Banat

Location of the Banat (dark green) in Europe (territorially-involved countries light green)

File:Banat map.svg

The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe that is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of Timiș, Caraș-Severin, Arad south of the Mureș, and the western part of Mehedinți); the western part in northeastern Serbia (mostly included in Vojvodina, except for a small part included in the Belgrade Region); and a small northern part lies within southeastern Hungary (Csongrád county). The Banat is populated by ethnic Romanians, Serbs, Hungarians, Romani, Germans, Krashovani, Ukrainians, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Czechs, Croats, Jews and other ethnicities.

The Banat is geographically referred to as a part of the Pannonian Basin bordered by the River Danube to the south, the River Tisa to the west, the River Mureș to the north, and the Southern Carpathian Mountains to the east. Its historical capital was Timișoara, now in Timiș County in Romania.

Names

The term "banat" or "banate" designated a frontier province led by a military governor (or ban, in old South Slavic languages).

At the time of the medieval Hungarian kingdom, the territory appeared in written sources as "Temesköz" (first mentioned in 1374). The Hungarian name mainly referred to the lowland areas between the Mureş, Tisza and Danube Rivers. Its Ottoman name was "Eyalet of Temeşvar" (later "Eyalet of Yanova"). During the Turkish occupation, the territory of Temesköz (Banat) was also called "Rascia" ("the country of the Serbs", 1577).

In the early modern period, there were two banates that partially or entirely included the territory of what is referred to in the current era as Banat: the Banat of Lugos and Karansebes and the Banat of Temeswar. The word "Banat" without any other qualification, typically refers to the historical Banat of Temeswar, which acquired this title after the 1718 Treaty of Passarowitz. The name was also used from 1941 to 1944, during Axis occupation, for the short-lived political entity (see: Banat (1941–44)), which covered only today's Serbian part of the historical Banat.

The name Banat is similar in different languages of the region; Romanian: Banat, Serbian: Banat or Банат (Serbian pronunciation: [bǎnaːt]), Hungarian: Bánát or Bánság, Bulgarian: Банат, German: Banat (German pronunciation: [bǎnoːt]), Ukrainian: Банат, Turkish: Banat, Slovak: Banát, Czech: Banát, Croatian: Banat, Greek: Βάνατον, Vànaton. Some of these languages would also have other terms, from their own frame of reference, to describe this historical and geographic region.

History

History of Banat

Historical Banat

Voivodship of Glad

Voivodship of Ahtum

Eyalet of Temeşvar

Banate of Lugos and Karansebes

Banat of Temeswar

Banatian Military Frontier

District of Velika Kikinda

Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat

Temes County

Torontál County

Krassó-Szörény County

Banat Republic

Modern Romanian Banat

Ţinutul Timiş

Timiş County

Caraş-Severin County

Vest development region

Modern Serbian Banat

Banat, Bačka and Baranja

Banat (1941–1944)

North Banat District

Central Banat District

South Banat District

Modern Hungarian Banat

Csongrád County

For earlier events, see Prehistory of Transylvania, Prehistory of Romania, Prehistoric Serbia, and Prehistoric Hungary.

Ancient times

Main articles: Thracians, Dacians, Dacia, Celts, Celts in Transylvania, Roman Empire, Roman Dacia, and Ancient history of Transylvania

The first known inhabitants of present-day Banat were the various Thracian tribes: Agathyrsi, Getae, Dacians and Singi. In the 3rd century BC, Celtic tribes settled in this area. The region was part of the Dacian kingdom under Burebista in the first century BC, but the balance of power in the area partially changed during the campaigns of Augustus. At the beginning of the 2nd century A.D., Trajan led two wars against the Dacians: the campaigns of 101-102, and 105-106. Eventually, the territory of Banat fell under Roman rule. It became an important link between Dacia province and the other parts of the Empire. Roman rule had a significant impact: castra and guard stations were established and roads and public buildings built. The public bath establishments of Ad Aquas Herculis, modern-day Băile Herculane were also established. Some of the important Roman settlements in Banat were: Arcidava (today Vărădia), Centum Putea (today Surducu Mare), Berzobis (today Berzovia), Tibiscum (today Jupa), Agnaviae (today Zăvoi), Ad Pannonios (today Teregova), Praetorium (today Mehadia), and Dierna (today Orșova).

