The Banat Military Frontier or simply Banat Frontier (; ; ) was a district of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...

during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was located in southern parts of the

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

region. It was formed in 1764, out of territories of the

Banat of Temeswar The Banat of Temeswar or Banat of Temes was a Habsburg province that existed between 1718 and 1778. It was located in the present day region of Banat, which was named after this province. The province was abolished in 1778 and the following ...

. Today, the territory is split between

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Geography

The Frontier was divided into

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

(''Illyrian''),

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(''

Danube Swabian The Danube Swabians ( ) is a collective term for the ethnic German-speaking population who lived in the Kingdom of Hungary in east-central Europe, especially in the Danube River valley, first in the 12th century, and in greater numbers in the 17 ...

'') and Romanian (''Vlach'') sections. It included parts of modern-day

and the south-eastern part of

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 Hungary. ...

region, known as

Šajkaška Šajkaška (Шајкашка) is a historical region in northern Serbia. It is the southeastern part of Bačka, located in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The territory of Šajkaška is divided among four municipalities: Titel, Žabalj, Novi ...

. Some of the important cities and places were:

Pančevo Pančevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Панчево, ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located on the shores of rivers Timiș (ri ...

, Bela Crkva,

Titel Titel ( sr-Cyrl, Тител, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town of Titel has a population of 4,522, while the population of the municipality of Titel is 13,984 (2022 ...

Žabalj Žabalj ( sr-cyrl, Жабаљ, ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. According to 2022 census, the town Žabalj has a population of 8,449 and the municipality Žaba ...

Alibunar Alibunar (; German language, German: ''Alisbrunn''; ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Alibunar town and Alibunar municipality have a population of 2,694 and 17,139 r ...

Kovin Kovin (, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 11,623, while the municipality has 28,141 inhabitants (2022 census). Other names In Rom ...

, and Caransebeş.

History

The military province of

known as the

was created in 1718. In 1751,

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

introduced a civil administration for the northern part of the province. The southern part remained under military administration and was organized as the Banat Military Frontier. In 1849, this part of the Military Frontier bordered the

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia () was an autonomous, later sovereign state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agre ...

to the south,

Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar The Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar, or Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat (, , , ), was a crownland of the Austrian Empire that existed between 1849 and 1861, centered in Temeschwar. It was created by reorganization of admini ...

to the north,

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

to the east, and the

Slavonian Military Frontier The Slavonian Military Frontier ( or ; ; ; ) was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. It was formed out of te ...

to the west. It remained a part of the Habsburg

until it was abolished in 1871. File:Banat03.png, Map of Military Frontier sections in Syrmia, Bačka, and Pomorišje in 1718–44 File:Tamis banat06.png, Map of Military Frontier sections in Syrmia, Bačka, and Pomorišje in 1744–50 File:Tamis banat1751 1778.png, Map of Military Frontier sections in Syrmia, Bačka, and Banat in 1751–1778

Administration

Demographics

1857

Total of 386,255 people: * 314,514 (81.43%)

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

* 51,860 (13.43%)

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

* 19,418 (5.03%) Evangelists * 393 (0.1%)

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

* 70 (0.01%) others

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

MapMapMap
{{coord missing, Serbia, Romania Military Frontier History of Banat Modern history of Romania 1751 establishments in the Habsburg monarchy 1873 disestablishments in Austria-Hungary Disestablishments in the Kingdom of Hungary (1867–1918)