Bačka Topola (Serbian Cyrillic: Бачка Топола, pronounced [bâːtʃkaː topǒla]; Hungarian: Topolya, pronounced [ˈtopojɒ]) is a town and municipality located in the North Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The municipality is composed of 23 local communities and has a population of 33,321, while the town itself has 14,573 inhabitants.
The name of the town is derived from the Serbian word topola (топола) ("poplar" in English). The first part of the name of the town was given to designate its location in the region of Bačka in contrast to places with similar names, like Topola in Šumadija or Banatska Topola in Banat.
The town was mentioned first in 1462 under name Fibaych. This settlement was a part of the Kingdom of Hungary, and was inhabited by Hungarians in the middle ages. The village was destroyed in the 16th century and new smaller settlement was later built at its location. Name Topola was first recorded in 1543, while according to the Ottoman defters from 1580, 1582, and 1590, it was mentioned as a village, whose population numbered between 21 and 23 houses. In this time, the inhabitants of the settlement were Serbs. In 1704, Topola was destroyed by kuruc rebels.
In 1731, Topola was mentioned as an uninhabited heath. In 1750, the new settlement was founded at this location and 200 Hungarian and Slovak families arrived here from Upper Hungary. It was a district center in Bács-Bodrog County as "Topolya" until 1918, when it became part of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed to Yugoslavia in 1929). It was part of Yugoslavia until 1991, with the exception of Hungarian occupation between 1941 and 1944 during World War II.
Bačka Topola municipality includes the town of Bačka Topola and the following villages:
Note: For the inhabited places with an absolute or relative Hungarian ethnic majority, the names are also given in Hungarian.
According to the 2022 census results, the municipality of Bačka Topola has a population of 26,228 inhabitants.
Local communities with a Hungarian majority are: Bačka Topola (Hungarian: Topolya), Bajša (Hungarian: Bajsa), Pačir (Hungarian: Pacsér), Stara Moravica (Hungarian: Bácskossuthfalva), Zobnatica (Hungarian: Andrásnépe), Bogaraš (Hungarian: Bogaras-Felváros), Obornjača (Hungarian: Nagyvölgy), Bagremovo (Hungarian: Brazília), Gunaroš (Hungarian: Gunaras), Novo Orahovo (Hungarian: Zentagunaras), and Kavilo (Hungarian: Rákóczifalu or Kavilló).
Local communities with a Serb majority are: Gornja Rogatica, Srednji Salaš, Panonija, Orešković, Bački Sokolac, Karađorđevo, Mićunovo, Njegoševo, Krivaja, Svetićevo, and Mali Beograd.
Pobeda (Hungarian: Győztes or Pobedabirtok) is an ethnically-mixed local community with a Hungarian relative majority. Krivaja, Mali Beograd, and Svetićevo have over 20% Hungarians, as well as other minorities, while Bačka Topola, Pačir, Zobnatica, and Pobeda have over 20% Serbs.
The ethnic composition of the municipality:[4]
The following table gives a preview of total number of employed people per their core activity (as of 2016):[5]
The most popular local football team is TSC Bačka Topola, which plays in the Serbian SuperLiga (1st national tier).
Bačka Topola is twinned with:
Belváros-Lipótváros, Hungary
Gheorgheni, Romania Kiskunmajsa, Hungary
Rožňava, Slovakia Szentes, Hungary