonged to the Kingdom of Slavonia, a Habsburg province that belonged to both the
Kingdom of Croatia Kingdom of Croatia may refer to: * Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102), an independent medieval kingdom * Croatia in personal union with Hungary (1102–1526), a kingdom in personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary * Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg) (152 ...
, and the Kingdom of Hungary. Between 1849 and 1868, the Kingdom of Slavonia was completely separate Habsburg crownland, and in 1868 it was joined with the Kingdom of Croatia to form the
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija; hu, Horvát-Szlavónország or ; de-AT, Königreich Kroatien und Slawonien) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation with ...
. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Ilok was a district capital in the
Syrmia County Syrmia County ( hr, Srijemska županija, sr, Сремска жупанија, hu, Szerém vármegye, german: Komitat Syrmien) was a historic administrative subdivision (''županija'') of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was ...
of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. In 1918, Ilok first became part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, and then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (in 1929 renamed Kingdom of Yugoslavia). From 1929 to 1939, Ilok was part of the
Danube Banovina Danube Banovina or Danube Banate ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Dunavska banovina, Дунавска бановина), was a banovina (or province) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of the geographical ...
and, from 1939 to 1941, of the
Banovina of Croatia The Banovina of Croatia or Banate of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Banovina Hrvatska, Бановина Хрватска) was an autonomous province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1939 and 1941. It was formed by a merg ...
within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Between 1941 and 1944, during the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, it belonged to the Independent State of Croatia. From 1945 onward, it was part of the People's Republic of Croatia within Socialist Yugoslavia. On 17 October 1991 during the beginning of the
Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...
, non-Serbs fled as the
Yugoslav National 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 a ...
led by Serbs paramilitaries occupied the area, but spared it from destruction due to its rapid surrounding and occupation. Between 1991 and 1995, Ilok was part of the
Republic of Serb Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, ...
. The area was peacefully reintegrated into Croatia in 1998. Ilok is underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the First Category Area of Special State Concern by the
Government of Croatia The Government of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Hrvatske), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Republike Hrvatske), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government ( hr, hrvatska Vlada), is the main executive branch of government ...
.


Demographics

According to the 2021 census, the town proper had 3,928 inhabitants, and the whole municipality of Ilok had 5,147. Before the 2001 census, the town was considered part of the old municipality of Vukovar.


Ilok (settlement)

According to the 2011 census, settlement of Ilok had 5,072 inhabitants.


1991 census


1910 census


Slovaks in Ilok

Ilok is one of the centres of the cultural life of the
Slovaks of Croatia Slovaks are one of the recognized autochthonous minorities of Croatia. According to 2011 census, there were 4,753 Slovaks in the country. History Slovaks mainly migrated to Croatia in the 19th century, and to a much lesser extent in the 20th ...
community. Ilok Slovak community is closely linked with
Slovaks in Serbia According to the 2011 census, Slovaks ( sr, Словаци, Slovaci) in Serbia number 52,750, constituting 0.7% of the country's population. They mainly live in Vojvodina (50,321), where they constitute the third largest ethnic group after Serbs ...
where there are Slovak communities and Slovak majority villages just across the border and with Slovak language being one of the official languages in Vojvodina. Once Evangelical Slovaks were granted the right to settle and buy property in the Kingdom of Slavonia in 1859 Slovak settlers across the Danube river in Bačka started to move to
Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...
. Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession established the local parish in Ilok in 1864 with building serving a place of worship, a school and a teacher's apartment. The Slovak Evangelical school, which existed until 1896, was at the time was one of four confessional schools in the town alongside Croat Catholic, Serb Orthodox and the Jewish Israelite school. State sponsored school education in Ilok was reinitiated in 1922 after the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and the public Slovak school will continue its work until 1957. The first Slovak cultural association was established by students of the local gymnasium in 1925 which in the same year joined the Association of Czechoslovak Academicians in Yugoslavia. The Slovak Reading Society was established in 1928 which preserved that name until 1951 when it changed the name into contemporary name the ''Slovak Cultural and Educational Association Ľudovít Štúr''. Slovak branch of the national Union of Czechs and Slovaks was established in Ilok in 1981 with Slovak cultural life continuing even during the
Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...
. Following the completion of the
United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium 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 ...
''Slovak Cultural and Educational Association Ľudovít Štúr'' joined the Union of Slovaks in Croatia while local Matica slovenská was established on 18 December 1997. In that period Slovak community used the right to organize Slovak language education for the first four grades until 2002/2003 school year after which only elective Slovak classes were offered. In 2014 local community commemorated 140 years of the existence of the Evangelical-Slovak Church in Ilok.


Gallery

File:Ilok Town hall.JPG, Ilok library File:Ilok s brijega 221208.jpg, View at the town from the castle File:Ilok-2.JPG, Church of Saint John of Capistrano File:Ilok.JPG, View at the church and Franciscan monastery File:Ilok Principovac.jpg, Principovac estate File:Ilok-Festung-Apr09.JPG, Walls of the castle File:Lucka uprava Ilok 221208.jpg, Danube river ferry File:Danube Ilok2-2009.JPG, Riverside promenade File:Ilok spomenici 1 221208.jpg, Memorial File:Ilok-Apr09.JPG, Ilok centre with town hall at the left and library in the middle


See also

* Church of St. Michael the Archangel, Ilok


References


External links

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Croatia Populated places in Vukovar-Syrmia County Syrmia County Populated places on the Danube Populated places in Syrmia Slavonia Croatia–Serbia border crossings