Vukovar-Srijem County ( hr, Vukovarsko-srijemska županija), Vukovar-Sirmium County or Vukovar-Syrmia County, named after the eponymous town of Vukovar and the region of Syrmia, is the easternmost

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 = , capi ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. It includes the eastern parts of the region of

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-Bar ...

and the western parts of the region of Syrmia, as well as the lower

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 ...

river basin,

Posavina Posavina ( sr-cyr, Посавина) is a geographical region that stretches along the Sava river, encompassing only the inner areas of the Sava river basin, that are adjacent or near to the Sava river itself, namely catch region spanning fro ...

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 , pa ...

river basin

Podunavlje Podunavlje ( sr-Cyrl, Подунавље) is the name of the Danube river basin parts located in Serbia (Vojvodina, Belgrade and Eastern Serbia) and Croatia ( Slavonia, Syrmia, and Baranya). Podunavlje is located on the southern edge of Panno ...

. Due to the overlapping definitions of geographic regions, division on Slavonia and Syrmia approximately divides the county vertically into north-west and south-east half, while division on Posavina and Podunavlje divides it horizontally on north-east and south-west half. The county's seat is in Vukovar, a town on the

river while its biggest town and economic and transportation center is in

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city's registered population was 28,247 in the 2021 census, the total population of the city was 31,057, making it the largest town of the county. Surround ...

, town with 33,328 inhabitants. Vinkovci served as an temporary ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

'' seat of the county 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 Yug ...

with some institutions still remaining in the town as of 2020. In 2011 the entire population of the county was 180,117. Other than Vukovar and Vinkovci, settlements with town status are Ilok, Otok and Županja. Vukovar-Srijem County is ethnically most diverse county in Croatia with Croat majority and significant Serb, Hungarian, Pannonian Rusyns,

Bosniak The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, ...

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

and Slovak communities. The county was one of the most affected regions by the Croatian War of Independence and today belongs to the group of the least developed counties in Croatia with significant part of it being classified as an

Areas of Special State Concern Areas of Special State Concern or ASSC ( hr, Područja od posebne državne skrbi, PPDS) in Croatia are areas of relative underdevelopment compared to the rest of the country in which Croatian Government implements certain policies aimed at achiev ...

Name

The name of the Vukovar-Srijem County is derived from the name of its seat town of Vukovar and the standard Croatian name of the region of Syrmia. The name is formed out of the

possessive adjective Possessive determiners (from la, possessivus, translit=; grc, κτητικός / ktētikós - en. ktetic Lallu) are determiners which express possession. Some traditional grammars of English refer to them as possessive adjectives, though they do ...

for the two eponymous with

literal Literal may refer to: * Interpretation of legal concepts: ** Strict constructionism ** The plain meaning rule The plain meaning rule, also known as the literal rule, is one of three rules of statutory construction traditionally applied by ...

English translation being the Vukovarian-Syrmian County. The larger historical

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 ...

also covered large parts of modern Serbia and the easternmost part of Brod-Posavina County (see § Habsburg Empire and Austria-Hungary).

Name in other languages

In other minority languages used officially in certain towns, municipalities or villages of the Vukovar-Srijem County the entity is known as: sr-cyrl, Вуковарско-сријемска жупанија / Вуковарско-сремска жупанија, hu, Vukovár-Szerém megye, sk, Vukovarsko-sriemska župa, rue, Жупа Вуковар-Срѣм and uk, Вуковарсько-Сремська жупанія. In historically relevant languages the county is known as german: Gespanschaft Vukovar-Syrmien, la, Cornacensis-Sirmiensis, he, מחוז ווקובאר-סריימיה and cu, Вльковарьскосрємьскꙑ жоупаниѩ.

History

Pre-Roman history

The area of the county has been inhabited since

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

times famous for its

Vučedol culture The Vučedol culture ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Vučedolska kultura, Вучедолска култура) flourished between 3000 and 2200 BCE (the Eneolithic period of earliest copper-smithing), centered in Syrmia and eastern Slavonia on the right bank of ...

and

La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture without any defi ...

sites. It includes exceptionally rich archaeological sites, listed among the most important sites of southern Europe many of which are preserved today at the Vučedol Culture Museum.

