Bački Petrovac (Serbian Cyrillic: Бачки Петровац; Slovak: Báčsky Petrovec; Hungarian: Petrőc) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 5,227, while the municipality has 11,512 inhabitants.[2]
Bački Petrovac is the economical, cultural and administrative center of the municipality. It is a settlement of a town character, while the other three are villages of Pannonian type.
History
Being in south Bačka which according to special climatic and other conditions is one of the most fertile parts of Serbia, very suitable for settling down, here in this region people made their settlements very early. The first written records about Petrovac appears in the 13th century when Petrovac is mentioned as a church parish belonging to Bač County. Later that name is changed into Petrovac. Its first inhabitants were the Hungarians and Serbs. In the first half of the 18th century (1745) the Slovaks settled here. Since then Petrovac developed so that it represents cultural, economic, clerical and political center of the Slovaks in this region.
Inhabited places
Bački Petrovac municipality includes the town of Bački Petrovac and the following villages:
According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has 11,512 inhabitants.[2]
Ethnic groups
The ethnic Slovaks form a majority of the population in the municipality. Settlements with Slovak majorities are: Bački Petrovac (Slovak: Báčsky Petrovec), Gložan (Slovak: Hložany), and Kulpin (Slovak: Kulpín). There is one settlement with a Serb majority: Maglić. The town is located in southern Bačka (hence the name), some 25 km northwest of Novi Sad, the capital of Vojvodina. It is the cultural center of Slovaks in the province, and other places in the eponymous municipalities are also inhabited by many Slovaks.
Agriculture is the most important economic activity based on the production of field crops (wheat, corn, broom weed, sugar beet, hop), cattle, breeding dud ponetry and vegetable crops. Besides agriculture there is also some industry manufacture, metal and chemical. Manufacture of wood civil engineering, printing activities, etc.
The following table gives a preview of total number of employed people per their core activity (as of 2017):[4]
Activity
Total
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
390
Mining
1
Processing industry
1,862
Distribution of power, gas and water
5
Distribution of water and water waste management
54
Construction
138
Wholesale and retail, repair
451
Traffic, storage and communication
82
Hotels and restaurants
159
Media and telecommunications
36
Finance and insurance
17
Property stock and charter
11
Professional, scientific, innovative and technical activities
216
Administrative and other services
101
Administration and social assurance
140
Education
215
Healthcare and social work
154
Art, leisure and recreation
14
Other services
42
Total
4,090
Gallery
The "Oldest house in Bački Petrovac" built in 1799