Bač

The municipality of Bač is located in the north – west part of Serbia (south -west part of Vojvodina province) on the left bank of the Danube. The total area of the municipality is 367 km2. The municipality of Bač consist of six settlements ( Bač, Bačko Novo Selo, Plavna, Bođani, Vajska i Selenča) . The population is 17. 000 people. The river Danube, the biggest navigable waterway in Europe is the western border of the municipality in the lenght of 43km.
Bač is 62km far from Novi Sad and 104km far from Belgrade.

HISTORY

The history of Bač dates back to the Bronze age. There is a sword from that period found in the surroundings of Bač which is now kept in Budapest. The excavations from the Roman period done around the modern town of Bač, show that there was once a Roman settlement which was destroyed by the Barbarians.Bač, the ancient city on the river Mostonga, which is now a dried up river bed, is after which the whole region of Bačka was named. The first written sources about Bač and the surrounding area date back to the time of the Roman Emperor Justinian, the master of Constantinopole and the Emperor of the East Roman Empire mentioned Bač in his letter from the year 535. According to some chronicles Bač was also a Barbarian fortress ( 873.). Hungarian King Stjepan I founded a parish in Bač and at the end of the first and the beginning of the second millenium, Bač has already been built and fortified town connected to the Danube through the Mostonga river. During the reignof the Arpad dynasty, Bač become not only a church centre of the archbishopic but also a royal town where noblemen and rulers came to conferences, gatherings and assemblies. In the 12th century Bač was flourishing. During that period a powerfull fortress is mentioned for the first time in written documents. It will survive several destructions and it still attracts many scientists and tourists. At the head of the parish of Bač were great bishops, appointed by the king and they were rulers in this region before the Mongolians came in 1241. They were collecting, appointing military and civil commanders. Since 12th century it was a custom to offer hospitality to the King once a year. except the parish administrator there were subadministrators, judges, military officers and others. The invasions of the Turks were more frequent in the 14th century. Many military campaings against Turks started from Bač. In the battle at Mohach, Bač gave its cavalry. However, the advancement of the Turks was not stopped and Bač was conquered in 1529. after the battle of Mohach and the fall of Belgrade. Until Turkish occupation, Bač was an important place and royal town which they often visited. It was one of those archibishop headquarters which had a palace in a fortress. During that time there were at lesat two other churches in Bač and several smaller in the surrounding area with weaker fortress walls.

TURKISH BATH

In time after the Mohach battle Turks have devastated Bač and this town become a quadi town in the sanjak of Segedin and the centre of the county of Bačka which included 70 villages. The proof for this are the remains of the Turkish bath (hammam) from 1529. Turkish bath in Bač is one of the best preserved monuments of the eastern culture in this region. There are still visible remains of the ceramic pipes for hot and cold water.