Zmajevac

Zmajevac is a village located near the Danube, in Kneževi Vinogradi municipality, east of Beli Manastir and northeast of Kneževi Vinogradi.

History

The Romans had their colony named Ad Novas in Zmajevac area in the BC period. The earliest mention dates back to the Árpáds' times (Verusmorth 1246). Several folk-tales speak of the Hungarian origin of the name: they all have in common that the village got the name after the cruel owner of the fort, Marta Vereš. The name actually comes from a compound: „vörös“ (red) and „mart“ (bank). The above explanation is based on the fact that the Danube bank below the village is reddish in colour due to loess. The village got its Croatian name Zmajevac through official process, not connected to the name in Hungarian in any way. Croatian name contains the word „zmaj“ (dragon).

Before the Ottoman invasion, the life in the village was more or less uninterrupted, but the inhabitants had to flee before the Turks, especially when the village ended up between two fires, the Turks and the army that chased them. The chances of survival under such circumstances were small. Around the middle of the 18th century, Zmajevac was owned by Belje estate. A city status was granted to Zmajevac in 1841 by King Ferdinand, which represented an important milestone in the development of the community. An 1802 document clearly features the oldest seal of Zmajevac: a 28 mm circle placed on a 5 mm-wide sash, with the inscription VÖRÖSMARTI.HELSEG. The bottom of the seal depicts two crossed palm-tree branches, centrally placed ploughshare and coulter and a grape cluster between them. Starting from 1850, the new seal is used: an even circle with the 35 mm diameter, with words VÖRÖSMART M:VÁROS PECSÉTJE on the sash. A beautiful view of the village is depicted on the seal. A high hill rises in the background, with a fertile vineyard and a wine cellar on top. Village houses and two churches can be seen in front of the hill; one of the towers has a cross, the other a star. Both banks of the Danube river, on both sides of the village, are covered in thick foliage. The river forms a little basin beneath the village. A boat floats on the water, with a ferryman in it. Behind him, there is a small island and a star or a bird in the sky.

Economy

In the 16th century, Zmajevac was one of the most significant and busiest villages of the Baranja loess plain. Later on, as a town, Zmajevac collected taxes for navigation on the Danube and transit fees. In 1872, the 32 kilometres long Zmajevac-Kopačevo protective embankment was built. When the area periodically flooded by the Danube river decreased, the arable area increased. The population censuses dating from 18th century recorded that 21 craftsmen lived in the village, covering 12 different crafts. The number of craftsmen increased to 56 by 1880. Despite that, agriculture was the main occupation of most of the inhabitants. Fruit production was also important in the end of 19th century. Since 1940s, mostly young people increasingly gave up farming, looking for employment in agricultural or industrial facilities of Belje, or they commuted to work.

Mountain called Baranjska planina offers the best conditions for producing extraordinary wines in the vicinity of Zmajevac. Due to its excellent position and other circumstances, the viticulture already had a great importance in the beginning of the 19th century. It has not decreased to this day. In addition to viticulture, the economy of Zmajevac has been based on crop agriculture and fruit production since that times. Zmajevac Wine Roads – Katolički surduk and Reformatski surduk – have been known far and wide for their rich offer of food and wine.

Inhabitants

More people settled the area following the victory over the Ottoman Turks. German Catholics arrived to the village around 1719, and the Hungarian Catholics arrived in the second half of the 18th century. Until then, Zmajevac was inhabited by the Calvinist Hungarians.

In 1881, Zmajevac was a true agricultural centre, a small town with 2276 inhabitants. Its population in 1948 was 2278. The number of inhabitants has been on a decline ever since – in 1991 only 1235 people lived there, with the number dwindling to 563 in 2021.

Social life

The first association of citizens was a readers’ club founded on 5 April 1869. In 1873 the club had 20 members and in 1912 it had 112 members. The club continuously operated until 1912. A “Casino” was established in 1893 and had 12 members. The Society of Catholics was established in April 1893, functioning until 1912 with 90 members. Craftsmen established their association in 1905.

Local teacher Júlia Schneider had a prominent role in the exploration of cultural history of Hungarians of Baranja in the second half of the 20th century. She dedicated her entire life to exploring the cultural heritage of Hungarians inhabiting the Baranja triangle. In addition to her pedagogic work and research, she established the ethnological and historic collection in Zmajevac – the Ethnological Museum Zmajevac – representing the first historic collection in Baranja opened to the public on 18 May 1979. During the occupation of Baranja in Croatian War of Independence, the museum was not open for visitors. Both the building and the exhibition were unprotected and derelict. A part of the collection perished, but a part of it is exhibited today on permanent display and open for public in the renewed building that also houses the wine museum (Vinoteka Baranyai Júlia).

After the Croatian War of Independence, the Cultural appreciation club “József Attila” and the Association for nurturing Hungarian traditions – Surduk significantly contributed to the development of the cultural aspect of the life of local people. They organise a gastronomic event “Vinski-Bor marathon” – thanks to which Zmajevac is known for its wines in Croatia and abroad.

Sources

Károly Lábadi: Drávaszögi ábécé, Eszék-Budapest, 1996

Tünde Šipos Živić (Editor): Dravski trokut nekad i danas, Beli Manastir, 2010

web site of the Kneževi Vinogradi municipalityhttps://knezevi-vinogradi.hr/opcina/naselja/suza/ (Accessed on: 3 November 2022)

web site of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics https://podaci.dzs.hr/hr/podaci/stanovnistvo/popis-stanovnistva/ (Accessed on: 3 November 2022)