Borča

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Борча Borča

Country:	Serbia
Subdivision:	City of Belgrade, Palilula municipality
Location:	?
Population: 2002	35,150
Area code:	+ 381(0)11
Postal code:	11211
License plates:	?

Borča (Serbian Cyrillic: Борча) is a suburban settlement of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the Belgrade's municipality of Palilula.

1 Location
2 History
3 Population
4 Ethnic structure
5 Borča Greda
6 Boroughs
7 External links

[edit] Location

Borča is located just 8 kilometers north of the downtown Belgrade, in the Banat section of the municipality of Palilula at 44.87° North, 20.45° East. It stretches between the Zrenjaninski put road (which connects Belgrade to the town of Zrenjanin in Vojvodina) and the slow stream of Vizelj, which flows through the middle of the marshy area of Pančevački Rit, the northern part of the municipality of Palilula.

As Borča developed, it stretched along the Zrenjaninski put to the south (Krnjača's neighborhood of Dunavski Venac) and to the north (suburban settlement of Padinska Skela).

[edit] History

[edit] Kingdom of Hungary and Ottoman Empire

Borča was mentioned first in 1375 under name Barcsa (or Bercse). Settlement belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary, although its name imply possible Slavic root (Name Barcsa possibly derived from Slavic word "bara" meaning "swamp" in English, indicating the settlement's position in the swampy area of Pančevački Rit). In 1537 it was captured by the Ottomans, included into the Sanjak of Smederevo and granted the waqf status. Already in 1567 Borča was predominantly settled by the Serbs when famous Jazak Gospel was written in it. During the Habsburg-Ottoman wars, Borča became center of the Ottoman border zone and was heavily fortified (Porača fort) after the Treaty of Karlowitz but was still conquered by the Habsburgs in 1717 and by the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718 was formally handed over to the Habsburg Monarchy.

[edit] Habsburg Monarchy

After the Treaty of Belgrade in 1739 Habsburg Monarchy obliged to tear down the fortifications, but due to the outbreak of the plague in 1743 the entire village of Borča was burned to the ground. The new settlement emerged around the sentry post of Stara Borča (Alt Borcsa) in 1794 which became center of a municipality as part of the Banat Krajina, a section of the Habsburg Military Frontier.

In 1848-1849, Borča belonged to the Serbian Vojvodina, a Serb autonomous region within Habsburg Monarchy, but in 1849 it was again placed under administration of the Military Frontier. After transformation of Habsburg Monarchy into the Austria-Hungary in 1867 and abolition of the Military Frontier in 1873 Borča became part of the Hungarian half of the monarchy.

[edit] Yugoslavia and Serbia

After the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918, Borča became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (future Yugoslavia). From 1918 to 1922, it was part of the Banat county, from 1922 to 1929 part of the Belgrade oblast, and from 1929 to 1941 part of the Belgrade City Administration (the District of Pančevo). Between 1941 and 1944 it was occupied by German troops and included into German-ruled autonomous region of Banat.

In 1949 the municipality was disbanded and the entire area of Pančevački Rit became IX Raion of Belgrade. Borča got its own municipality again in 1952 but in 1955 with municipalities of Ovča, Krnjača and Padinska Skela merged into one named Krnjača. In turn, this municipality was annexed to the Belgrade's municipality of Palilula in 1965.

[edit] Population

Since 1960s Borča began a massive development with rapid population growth having an estimated population of 37,107 on December 31, 2005 (35,150 by the last official census in 2002).

Population of Borča in various time periods:

1727 - 39 households
1843 - 675
1859 - 124 households
1910 - 1,535
1921 - 1,396
1931 - 1,724
1953 - 3,387
1961 - 4,330
1971 - 9,372
1981 - 18,549
1991 - 26,044
2002 - 35,150
2005 - 37,107

Following the official data, Borča is the largest single suburb of Belgrade. However, unofficial estimates put Kaluđerica in first place.

[edit] Ethnic structure

Ethnic structure of Borča (Census 2002):

Serbs = 30,479 (86.71%)
Roma = 1,296 (3.69%)
Yugoslavs = 474 (1.35%)
Gorani = 464 (1.32%)
Montenegrins = 355 (1.01%)
Muslims = 271 (0.77%)
Macedonians = 240 (0.68%)
Croats = 232 (0.66%)

[edit] Borča Greda

Borča Greda or Borča II is the northern extension of Borča, located along the Bratstva i jedinstva street and Zrenjaninski put. It has an elementary school and an ambulance. It is one of the fastest growing sections of Borča as the area along the Zrenjaninski put is rapidly urbanizing.

[edit] Boroughs

All together, Borča has three local communities (mesna zajednica): Stara Borča (Old Borča or Borča I), Borča Greda (or Borča II) and Nova Borča (New Borča or Borča III). They are further divided into roughly 9 boroughs: Stara Borča, Centar 1, Centar 2, Centar 3, Centar 4, Centar 5, Irgot, Zrenjaninski Put (Zrenjanin Road) and (Borčanski) Sebeš. However, as Borča is a large settlement of its own, it developes more and more neighborhoods:

Guvno (Гувно, "threshing floor"), east-central extension of Borča, west of the Zrenjaninski road, in the section where a regional road for Ovča separates.

Mali Zbeg (Мали Збег, "little refuge"), the northernnmost part of Borča, across the canal and east of the Zrenjaninski put. Main streets in the neighborhood are Rastka Nemanjića and Karlovačke mitropolije.

Pretok (Преток, "overspill"), north-eastern extension of Borča, west of the Zrenjaninski put. Main streets in the neighborhood are Kikindska and Mitra Trifunovića Uče.