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Šabac
Шабац
—  City  —


Flag
Coat of arms
Location of Šabac within Serbia
Coordinates: 19°42′E / 44.75°N 19.7°E / 44.75; 19.7
Country Serbia
District Mačva
Settlements 52
Government
 - Mayor Miloš Milošević (Democratic Party)
Area [1]
 - Municipality 795 km2 (307 sq mi)
Population (2002 census)[2]
 - Total 55,163
 - Municipality 122,893
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 15000
Area code +381 15
Car plates ŠA
Website www.sabac.org

Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац) is a city and municipality in western Serbia, along the Sava river, in the historic region of Mačva. It is the administrative center of the Mačva District. The city has a population of 55,163 (2002), while population of the municipality is 122,893. It acquired city rights in 2007, after partial restructuring of local government in Serbia.

History

The first settlement on the current location of Šabac dates from the Middle Ages, a document from 1454 records a town called Zaslon. It was part of the Slavic Serbian state until it fell to the Ottoman Empire(Turchish). In 1470 the Turks built the first fortress in the town and named it Bejerdelen (Böğürdelen) (translation: "that which strikes from the side"). In 1476 the Hungarian king Matthias occupied the fort and it remained under Hungarian rule till 1521. The fort passed from Ottoman to Austrian rule several times later as it was on a fairly important geostrategic position. The border town was also a prominent place for commerce.

The house of Krsmanović, Central Šabac.
Serbian Orthodox church, Central Šabac

The etymology of the newer and present name, Šabac, is uncertain, but it's probably a morphing of the word Sava. Šabac became a site of importance in Serbian history in the First Serbian Uprising. In 1806, Karađorđe Petrović led the Serbian insurgents into one of the first victories over the Turkish army near the village of Mišar near the city of Šabac. The Obrenović family also left a mark on the city as the place of residence of the enlightened Jevrem Obrenović, brother of Prince Miloš Obrenović, who modernized and urbanized the city after the Second Serbian Uprising. During this time (1820s-1840s), the first hospital, pharmacy, Serbian grammar school, gymnasium, theatre and musical society were established in Šabac.

The Turkish army finally vacated the fort at Šabac in 1867 completely ending the Ottoman presence in the area. The first newspaper in Serbia was printed in Šabac in 1883, and the city was also the first in Serbia where women started visiting coffee shops (on Sunday afternoons, as it was customary for men at the time). The city prospered until the First World War when it was severely destroyed and had its population halved (from cca. 14,000 to 7,000). The World War I is also remembered for the battle on the nearby Cer mountain where the Serbian army under general Stepa Stepanović won an early victory against Austria-Hungary in August 1914, the first Allied victory in the war. Afther the war Šabac was decorated with French War Cross with Palm (1920) Czechoslovak War Cross (1925) Order of the Karađorđe's Star with Swords (1934).

The Yugoslav period was marked by renewed progress. The chemical factory "Zorka" was opened in Šabac in 1938 and marked the city development. However, this was interrupted by World War II and the occupation by Nazi Germany. During this time, some 5,000 citizens of Šabac and 20,000 more people were imprisoned in the Šabac concentration camp, eventually causing the death of around 7,000 people. The city was finally liberated by the Partisans in 1944.

After World War II, Šabac grew into a modern industrial city with the aforementioned chemical plant "Zorka". It achieved particular growth in the 1970s when the first modern sports hall, hotel, stadium, as well as a number of schools, kindergartens and other institutions were built to accommodate for the population growth. Notably, the swamp Benska bara at the city outskirts was drained and turned into a residential neighbourhood, and a new concrete bridge over Sava was built that connected it with the surroundings better. The city and the periphery number around 75,000 residents today, making it one of the larger cities in Serbia.

Coat of arms of Šabac and armoral flag

Coat of arms of Šabac is used at 3 levels, as Primary, Middle and Big coat of arms of.

Primary coat of arms

Middle coat of arms

Šabac Armoral flag


Demographics (2002 census)

Ethnic Groups in the Municipal Area (2002 Census)
Ethnic group Population
Serbs 118,178
Roma 1,001
Muslims by nationality 512
Yugoslavs 478
Croats 417
Ethnic Groups in the Urban Area (2002 Census)
Ethnic group Population
Serbs 52,499
Roma 151
Muslims by nationality 489
Yugoslavs 374
Croats 107

Local communities

Children playground at the Trkalište.

Urban local communities

Rural local communities

Map of Šabac municipality

Famous people linked to Šabac

Vladimir Jovanović
Mileva Marić - Einstein
Józef Poniatowski

Economy

The complex known as the "New" emporium of NAMA commercial company. NAMA was one of some best Šabac companies that collapsed during the 1990s.

Šabac had one of the best economies in ex-Yugoslavia before the 1990s, when Chemical Industrie "Zorka", the main company in Šabac, collapsed during the sanctions. Many great firms like "Šapčanka", "Izgradnja" and "Nama" smashed during the bad years for the Yugoslav economy. Today there are some powerful companies like "Šabačka Mlekara", "Narcis Popović", "Zorka Pharma" and US Steel. The main industries of Šabac today are agriculture, transportation and food production.

Number of emmployees per activity
Activity Number
Communal, public and personal service 631
Heltcare and social work 2548
Education 1628
Administration and social assurance 724
Property stock and charter 419
Finance 272
Traffic, storage and communication 1670
Hotels and restaurants 394
Wholesale and retail, repair 2515
Architectue 981
Distribution of power, gas and water 655
Salvage industrie 6880
Mining 52
Fishing, agriculture and forestry 540

Sport

Local Media

Radio stations

TV stations

Newspapers


Trade Unions

Education

Šabac Grammar School

Several teachers' associations exist in Šabac.

Elementary schools

This is a list of elementary schools in Šabac.

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