Roman Sirmium

During the classical times the Danube river was a part of the Danubian Limes. It was a birthplace of Roman emperors Valentinian I and Valens while the entire region was oriented towards the nearby

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyria ...

, a city declared one of four capitals of the Roman Empire in 294.

Middle Ages

Ottoman period

During the Ottoman Hungary period the region was a pat of the Sanjak of Syrmia with seat in contemporary town of Ilok.

Habsburg Empire and Austria-Hungary

The Ottoman Empire retreated from the region after the signing of the 1699

Treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed in Karlowitz, Military Frontier of Archduchy of Austria (present-day Sremski Karlovci, Serbia), on 26 January 1699, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by ...

. The region became a part of the Habsburg Kingdom of Slavonia and Slavonian Military Frontier as part of the

Habsburg Monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

(until 1804),

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, ...

(1804–1867) and

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 ...

(1867–1918). The historical Slavonian

, with its seat also in Vukovar, existed for most of the period between 1745 and 1922. During the revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire the historical county and parts of the Military Frontier, including most of modern Vukovar-Srijem County, briefly became part of the short-lived self-declared Serbian Vojvodina. In the aftermath, from 1849, the Military Frontier was restored and the historical county was split: the eastern part became part of the Neusatz (

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 ...

) district of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar crown land; the western part, which broadly corresponded to the northern part of modern Vukovar-Srijem County, including Vukovar, was merged into the Essek (

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

) county of Slavonia. The border between the two was broadly similar, but not identical, to the modern Croatia-Serbia border; notably, Ilok lay just to the east of the border, and it ran through was is today Bapska, dividing Bapska-proper (in Neusatz) and Novak (in Essek). In 1860 the pre-1848 divisions, including the historical Syrmia County, were restored. In 1881 the Slavonian Military Frontier was abolished and large parts of it were merged into Syrmia County. Between 1881 and 1922 it covered the contemporary county and the area of modern-day Srem District (except Mačvanska Mitrovica),

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...

, Surčin and New Belgrade subdivisions of Belgrade, easternmost parts of Brod-Posavina County and

Petrovaradin Petrovaradin ( sr-cyr, Петроварадин, ) is a historic town in the Serbian province of Vojvodina, now a part of the city of Novi Sad. As of 2011, the urban area has 14,810 inhabitants. Lying on the right bank of the Danube, across from t ...

, Beočin, Neštin, Vizić and Sremski Karlovci.

World War I

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Some of the villages in the region were settled by

Salonica front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Ge ...

Serbian soldiers and families as an reward for their contribution to war efforts. The old Habsburg Syrmia County remained a subdivision of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia from 1929) until 1922; it then became an oblast (with the same borders) until 1929. From 1929 it was split between the

and

Banovinas until 1939; the modern Vukovar-Srijem County was mostly contained with Sava Banovina. In 1939 Sava Banovina was merged into the Banovina of Croatia and its borders extended, encompassing all of the modern county.

World War II

During World War II the region was part of the Nazi puppet

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 ...

, mostly within Vuka County, with southern parts falling within Posavje County. The puppet state and Nazi forces conducted criminal policy of

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia and

Romani genocide The Romani Holocaust or the Romani genocide—also known as the ''Porajmos'' (Romani pronunciation: , meaning "the Devouring"), the ''Pharrajimos'' meaning the hard times ("Cutting up", "Fragmentation", "Destruction"), and the ''Samudaripen'' (" ...

by destruction of Vinkovci Synagogue, devastation of Vukovar Synagogue, Dudik Killings, Ivanci massacre and other crimes in the region.

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод� ...

, Europe's most effective anti- Axis

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

, was active at the Fruška Gora mountain and in villages alongside

Zagreb–Belgrade railway The Zagreb–Belgrade railway ( sh, Pruga Zagreb-Beograd) was the Yugoslav Railways long railway line connecting the cities of Zagreb and Belgrade in SR Croatia and SR Serbia, at the time of Yugoslavia. It was the route of the Orient Express ...

