Kikinda

Two important medieval settlements existed near the location of modern Kikinda. The names of these settlements were Galad and Hološ.[8] Galad was one of the oldest Slavic settlements in northern Banat and was built by Slavic duke Glad in the 9th century.[9] In 1337, Galad was recorded as settlement populated almost exclusively by Serbs.[10] This settlement was destroyed during the Austro-Ottoman wars at the end of 17th and beginning of the 18th century.[11]

Another settlement, Hološ (also known as Velika Holuša), was a local administrative centre in the 17th century, during the Ottoman administration.[11] This settlement was also destroyed at the end of the 17th century.[12]

According to some sources, an older settlement named Kekenj (Kekend, Keken) existed at this location.[13] The name of Kokenyd is first found recorded in 1423 as a property of the Hungarian king Sigismund. In 1558, this settlement was populated by Serbs.[13] It was deserted after the Banat Uprising in 1594.

Seal of the District of Velika Kikinda

Cross at the main square in Kikinda, at the beginning of the 20th century.

Orthodox Church

The City Square and the Catholic Church

The history of modern Kikinda can be traced back for 250 years; by 1751–1752, when the area where the city is presently located began to be repopulated.[14][15] The first settlers were Serbs who served in the Habsburg military in border patrols. They were tasked with protecting the borders against the Ottomans along the rivers of Moriš and Tisa.[14] After the Požarevac peace treaty, where an agreement between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire was reached, the Ottomans lost the territory of Banat which led to huge job losses among the Serb population. As a result, they founded a new settlement in an effort to make a living from agriculture. Some decades later, along with the Serbs, Germans (Banat Swabians), Hungarians, and Jews also settled the area.

About twenty years after the establishment of the settlement, on 12 November 1774, the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, by way of a special charter, formed the Velikokikindski privileged district – Regio-privilegiatus Districtus Magnokikindiensis, as a distinct feudal governmental administrative unit with headquarters in Kikinda.[16] Besides Kikinda, the district included another nine settlements of the Serb border military establishments in North and Central Banat: Srpski Krstur, Jozefovo (today part of Novi Kneževac), Mokrin, Karlovo (today part of Novo Miloševo), Bašaid, Vranjevo (today part of Novi Bečej), Melenci, Kumane and Taraš. During that period, the inhabitants of these places had substantial economic, and even political privileges within the Habsburg Monarchy. The District functioned, with some interruptions, until 1876 when it was abolished, and Kikinda was allocated both organizationally and administratively to the direct authority of the Torontal County with its headquarters in Veliki Bečkerek (today Zrenjanin), which covered most of the territory of present-day Serbian Banat.

In 1848/1849, the famous uprising of the Serbs in Vojvodina took place. Initially, Kikinda's citizens expressed, almost unanimously, social revolt, while later the uprising turned into a national one, and Kikinda became part of the Serbian Voivodship, a Serb autonomous region within the Austrian Empire. During the war, control over the city changed hands between the Serbian and Hungarian governments at the expense of great conflicts, which resulted in suffering and destruction. It was one of the most difficult and most complex periods in the history of Kikinda. Between 1849 and 1860 Kikinda was part of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat, a separate Austrian crown land. In 1860, this crown land was abolished, and Kikinda was incorporated into Torontal county, in the Kingdom of Hungary after the compromise of 1867.

A railway connecting Szeged, Kikinda and Timișoara was built in 1857 and is the oldest railway on the territory of present-day Serbia and the entire southeast Europe, predating Belgrade by 27 years. Kikinda had 15,000 inhabitants at the time. The first train arrived on 15 November at 15:00 at the, still unfinished, railway station. The railway itself was part of a 700 km (430 mi) long railway Vienna-Bratislava-Budapest-Timișoara-Baziaș, a spa and port on the Danube. Days before the first train arrived, public drummers were announcing the event and huge crowds gathered at the arrival ceremony. But, some complained. Farmers whose land was appropriated by the state for the route of the railway were not satisfied with the compensation they received. Others spread stories that the fumes from the locomotive are toxic, that sparks from the wheels will set grain fields on fire or that the sound of locomotive will scare the cattle. However, the railway brought an economic boom to Kikinda, as in the next five years industry began to develop, including steam mills and brickyards. When at the end of 19th century Veliki Bečkerek was linked directly to Szeged, bypassing Kikinda, the economy slowed down. In 1953 the connection with Szeged was cut as the bridge over the river Tisza was demolished. The connection to Timișoara was operational via railbuses until 2015. The Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I visited Kikinda in 1872 arriving by this railway and it was also used for the original Orient Express route. As of 2017, trains operate only as far as Subotica and Zrenjanin.[17]

