Vojvodina

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Vojvodina or Voivodina , autonomous province (1991 pop. 2,013,889), 8,301 sq mi (21,500 sq km), N Serbia. Novi Sad is the chief city and administrative center. A part of the Pannonian Plain, it is watered by the Danube, the Tisza, and the Sava rivers and is one of the most densely populated parts of Serbia. About 60% of the land is under cultivation. It is the breadbasket of Serbia; cereals, fruit (notably plums, used for brandy), grapes, and vegetables are extensively cultivated. Cattle raising is also important, and food processing is the most significant industry. Besides Novi Sad, the chief cities are Subotica, Zrenjanin, Sombor, and Pančevo. The region was part of Hungary and Croatia before its conquest by the Turks in the 16th cent., and it was restored to the Hungarian crown by the Treaty of Passarowitz (1699). Parts of the region were included in the military frontier of S Hungary in the 18th cent., and the whole region was settled with Serbian and Croatian fugitives from the Ottoman Empire, as well as by German colonists. The present population is still mixed and includes Serbs, Croats, Magyars, Romanians, and Slovaks. The region was ceded (1920) to Yugoslavia by the Treaty of Trianon, and it received autonomy in 1946. As constituted in 1946, the Vojvodina consists of three sections—the Srem, in the southwest, which was part of Croatia-Slavonia until 1918; the Backa, in the northwest, which was an integral part of Hungary; and the western part of the Banat of Temesvar. Under the Yugoslavian constitution of 1974, Vojvodina and Serbia's other province Kosovo were designated autonomous provinces within Serbia. The autonomy, however, was largely rescinded in the 1990 Serbian constitution, but legislation since has partially restored (2002) and strengthened (2009) Vojvodina's autonomy.

Vojvodina A part of Austria-Hungary from 1699, this territory half the size of the Netherlands became the home of twenty-four national groups. In the Treaty of St Germain, most of its area became part of Serbia, though a small part came to be part of Romania. Occupied by German and Hungarian troops in World War II, it became part of Serbia again in 1945, though with autonomous status from 1946. Following demonstrations against Serbia, its autonomy was lifted in 1990, so that it became an integral part of Serbia again, ruled directly from Belgrade. While Serbians just formed the majority of the population (55 per cent), their proportion increased, to the protests of the other nationalities, during the Bosnian Civil War and the military conflict with Croatia (1992–5), in which tens of thousands of Krajina Serbs, who had fled from Croatian rule, were settled there.

Vojvodina, Serbia/Serbia and Montenegro Bácsko An autonomous province, the name meaning ‘Duchy’ and named after the title of the ruler (in Serbo‐Croat, vojvoda ‘duke’). This came from the Slavonic root vojn and in medieval Serbia indicated a high‐ranking military commander or governor of a military district. Vojvodina was used for the first time in 1849 to encapsulate the districts of Bačka, Banat, and a small part of Baranja when it was incorporated into Croatia‐Slavonia. The region became part of Hungary in 1867 until it was included in the newly created Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918.

Vojvodina Autonomous province in n Serbia, bordered by Croatia, Hungary, and Romania. The capital is Novi Sad. From 1849 to 1860, it was the independent crown land of Vojvodina, but it was ceded to Yugoslavia in 1920. Given nominal autonomy by Belgrade in 1946, it remains firmly part of Serbia. Only around 50% of the population are Serbs: the rest are Hungarian (19%), Croats, Slovaks, and Romanians. The province is densely populated with a fertile agricultural plain. Industries: fruit, cattle, food processing. Area: 21,500sq km (8301sq mi). Pop. (1998 est.) 1,968,000.