In 273 A.D. Emperor Aurelian withdrew the Roman Army from Dacia. The area fell into the hands of foederati such as the Sarmatians (Iazyges, Roxolani, Limigantes) and later the Goths, who also took control of other parts of Dacia.

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  Ancient Indo-European peoples in Banat

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  Ancient Roman cities in Banat

Migration Period and Early Middle Ages

Main articles: Romania in the Early Middle Ages, Transylvania in the Middle Ages, Serbia in the Middle Ages, Origin of the Romanians, and Slavs

The Goths were forced out by the Huns, who organized their ruling center in the Pannonian Basin (the Pannonian Plain), an area that included the northwestern part of today's Banat. After the death of Attila, the Hunnic empire disintegrated in days. The previously subjected Gepids formed a new kingdom in the area, only to be defeated 100 years later by the Avars.

One governing center of the Avars was formed in the region, which played an important role in the Avar–Byzantine wars. An inscription on one of the vessels from the Treasure of Sânnicolau Mare (which is presumably of Avar origin) recorded names of two local rulers, Butaul and Buyla, who bore Slavic ruling titles of župan. The Avar rule over the area lasted until the 9th century, until Charlemagne's campaigns. The Banat region became part of the First Bulgarian Empire a few decades later. Archaeological evidence shows the Avars and Gepids lived here until the middle of the 10th century. The Avar rule had triggered considerable Slavic migration to the southern Pannonian plain and to the Balkans.

In 895, the Hungarians living in Etelköz entered the Byzantine-Bulgarian war as allies of Byzantium, and defeated the Bulgars. Because of this, the Bulgarians allied with the Pechenegs, who attacked the Hungarian settlements. This led to the process of what is known as the Hungarian conquest of the Pannonian basin, referred to by them as "hometaking" (honfoglalás) in Hungarian. This also resulted in the loss of part of the territories north of the Danube for the Bulgarian empire.

Hungarian administration (early 11th century - 16th century)

Main article: Banat in the Middle Ages

Banat in 16th century map Tabula Hungariae. Note the dramatic geographic changes — a large lake around Zrenjanin is today dried out.

Banat was administered by The First Bulgarian Empire from the 9th to the 11th century, but that control gradually migrated to the Kingdom of Hungary which administered it from the 11th century up until 1552, when the region of Temesvár was taken by the Ottoman Empire. Before the Hungarian conquest, according to Gesta Hungarorum chronicle, a local Bulgarian ruler known as Glad ruled over the Banat.

The area of the Timiș river was not the land of the Hungarian royal tribe. From the middle of the 11th century, when royal rule began weakening, the local Bulgarian nobles, which often had the support of the First and Later Second Bulgarian Empire, began to pursue a more independent foreign policy. As a consequence, in the eastern part of the Pannonian basin among Christians, the Byzantine rite became more influential. This was halted with the establishment of the Kingdom of Hungary. István I reasserted dominance over the last local leader, Ahtum (Ajtony in other sources). Ahtum was a semi-independent ruler of Banat and an Orthodox Christian.

In 1233, under the Kingdom of Hungary administration, the Banat of Severin was formed, including eastern parts of the modern Banat. In the 14th century, the region became of priority concern to the Kingdom, as the southern border of the Banat was the most important defensive line against Ottoman expansion from the Southeast.

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  Duchy of Glad, 9th century

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  Duchy of Ahtum, 11th century

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  Counties of the Kingdom of Hungary in present-day Banat region in the 14th century

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  Banate of Severin

Ottoman administration (1552–1716)

Main articles: Ottoman Empire, Eyalet of Temeşvar, Romania in the Middle Ages, Early Modern Romania, and History of Ottoman Serbia

After the capture of Temesvár (Temeşvar), 1552

The Ottoman Empire took over the area and incorporated the Banat in 1552. It was absorbed as an Ottoman eyalet (province) named the Eyalet of Temeşvar. The Banat region was mainly populated by Rascians (Serbs) in the west and Vlachs (Romanians) in the east; thus, in some historical sources it was referred to as Rascia and in others Wallachia. Numerous Ottoman Muslims settled in the area, living mostly in the cities and associated with trade and administration. In 1594, Serbs in Banat started a large uprising against Ottoman rule. The Romanians also participated in this uprising.