At the end of the 19th century Kikinda was the most densely inhabited place in Torontál County, with 22,000 inhabitants.[18] The period from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the First World War was a peaceful and fruitful one in the history of Kikinda and was marked by a strong economic and urban development of the city. Moreover, the core of the city was formed, and the city received a defined local government in 1895 (statute, senate, town representative, mayor (Karlo Radovan), etc.). According to the 1910 census, the population of Kikinda numbered 26,795 inhabitants, of whom 14,214 (53.00%) spoke Serbian, 5,968 (22.27%) Hungarian, and 5,855 (21.85%) German.[19]

A date around the end of the First World War (20 November 1918) denotes one of the most crucial moments in the modern history of Kikinda. The entry of the Serbian army into the city represented the achievement of the Serbs of Kikinda in striving to unite with Serbia. From 1 December 1918, the city was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929). However, the city suffered greatly in the economic realm, as it was located in the hinterland, between two borders, with lines of communication disconnected. The period between the two world wars was not a period of economic prosperity. In 1921, the population of Kikinda numbered 25,774 people and included 15,000 (58%) Serbs and Croats, 5,500 (21%) Germans (Banat Swabians), 4,000 (16%) Hungarians, and 5% Romanians.[18][20] Between 1918 and 1922, Kikinda was part of Banat county, Between 1922 and 1929 it was part of Belgrade oblast, and between 1929 and 1941 it was part of Danube Banovina.

Synagogue in Kikinda razed in 1953[21]

After only twenty years of peace, in 1941 Kikinda entered the stormy period of World War II, during which it was occupied by German troops. The Banat region, which Kikinda belonged to, was made an autonomous region within Serbia and was placed under the control of the region's German minority. The city was liberated on 6 October 1944, and since 1945, it has been part of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina within the new Socialist Yugoslavia.

During and after the war, the city's economic and political organizational structure significantly changed. In addition there were major changes in the ethnic structure of the city. The German (about 22%) and Jewish (about 2%) populations vanished. In 1940, there were about 500 Jews in the town. In August, 1941, they were deported to the Sajmište death camp near Belgrade and murdered. In 1944, one part of the German population fled the region, together with the defeated German army. Between 1944 and 1948, those who remained were detained in work camps. After the abolition of the camps, most of the remaining German population left for Austria and Germany in search of better living conditions.[22] In 1948, shortly after the end of World War II, Kikinda had a population of 28,070.[23] From the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, the city saw continuous economic and cultural development: new factories and production plants, new blocks of flats and residential settlements, various objects of general social interest, and paved streets definitely stressed and formed the urban dimension of Kikinda. In 1971 the city had a population of 37,487.[24]

In March 2016, Kikinda was again granted city status.[25]

Most of the settlements in the city have an ethnic Serb majority, while one settlement has a Hungarian ethnic majority: Sajan (Hungarian: Szaján). Two others have over 20% of ethnic Hungarian population: Banatska Topola and Rusko Selo.

The ethnic composition of city administrative area:[28]

Rail line Banatsko Aranđelovo – Kikinda – Romanian border at Jimbolia, part of the former Szeged – Timișoara railway is the second oldest railway in present-day Serbia.[30][31] The city is also connected by railway to Subotica and to Belgrade via Zrenjanin.

Regional roads connect Kikinda with all the neighbouring cities and villages. Buses operate regularly to the surrounding villages and major domestic and some European cities.

The only transport waterway in the city is the Danube-Tisa-Danube Canal. There is a dock which is used for industrial transport.

There is also the Kikinda Airport, a sports plane airstrip close to the city.[32] The local flying club organizes lessons in parachuting, aviation and space-modeling. Planes are also flown from this airstrip to dust agricultural fields.

Situated in the city square, the building of the National Museum of Kikinda[37] was built in 1839. In the beginning, the building served as the city curia and the seat of the District of Velika Kikinda until its abolishment in 1876. In 1946, the National Museum of Kikinda and the City Archive were founded and housed in the building. The Museum boasts numerous artifacts which are displayed in its four sections: archeological, historical, ethnological and naturalist. As of recently, it also possesses a mammoth skeleton[2] which was excavated on the grounds of the "Toza Marković" brick factory in 1996.