(today M105 railway). The region was liberated after the Syrmian Front was broken.

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

In the period of the

Socialist Republic of Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Socia ...

Vukovar became an important industrial center. For a long period during the existence of the Socialist Republic of Croatia the area of the modern day county was organized in three municipalities of Vinkovci, Vukovar and Županja. At the time Croatian municipalities were on average significantly larger units (both in territory and population) than contemporary

municipalities of Croatia Municipalities in Croatia ( hr, općina; plural: ''općine'') are the second-lowest administrative unit of government in the country, and along with cities and towns (''grad'', plural: ''gradovi'') they form the second level of administrative s ...

Croatian War of Independence

The

Battle of Vukovar The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Bar ...

was an 87-day siege of Vukovar 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 ...

(JNA), supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Baroque town was a prosperous, mixed community of Croats, Serbs and other ethnic groups. As Yugoslavia began to break up, Serbia's President

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...

and Croatia's President

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as p ...

began pursuing nationalist politics. In 1990, an armed insurrection was started by Croatian Serb militias, supported by the Serbian government and paramilitary groups, who seized control of Serb-populated areas of Croatia. Battle of Borovo Selo was one of the first armed clashes which led to the War. Despite the battle the events in Eastern Slavonia developed slower than in Krajina and were under much stronger and more direct influence from the central government in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

. They however led to the establishment of self-proclaimed SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia which subsequently joined the as well self-declared Republic of Serbian Krajina. The region was ethnically cleansed of its Croat and some other non-Serb population leading to some of the most serious violation of human rights including

Erdut killings The Erdut killings were a series of murders of 37 Hungarian and Croat civilians in the village of Erdut, Croatia committed by Croatian Serb forces and Serb Volunteer Guard paramilitaries between November 1991 and June 1992, during the Croatia ...

Lovas killings The Lovas killings ( hr, masakr u Lovasu, sr, zločini u Lovasu, script=Latn, ) involved the killing of 70 Croat civilian residents of the village of Lovas between 10 and 18 October 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence. The killings ...

, Dalj massacre, Tovarnik massacre,

Vukovar massacre The Vukovar massacre, also known as the Vukovar hospital massacre or the Ovčara massacre, was the killing of Croatian prisoners of war and civilians by Serb paramilitaries, to whom they had been turned over by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), ...

and other crimes. Within the Republic of Serbian Krajina there was no direct physical connection between the Krajina and Eastern Slavonia, and no later than 1994 there was effective detachment and schism between Pale-aligned and more hardline Knin administration and more compromising and Belgrade aligned Vukovar administration. Complete military defeat of Krajina during the Operation Storm and perception that similar or more devastating fate may follow up in Eastern Slavonia increased willingness to compromise and commitment on all sides to pursue peaceful resolution of the conflict. As the result of the War Vukovar became known in majority Croat community as the ''Hero City'' and is today a common emotional patriotic or nationalist reference commemorated officially as a Remembrance Day

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history ...

on November 18.

United Nations administration

On 12 November 1995 Erdut Agreement between the authorities of the

Republic of 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 = , capi ...

and the local Serb authorities of the Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia was reached enabling peaceful resolution to the Croatian War of Independence in eastern Croatia. The agreement was acknowledged by the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...

in its Resolution 1023 and subsequent resolutions dealing with the newly established United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium. The mission successfully demilitarized the region and returned it to government's control over the two year period. It enabled the return of Croat refugees and provided inter-communal power-sharing mechanisms in police and other institutions as well as the establishment of minority institutions such as the Serb National Council and regional

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 , ...

Contemporary period

In the aftermath of the direct United Nations Administration

OSCE Mission to Croatia OSCE Mission to Croatia was the field mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe operating in Croatia in from July 1996 until the December 2007. The Mission become preeminent international organization in Croatia after the ...

was present in the region.

Geography

Vukovar-Srijem County lies in the far northeastern part of

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 = , capi ...