For a short time, in the 16th century, an administrative unit of vassal Ottoman principality of Transylvania, known as the Banate of Lugos and Karansebes, operated in this area.

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  Eyalet of Temeşvar and Banate of Lugos and Karansebes in 1568

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  Eyalet of Temeşvar in the middle of the 17th century

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  Eyalet of Temeşvar in 1699

Habsburg administration (1716–1867)

Main articles: Habsburg Monarchy, Banat of Temeswar, Early Modern Romania, and History of Serbia (1804–1918)

In the 17th century, northern parts of the Eyalet of Temeşvar were incorporated into the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria, but the Banat remained under Ottoman administration. In 1716, Prince Eugene of Savoy took the Banat region from the Ottomans. It was renamed as the Banat of Temeswar after the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718). It was a separate province within the Habsburg Monarchy and under military administration until 1751, when Empress Maria Theresa of Austria introduced a civil administration. The Banat of Temeswar province was abolished in 1778. The southern part of the Banat region remained within the Military Frontier (Banat Krajina) until the Frontier was abolished in 1871.

Folk costumes in Banat, around the 1860s

During the Ottoman rule, parts of Banat had a low population density due to years of warfare, and some local residents also lost their lives during Habsburg-Ottoman wars and Prince Eugene of Savoy's conquest. Much of the area had reverted to nearly uninhabited marsh, heath and forest. Count Claudius Mercy (1666–1734), who was appointed governor of the Banat of Temeswar in 1720, took numerous measures for the regeneration of the Banat. He recruited German artisans and especially farmers from Bavaria and other southern areas as colonists, allowing them privileges such as keeping their language and religion in their settlements. Farmers brought their families and belongings on rafts down the Danube River, and were encouraged to restore farming in the area. They cleared the marshes near the Danube and Tisa rivers, helped build roads and canals, and re-established agriculture. Trade was also encouraged.

Maria Theresa also took a direct interest in the Banat; she colonized the region with large numbers of German farmers, who were admired for their agricultural skills. She encouraged the exploitation of the mineral wealth of the country, and generally developed the measures that were introduced by Count Mercy. German settlers arrived from Swabia, Alsace and Bavaria, as did German-speaking colonists from Austria. Many settlements in the eastern Banat were developed by Germans and had ethnic-German majorities. The ethnic Germans in the Banat region became known as the Danube Swabians, or Donauschwaben. After years of separation from their original German provinces, their language was markedly different, preserving historic characteristics.

Similarly, a minority coming from French-speaking or linguistically mixed communes in Lorraine maintained the French language for several generations, and developed a specific ethnic identity, later known as Banat French, Français du Banat.

In 1779, the Banat region was incorporated into the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary, and the three counties of Torontal, Temes and Karasch were created. In 1848, after the May Assembly, the western Banat became part of the Serbian Vojvodina, a Serbian autonomous region within the Habsburg Monarchy. During the Revolutions of 1848–1849, the Banat was respectively held by Serbian and Hungarian troops.

After the Revolution of 1848–1849, the Banat (together with Syrmia and Bačka) was designated as a separate Austrian crownland known as the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar. In 1860 this province was abolished and most of its territory was incorporated into the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary.

Hungarian administration (1867–1918)

Main articles: Austria-Hungary and Kingdom of Hungary

In 1867, after the Austro-Hungarian compromise the territory returned again to Hungarian administration. After 1871, the former Military Frontier, located in southern parts of the Banat, came under civil administration and was incorporated into the Banat counties. Krassó and Szörény were united into Krassó-Szörény in 1881.

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  Banat of Temeswar, province of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1739

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  Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar (1849-1860)

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  Counties in Banat, Bačka and Srem after 1881, the five counties, which were formed in the territory of former Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar

After 1918

Main articles: Banat Republic; Banat, Bačka and Baranja; Greater Romania; Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes; and Banat (1941-1944)

Romanian king Carol II visits a village in the Romanian Banat, 1934.