The Jovan Popović National Library was founded in 1845 as Čitaonica Srbska (Serbian Reading Room). It was renamed in 1952 to Jovan Popović in honor of a prominent poet from Kikinda. Besides serving its primary function of loaning books, the library also organizes literary meetings, book promotions, seminars, lectures, exhibitions, and has published several works.[38]

Although the National Theater in Kikinda was founded only 50 years ago, Kikinda has a long theatrical tradition. Kikinda witnessed its first theatrical play in 1796 in German. The first play in Serbian was performed in 1834. The theater has a continuous program all year round, including the summer when the stage is set up outside, in the yard of the theater.[39]

The Pumpkin Days (Дани лудаје/Dani ludaje in Serbian) are an annual manifestation that takes place in mid-October.[3] Every year people from all over the region gather in Kikinda to take part in a competition of who has the largest pumpkin and longest gourd. The term ludaja is specific to the Kikinda region, while the common Serbian word for pumpkin is bundeva. Kikinda has a special relationship with this plant because throughout its history, the locals used to say that one had to stand on a pumpkin while working in the fields in order to get a clear view of the whole city. This exaggeration is supposed to depict the flatness of the city's territory and symbolize the joy of finding way back home. A local man standing on a pumpkin, dressed in a traditional attire, and with his hand blocking the sun so that he can see into the distance, thus became the symbol of the region. A group of local enthusiasts started the Pumpkin Days celebration in 1986 and it quickly started attracting pumpkin and gourd lovers from all over the country. The three-day event also includes lectures and seminars on the advancement of pumpkin and gourd cultivation, a culinary competition in preparing meals from pumpkins and gourds, children's competitions in creating masks and sculptures, and various concerts and exhibitions. Over the past few years this event has gained prominence and has drawn visitors from Hungary, Romania and the former Yugoslav republics. The largest pumpkin measured at the event to date weighed 247 kg (545 lb), while the longest gourd was 213 centimeters in length. In 2006 the event celebrated its 20th anniversary and had the largest number of visitors so far, as well as a richer program. A tamburitza festival was included in the event, contributing to the authentic Banat experience.

Every year, since 1982, 6 to 8 world-renowned sculptors are invited to Kikinda, to the premises of an old production plant of the Toza Marković brick factory, to take part at the international symposium of sculpture "Terra".[4] The symposium takes place throughout the month of July. Over the years, "Terra" has hosted sculptors from all corners of the world who are drawn by the unique and peaceful ambience of the studio. All sculptures are done in terracotta and some have appeared at the Venice Biennale. Over 300 sculptors have so far participated at the symposium and together have produced more than 500 sculptures. The "Terra" museum was opened on 5 December 2017. A building of the old riding hall (manjež), built in 1871, was converted into a museum by sculptor Slobodan Kojić. When built, manjež served for the horse training of the Austro-Hungarian army and was the second largest such facility in the empire, after the one in Vienna. The exhibits, works of over 300 artists from all over the world since 1982, belong both to large and gallery format sculptures. The "Terra" exhibition is the largest collection of large size terracotta sculptures in the world and the first new museum of the contemporary art in Serbia since 1967.[40] Previously proposed locations were within the brickyard complex, old brickyard II and old drier, but the adaptation of manjež began in 2012. There are over 1,000 sculptures in the exhibition space of 2,100 m² (23,000 sq ft). Previously, the collection was shown in Venice, Paris, Ljubljana and Belgrade. Several sculptures are permanently exhibited in the parks of Kikinda and Belgrade, while 5 monumental ones were donated to Venice after the 1999 Venice Biennale.[41]

• Brane Marijanović et al. Kikinda: istorija, kultura, sela, privreda, sport, turizam, Novi Sad: Prometej, 2002.
• Jovan M. Pejin, Iz prošlosti Kikinde, Kikinda: Istorijski arhiv & Komuna, 2000.
• Milivoj Rajkov, Istorija grada Kikinde do 1918. godine, Kikinda, 2003.
• Dr Slobodan Ćurčić, Naselja Banata – geografske karakteristike, Novi Sad, 2004.