, in the regions of eastern

and west Syrmia. Total area of the county is 2,454 km². Two major rivers run through the county, the

and the

, and two smaller rivers, the Bosut and the Vuka. The Bosut is a tributary of the Sava river, while the Vuka is a tributary of the Danube. Small Bosut tributaries within the water-land

Spačva basin The Spačva basin ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Spačvanski bazen, Спачвански базен) is a geographic microregion in eastern Croatia and northwest Serbia. The region is located in the south-western part of Syrmia—the latter being divide ...

are Spačva and

Studva The Studva () is a river in eastern Croatia and northern Serbia, a 37 km-long right tributary to the Bosut river. It flows entirely within the Syrmia region of both Croatia and Serbia (Vojvodina). The Studva originates from the marshes o ...

. The county's highest point is Čukala, on the Fruška Gora, at 294 meters (965 ft), and its lowest point is on the Spačva River at 78 meters (256 ft) within the Spačva basin. Vukovar-Srijem County has a moderate

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing so ...

, with a yearly average of 11 °C (52 °F). The county has an average annual rainfall of in the east, up to in western parts (25.6 to 31.5 in). The Vukovar-Srijem County borders the Osijek-Baranja County to the north and west, Brod-Posavina County to the west, Bosnian and Herzegovinian entity of

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located ...

to the south and south-west and

Brčko District Brčko District ( bs, Brčko Distrikt; hr, Brčko Distrikt; sr, Брчко Дистрикт, ), officially the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Brčko Distrikt Bosne i Hercegovine; hr, Brčko Distrikt Bosne i Hercegovine; ), i ...

to south, Posavina Canton to south-west and

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 Hu ...

n Srem District to south-east and

South Bačka District The South Bačka District ( sr, Јужнобачки округ, Južnobački okrug, ; hu, Dél-bácskai körzet; ) is one of seven administrative districts of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Geographically it lies in the southern ...

to north-east. The Croatian Government has claims on the islands of Šarengrad and Vukovar on the Danube river, which are under Serbian control.

Demographics

Vukovar-Sirmium County Population Pyramid Census 2011 ENG

The population of Vukovar-Srijem County at the time of 2011 Census was 179,521 making it the 7th most populous county of Croatia. Historically, the population was highest in 1991 when it peaked at little over 230 thousand inhabitants. According to the 2001 census,

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 ...

with 160,227 individuals constitute 78.27% of the county's entire population. Ethnic

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 ...

are the largest ethnic minority making 15.45% or 31,644 individuals. Other ethnic groups are

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 ...

2,047 (1%),

Rusyns Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavic ethnic group from the Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn, an East Slavic language variety, treated variously as either a distinct lang ...

1,796 (0.88%), Slovaks 1,338 (0.65%),

Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzeg ...

1,138 (0.54%). The largest Hungarian community is in Tordinci (18% of total population in the municipality), for Rusyns is Bogdanovci (23%), and for Bosniaks is Gunja (34%); while 78% of total Slovak population in the county live in Ilok. Vukovar-Srijem County is according to the census data the county with the highest percentage of ethnic non-Croats in the entire country. Serbs are the largest minority community followed by Hungarians, Rusyns, Slovaks and Bosniaks. Historically large Yugoslav, Danube Swabians,

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easte ...

, Turkish and other communities lived in the region. Census data on Roma in Croatia may not always be reliable due to stigma associated with free expression of ethnic identity in this community. Area of modern-day Vukovar-Srijem County experienced number of spontaneous or state organized voluntary and involuntary waves of violent and peaceful

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

and politically motivated population persecution. Members of the same ethnic group in addition to

social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, inc ...

may often distinguish themselves according to the time spent in the region (autochthonous or new and relatively new communities) and place of origin. Many of villages in the county are result of colonization. Among other,

supported colonization of Mikluševci and Petrovci, Protestant Germans settled in Banovci,

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 ...

supporting colonization of

Karadžićevo Karadžićevo ( sr-Cyrl, Караџићево) is a village in Croatia, municipality Markušica, Vukovar-Syrmia County. History Until 1920, the village was called Križevci. The settlement was originally a pustara, a Pannonian type of hamlet. ...