In 1918, the Banat Republic was proclaimed in Timișoara in October, and the government of Hungary recognized its independence. However, it was short-lived. After just two weeks, Serbian troops invaded the region and took control. From November 1918 to March 1919, western and central parts of Banat were governed by Serbian administration from Novi Sad, as part of the Banat, Bačka and Baranja province of the Kingdom of Serbia and newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (which was later renamed as Yugoslavia).

In the wake of the Declaration of Union of Transylvania with Romania on December 1, 1918 and the Declaration of Unification of Banat, Bačka and Baranja with Serbia on November 25, 1918, most of the Banat was (in 1919) divided between Romania (Krassó-Szörény completely, two-thirds of Temes, and a small part of Torontál) and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (most of Torontál, and one-third of Temes). A small area near Szeged was assigned to the newly independent Hungary. These borders were confirmed by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and the 1920 Treaty of Trianon.

At the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the delegates of the Romanian and some German communities voted for union with Romania; the delegates of the Serbian, Bunjevac and other Slavic and non-Slavic communities (including some Germans) voted for union with Serbia; while the Hungarian minority remained loyal to the government in Budapest. Besides these declarations, no other plebiscite was held.

During World War II, the Axis Powers occupied this area and partitioned it. Nazi Germany had been intent on expanding into eastern Europe to incorporate what it called the Volksdeutsche, people of ethnic German descent. They established the political entity known as Banat in 1941. It included only the western part of the historical Banat region, which was formerly part of Yugoslavia. It was formally under the control of the Serbian puppet Government of National Salvation in Belgrade led by Milan Nedić. It theoretically had limited jurisdiction over all of the territory under German Military Administration in Serbia, but in practice the local minority of ethnic Germans (Danube Swabians or Shwoveh) held the political power within the Banat. The regional civilian commissioner was Josef Lapp. The head of the ethnic German group was Sepp Janko. Following the ousting of Axis forces in 1944, this German-ruled region was dissolved. Most of its territory was included in the Vojvodina, one of the two autonomous provinces of Serbia within the new SFR Yugoslavia. Following WWII, most ethnic Germans were expelled from the Banat and eastern Europe.

The territory of the Banat is presently part of the Romanian counties Timiș, Caraș-Severin, Arad and Mehedinți; the Serbian autonomous province of Vojvodina and Belgrade City District; and the Hungarian Csongrád County.

• Banat republic.png

  Banat Republic in 1918

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  Division of Banat in 1919-1923

Geography

Romanian Banat

Map of Romania with Romanian Banat highlighted

Countryside view of rural areas of Romanian Banat

In 1938, the counties of Timiș-Torontal, Caraș, Severin, Arad and Hunedoara were joined to form ținutul Timiș, which roughly encompassed the area typically called Banat in Romania.

On 6 September 1950, the province was replaced by the Timișoara Region (formed by the present-day counties of Timiș and Caraș-Severin).

In 1956, the southern half of the existing Arad Region was incorporated to the Timișoara Region.

In December 1960, the Timișoara Region was named the Banat Region.

On 17 February 1968, a new territorial division was made and today's Timiș, Caraș-Severin and Arad counties were formed.

Since 1998, Romania has been split into eight development regions, which act as autonomous territorial divisions. The Vest development region is composed of four counties: Arad, Timiș, Hunedoara and Caraș-Severin; thus it has almost same borders as the Timiș Province (ținutul Timiș) of 1938. The Vest development region is also a part of the Danube-Criș-Mureș-Tisa Euroregion. Ethnic minorities in the region are including Hungarians (5.6% of the population), Serbs, Croats (Krashovans), Bulgarians, Ukrainians, and others.

The Romanian Banat is mountainous in the south and southeast, while in the north, west and south-west it is flat and in some places marshy. The climate, except in the marshy parts, is generally healthy. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, flax, hemp and tobacco are grown in large quantities, and the products of the vineyards are of a good quality. Game is plentiful and the rivers swarm with fish. The mineral wealth is great, including copper, tin, lead, zinc, iron and especially coal. Amongst its numerous mineral springs, the most important are those of Mehadia, with sulphurous waters, which were already known in the Roman period as the Termae Herculis (Băile Herculane). The present "Banat Region" of Romania includes some areas that are mountainous and were not part of the historical Banat or of the Pannonian plain.

