Inđija

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Инђија
Inđija
Location in Serbia

General Information
District	Srem
Land area	384 km²
Population (2002 census)	26,247 (town) 49,609 (municipality)
Settlements	11
Coordinates	45°03′N 20°05′E
Area code	+381 22
Car plates	RU
Time zone	CET (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2)
Website	http://www.indjija.net

Politics
Mayor	Goran Ješić (DS)

Inđija (Serbian Cyrillic: Инђија) is a town located in Serbia. In 2002 the town has total population of 26,244 and its area is 384 km². The population of Inđija municipality is 49,510. It is located in the region of Syrmia, the province of Vojvodina.

1 History
2 Inhabited places
3 Ethnic groups (2002 census)
4 See also
5 References

[edit] History

The first verifiable evidence of Inđija's existence is in the Charter of Despot Jovan Branković from 1496, but it may have existed as early as 1455. During the Ottoman rule (16th-18th centuries), Inđija was mostly populated by ethnic Serbs, and was part of the Ottoman sanjak of Syrmia.

Since 1717, Inđija was part of the Habsburg Monarchy, and became a feudal domain of count Marko Pejačević. The old medieval Inđija was placed a little bit to the north than today town. The present-day Inđija was founded by the Serb settlers in 1746. According to the description from 1746 it had 60 households, while in 1791 it has already grown to 122 households with 1,054 residents. In the second half of the 18th century, this new settlement was mostly populated by ethnic Serbs. Germans and Czechs start settling in Inđija at the beginning of the 19th century, while Hungarians migrated there towards the end of the century.

First fairs started to take place in Inđija at the beginning of the 19th century, when the state's postal service was established. Telegraph became operational in Inđija in 1850, while postal money transfers commenced in 1886. The first bank was established in 1897, and the first trade school in 1897. The first electric plant in Inđija started with its operations in 1911.

The industrial progress in Inđija was initiated with the establishment of mills in the mid 19th century, and the first larger steam operating mill, with a capacity of 10 cars of wheat per day, was built by a company from Budapest in 1890. After the mills, the brick factories followed, while the carpentry tradition and furniture production started in 1876. At the beginning of the 20th century, a famous fur factory was established, while the spirits factory was built in 1912.

Industrial development of Inđija is largely related to the development of railroad infrastructure. The railroad reached Inđija in 1883, from two directions: from Subotica and Zagreb in the north and west respectively, continuing towards Belgrade. This has practically positioned Inđija on the crossroads of two key Balkan railroad directions.

Since 1918, Inđija was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929). After the World War I, first factories were established producing anything from strollers for children, nails, jam, powdered eggs, and parachutes, to textiles and metal processing industry right after the World War II. In the first half of the 20th century Inđija became a traditional trading destination and headquarters of successful trade companies. The first modern road in Serbia the so-called "International Road" (Novi Sad-Beograd) passed through Inđija in 1939.

Prior to the World War II, 5,900 of the total population of 7,900 was comprised of ethnic Germans. The town was at the time one of the most developed settlements in Vojvodina, and a spiritual and cultural center of Germans in the Syrmia region.

After 1944, new migratory patterns intensified. Today, 75% of the city population is comprised of Serbs, while it also maintained its old cosmopolitan spirit of inter-ethnic tolerance. Inđija is also one of the most advanced Serbian municipalities, and country's premium investment destination.