, World War II puppet

established the village of Bokšić,

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

supported resettlement of the World War II persecuted Serb communities from Bosnia-Herzegovina and

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

in the region. The

represent one of the last major demographic developments in the region. Croat communities were initially expelled from the self-proclaimed SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia. After the Operation Flash Serbian refugees from western Slavonia settled in the region yet majority of them together with some of the locals emigrated during and after the reintegration process. After the war Croatia state organized return of expelled Croats and provided housing for significant number of ethnic Croat refugees from Bosnian

which became part of the

. After the 2013 enlargement of the European Union all communities in the county were affected by significantly increased levels of emigration to Western Europe (

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

). Vukovar-Srijem County was one of the Croatian counties most directly exposed to European migrant crisis yet it served almost exclusively as a transit point. As a response to this development new permanent immigration center was open in the village of

Tovarnik Tovarnik (, sr-Cyrl, Товарник, hu, Felsőtárnok, german: Sankt Georg, la, Ulmo) is a municipality in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in Croatia next to the border with Serbia with the town of Šid and the village of Ilinci on the other ...

Minority populations

Serbs form majority population in municipalities of

Negoslavci Negoslavci ( sr-Cyrl, Негославци, hu, Negoszlovce) is a village and a municipality in Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. It is located south of the town of Vukovar, seat of the county. Landscape of the Negoslavci Municipality ...

(97.19%),

Markušica Markušica ( sr-Cyrl, Маркушица, hu, Márkusfalva, german: Sankt Markus) is a village and a municipality in Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. Markušica is located south of the river Vuka and northwest of the town of Vinkovci ...

(90.10%) (

Gaboš Gaboš ( sr-Cyrl, Габош) is a village in Vukovar-Syrmia County, Croatia, population 516. The settlement was originally established as a pustara, a Pannonian type of hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shorten ...

, Ostrovo, Podrinje),

Trpinja Trpinja ( sr-Cyrl, Трпиња, hu, Terpenye) is a village and an eponymous municipality in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The village is located on the D55 road between Osijek and Vukovar. Landscape of the Trpinja Municipalit ...

(89.75%) ( Bobota, Bršadin, Pačetin,

Vera Vera may refer to: Names * Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

, Ludvinci) and Borovo (89.73%). Outside of these municipalities Serbs form majority in villages Banovci,

Vinkovački Banovci Vinkovački Banovci ( sr-Cyrl, Винковачки Бановци, hu, Bánóc) is a village in Croatia in the region of Syrmia. The village is a part of the Nijemci Municipality. Serbian community constitute majority of the local populati ...

, Orolik, Srijemske Laze and

Mlaka Antinska Mlaka Antinska ( sr-Cyrl, Млака Антинска, hu, Tótfalu) is a small village in the municipality of Tordinci, Vukovar-Syrmia County, Croatia. Village is closely related with neighboring village of Antin. Mlaka Antinska is faced wit ...

. Serbian minority communities live in Vukovar, Mirkovci,

, Stari Jankovci, Novi Jankovci, Ilok, Bogdanovci,

Tompojevci Tompojevci ( hu, Tompojevce, Rusyn: Томпоєвци, sr-cyr, Томпојевци) is a village and municipality in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in Croatia. The village of Tompojevci was first mentioned in the 13th century, in Hungarian doc ...

and

. In the town of Vukovar and municipalities of Negoslavci, Markušica, Trpinja and Borovo, as well as in the villages of Banovci and Vinkovački Banovci,

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 ...

and Serbian Cyrillic script is introduced in official use alongside Croatian.Izvješće o provođenju ustavnog zakona o pravima nacionalnih manjina i o utošku sredstava osiguranih u državnom proračunu Republike Hrvatske za 2008. godinu za potrebe nacionalnih manjina, Zagreb, 2009. There are in total 12 elementary schools with eight additional local schools and four

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s offering education in

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

.''Popis osnovnih i srednjih škola s nastavom na jeziku i pismu nacionalnih manjina po modelu A'', školska godina 2011./2012., Ministarstvo znanosti obrazovanja i sporta A number of Serb minority organizations are centered in the county, including the

, the Independent Democratic Serb Party, and

Radio Borovo Radio Borovo ( sr-Cyrl, Радио Борово) is Serbian language radio station serving primarily Serb national minority in eastern Croatia. It has a local broadcasting license for the municipality of Borovo, Croatia. Its frequency is 100.7&n ...