Serbian Banat

Proclaimed borders of Serbian Vojvodina in 1848 (including Western Banat)

Serbian Banat within Vojvodina

The Serbian Banat (Western Banat) was part of Serbian Vojvodina (1848–1849) and part of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar (1849–1860). After 1860, the Serbian Banat was part of Torontal and Temes counties of Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. The center of Torontal county was Veliki Bečkerek, the current Zrenjanin.

The region was county of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes between 1918 and 1922 (in 1918–1919, county was part of the province of Banat, Bačka and Baranja) and from 1922 to 1929 it was divided between Belgrade oblast and Podunavlje oblast. In 1929, most of the region was incorporated into the Danube Banovina (Danubian Banat), a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, while the city of Pančevo was incorporated into self-governed Belgrade district.

Between 1941 and 1944, the Serbian Banat was occupied by the Nazi German troops. Following the Axis partition of Yugoslavia, Serbian Banat was made a part of German-occupied Serbia, in which it enjoyed autonomy. It functioned as a virtually separate autonomous entity ruled by its German minority, who were promoted by the German occupational military authorities. During this time, numerous war crimes were committed against local Serb and Jewish population. As a consequence of a disturbed ethnic relations during the occupation, much of the local Germans fled from the region together with defeated German army in 1944. Those Germans who remained in the country were sent to prison camps run by the new communist authorities. After prison camps were dissolved (in 1948), most of the remaining German population left Serbia because of economic reasons. Many went to Germany; others emigrated to western Europe and the United States.

Since 1944-1945, the Serbian Banat (together with Bačka and Syrmia), has been part of the Serbian Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, first as part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and then as part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro. Since 2006, it has been part of an independent Serbia.

In Serbia, the Banat is mostly plains. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, hemp and sunflower are grown, and mineral wealth consists of oil and natural gas. A popular tourist destination in the Banat is Deliblatska Peščara. There are also several ethnic minorities in the region, including Hungarians (10.21% of the population), Romanians, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Roma people, and others.

The districts of Serbia in Banat are:

• North Banat okrug (which also includes municipalities of Ada, Senta and Kanjiža, which are situated in the region of Bačka)
• Central Banat okrug
• South Banat okrug

Serbian Banat also includes the area known as Pančevački Rit, which belongs to the Belgrade municipality of Palilula.

See also: Geographical regions in Serbia

Hungarian Banat

The Hungarian Banat consists of a small northern part of the region, which is part of the Csongrád County of Hungary. In addition to the Hungarian population, there's a small minority of Serbs (e.g. in Deszk, Szőreg).

Demographics

The Whole Banat

1660–1666

In 1660–1666, Serbs lived in western (flat) part of the Banat, while Romanians lived in the eastern (mountainous) part.

1743–1753

Ethnic map of Banat in 1743.

In 1743–1753, ethnic composition of Banat looked as follows:

• Three eastern districts had a Romanian population: Lugoj, Caransebeș and Orșova.
• Three western districts had a Serbian population: Veliki Bečkerek, Pančevo and Velika Kikinda.
• Six central districts had a mixed Serb-Romanian population: Timișoara, Lipova, Vršac, Nova Palanka, Ciacova and Cenad.

Ethnic Hungarians were almost totally absent from the region in the first half of the 18th century. They were considered politically unreliable, but in 1730 some Catholic Hungarians were allowed to settle down in the Banat.

1774

According to 1774 data, the population of the Banat of Temeswar numbered 375,740 people and was composed of:

• 220,000 (58.55%) Romanians
• 100,000 (26.61%) Serbs and Greeks
• 53,000 (14.11%) Germans
• 2,400 (0.64%) Hungarians and Bulgarians
• 340 (0.09%) Jews

1840

Banat had in 1840 a population of over a million which included:

• 570,000 Romanians
• 200,000 Germans
• 200,000 Serbs
• 60,000 Hungarians

1900

Romanians in Timișoara in 1860.

Serbs in Izbište

The Banat Swabians are an ethnic German population, part of the Danube Swabians, photo 1940.

In 1900, the population of Banat numbered 1,431,329 people, including:

• 578,789 (40.4%) Romanians
• 362,487 (25.3%) Germans
• 251,938 (17.6%) Serbs
• 170,124 (11.9%) Hungarians

1910

According to the 1910 census, the population of the Banat region (counties of Torontál, Temes and Krassó-Szörény) numbered 1,582,133 people, including: (*)

• 592,049 (37.42%) Romanians
• 387,545 (24.50%) Germans
• 284,329 (17.97%) Serbs
• 242,152 (15.31%) Hungarians
• smaller numbers of other ethnic groups such as the Czechs, Slovaks, Croats, Rusyns, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, etc.

(*) Note: according to the 1910 census, the population of Romanian Banat included 52.6% Romanians, 25.6% Germans, 12.2% Hungarians, and 4.9% Serbs, while population of Serbian Banat included 40.53% Serbs, 22.14% Germans, 19.18% Hungarians, 12.94% Romanians, and 2.86% Slovaks. In Serbia the majority of the Banat Swabian or Shwovish population fled from the region together with the defeated German army in the Fall of 1944, as one can see in the population Table below, where the German - speaking Shwovish population dropped from about 120,000 in 1931 to about 17,000 in 1948. Those who remained in the country were sent to prison camps run by the new communist authorities, where many died from hunger, disease and cold, but many also escaped. After the prison camps were dissolved (in 1948), most of the remaining German population left Serbia and Yugoslavia because of economic reasons. Their flight was mainly a consequence of wartime events and Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, but partly also a consequence of the economic situation in the post-war years. In Romania ethnic Germans mostly emigrated after 1989 for economic reasons.

Population table

The historical population of the Banat region in different time periods:

Year	Total
1717	85,166
1743	125,000
1753	210,992
1774	375,740
1797	667,912
1900	1,431,329
1910	1,582,133

Romanian Banat

The historical population of the Romanian Banat (the Timiș, and Caraș-Severin, counties) was as following:

Year	Total	Romanians	Hungarians	Germans	Serbs	Roma
1880	744,367	426,368 (57.3%)	37,586 (5.0%)	202,698 (27.2%)	46,983 (6.3%)	n/a
1890	812,799	446,816 (55.0%)	50,899 (6.3%)	233,006 (29.9%)	41,356 (5.1%)	n/a
1900	871,598	468,508 (53.8%)	78,656 (9.0%)	243,582 (27.9%)	41,960 (4.8%)	n/a
1910	902,210	474,787 (52.6%)	109,873 (12.2%)	231,391 (25.6%)	44,598 (4.9%)	n/a
1920	822,639	450,817 (54.8%)	79,955 (9.7%)	208,774 (25.4%)	n/a	n/a
1930	878,877	473,781 (53.9%)	91,421 (10.4%)	215,031 (24.5%)	37,113 (4.2%)	16,471 (1.9%)
1941	898,262	505,448 (56.3%)	80,575 (9.0%)	213,840 (23.8%)	n/a	n/a
1956	896,668	589,369 (65.7%)	85,790 (9.6%)	137,697 (15.4%)	40,018 (4.5%)	9,309 (1.0%)
1966	966,322	674,062 (69.8%)	85,358 (8.8%)	133,197 (13.8%)	38,535 (4.0%)	6,769 (0.7%)
1977	1,082,461	796,007 (73.5%)	86,763 (8.0%)	119,972 (11.1%)	29,514 (2.7%)	15,755 (1.5%)
1992	1,076,380	886,958 (82.4%)	70,742 (6.6%)	38,658 (3.6%)	25,029 (2.3%)	22,612 (2.1%)
2002	1,011,145	859,690 (85.0%)	56,380 (5.6%)	20,323 (2.0%)	19,355 (1.9%)	23,998 (2.4%)