. There is one elementary school in Korođ offering education in

Hungarian language Hungarian () is an Uralic language spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighbouring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary, it is also spoken by Hungar ...

. The oldest

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

in Croatia in continuous use is Gunja Mosque located in the village of Gunja.

Politics

Following the

2021 Croatian local elections The first round of the 2021 Croatian local elections were held on 16 May and the second round, where necessary, on 30 May. All seats of the county prefects, city and municipal mayors and members of county, municipal and city councils were up for el ...

the Assembly of the Vukovar-Srijem County is composed of 37 elected representatives. Out of a total of 145,082 eligible voters 72,587 (50.03%) participated in the elections and 72,558 (50.01%) submitted their ballots. There were 68,401 (94.27%) valid and 4,157 (5.73%) invalid ballots. The

Croatian Democratic Union The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ) is the major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Cr ...

got 27,460 (40.14%) ballots and 16 elected representatives, the Homeland Movement got 16,072 ballots (23.49%) and nine elected representatives, the Bridge of Independent Lists with Croatian Sovereignists 8,755 ballots (12.79%) and five elected representatives, the

Social Democratic Party of Croatia The Social Democratic Party of Croatia ( hr, Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske, SDP) is a social-democratic political party in Croatia. The SDP is anti-fascist, progressive, and strongly pro-European. The SDP was formed in 1990 as the succes ...

got 5,113 ballots (7.47%) and three elected representatives, the Independent Democratic Serb Party got 4,943 ballots (7.22%) and two elected representatives, and

independent politician An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

Tomislav Panenić's list got 3,664 ballots (5,35%) and two elected representatives. Ethnic Serb

Dragan Crnogorac's list got 2,394 ballots (3.49%), which is below the 5% required to be assigned any seats in the Assembly. , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center !colspan=2, Party !Votes !% !Seats , - , bgcolor=#4D4DFF, , align=left valign=top,

, , 27,460, , 40.14, , 16 , - , width=5px bgcolor=#555555, , align=left valign=top, Homeland Movement, , 16,072 , , 23.49, , 9 , - , bgcolor=#D44500, , align=left valign=top, Bridge of Independent Lists & Croatian Sovereignists, , 8,755, , 12.79, , 5 , - , bgcolor=#E60026, , align=left valign=top,

, , 5,113, , 7.47, , 3 , - , bgcolor=#89CFF0, , align=left valign=top, Independent Democratic Serb Party, , 4,943, , 7.22, , 2 , - , bgcolor=#74C365, , align=left valign=top,

Independent politician An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

Tomislav Panenić's list, , 3,664, , 5.35, , 2 , - , bgcolor=#C3B091, , align=left valign=top,

Dragan Crnogorac's list, , 2,394, , 3.49, , 0 , - , align=left colspan=2, Invalid/blank votes, , 4,157, , 5.73, , — , - , align=left colspan=2, Total, , 72,558, , 100, , — , - , align=left colspan=2, Registered voters/turnout, , 145,082, , 50.01, , — , - , align=left colspan=8, Assembly of the Vukovar-Syrmia County (2021 local elections)

Assembly of the Vukovar-Syrmia County (2021 local elections)

, - , align=left colspan=8, Source:

Towns and municipalities

Vukovar-Srijem County has 85 settlements, and is divided into five towns and 26 municipalities. Image:Vukovar-Srijem-County.png, County map with municipalities

References

External links

Vukovar-Syrmia County

Vukovar-Srijem County tourist organization
{{Authority control Counties of Croatia