Serbian Banat

Year	Total	Serbs	Hungarians	Germans	Romanians	Slovaks
1910	566,400	229,568 (40.5%)	108,622 (19.2%)	125,374 (22.1%)	73,303 (12.9%)	16,223 (2,9%)
1921	559,096	235,148 (42.1%)	98,463 (17.6%)	126,519 (22.6%)	66,433 (11,9%)	17,595 (3,2%)
1931	585,579	261,123 (44,6%)	95,867 (16,4%)	120,541 (20,6%)	62,365 (10,7%)	17,900 (2,1%)
1948	601,626	358,067 (59,6%)	110,446 (18,4%)	17,522 (2,9%)	55,678 (9,3%)	20,685 (2,4%)
1953	617,163	374,258 (60,6%)	112,683 (18,4%)	n/a	55,094 (8,9%)	21,299 (3,4%)
1961	655,868	423,837 (64,6%)	111,944 (17,1%)	n/a	54,447 (8,3%)	22,306 (3,4%)
1971	666,559	434,810 (65,2%)	103,090 (15.5%)	n/a	49,455 (7,4%)	22,173 (3,3%)
1981	672,884	424,765 (65,7%)	90,445 (14,0%)	n/a	43,474 (6,7%)	21,392 (3,3%)
1991	648,390	423,475 (65,1%)	76,153 (11.7%)	n/a	35,935 (5,5%)	19,903 (3.1%)
2002	665,397	477,890 (71.8%)	63,047 (9.5%)	908 (0,1%)	27,661 (4,1%)	17,994 (2,7%)

Symbols

The traditional heraldic symbol of the Banat is a lion, which is nowadays present in both the coat of arms of Romania and the coat of arms of Vojvodina.

Cities

The largest cities in the Banat are:

• Romania:
  • Timișoara (319,279)
  • Reșița (73,282)
  • Lugoj (37,700)
  • Caransebeș (28,301)
• Serbia (Vojvodina):
  • Zrenjanin (76,511)
  • Pančevo (76,203)
  • Kikinda (38,065)
  • Vršac (35,701)
• Serbia (Belgrade City District):
  • Borča (46,086)

Gallery

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  Timișoara

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  Zrenjanin

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  Pančevo

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  Reșița

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  Vršac

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  Kikinda

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  Borča

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  Lugoj

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  Caransebeș

See also

• Vojvodina
• Banat Krajina
• Banat Bulgarians
• Banat Swabians
• Danube Swabians
• Treaty of Karlowitz
• Military Frontier

References

• Dušan Belča, Mala istorija Vršca, Vršac, 1997.
• Milojko Brusin, Naša razgraničenja sa susedima 1919–1920, Novi Sad, 1998.
• Branislav Bukurov, Bačka, Banat i Srem, Novi Sad, 1978.
• Miodrag Milin, Vekovima zajedno (Iz istorije srpsko-rumunskih odnosa), Temišvar, 1995.
• Jovan M. Pejin, Iz prošlosti Kikinde, Kikinda, 2000.
• Milan Tutorov, Mala Raška a u Banatu, istorika Zrenjanina i Banata, Zrenjanin, 1991.
• Milan Tutorov, Banatska rapsodija, istorika Zrenjanina i Banata, Novi Sad, 2001.
• Josef Wolf, Entwicklung der ethnischen Struktur des Banats 1890–1992 (Atlas Ost- und Südosteuropa / Hrsg.: Österreichisches Ost- und Südosteuropa-Institut; 2: Bevölkerung; 8 = H/R/YU 1, Ungarn/Rumänien/Jugoslawien), Berlin – Stuttgart, 2004.
• Tiberiu Schatteles, EVREII DIN TIMISOARA IN PERSPECTIVA ISTORICA Editura "HASEFER" Bucuresti, 2013

External links

• Banat Social Networking Web Site
• banatul.com (English) / (Romanian)
• backabanat.com (Serbian)
• Development of Ethnic Structure in the Banat 1890 - 1992
• regions Banat (English) / (Romanian) / (French) /(German)
• Návštěva Svaté Heleny, reportáž z expedice Roadtrip 2007 - návštěva Banátu (Svaté Heleny) (Czech)
• Smaranda Vultur, De l’Ouest à l’Est et de l’Est à l’Ouest : les avatars identitaires des Français du Banat (French)
• Remembering Molidorf (English) / (Romanian) / (French) /(German)
• Family Books of the Banat (English) / (Romanian) / (French) /(German)
• Danube Swabian Resources (English) / (Romanian) /(German)
• Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands Nonprofit (English)
• Danube Swabians in Banat (English)