Zombor District
Zombor District (, ; ,  from 1853; ; Bunjevac: Somborski okrug) was one of five administrative districts (originally , modern spelling ; , , from 1853) of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat (a crown land within Austrian Empire) from 1850 to 1860. Its administrative center was Zombor (Serbian: ).

History
The crown land Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat was formed in 1849 and was initially divided into two districts: Batschka-Torontal and Temeschwar-Karasch. In 1850, crown land was divided into five districts and the territory of Batschka-Torontal District was divided among Neusatz District, Zombor District and Großbetschkerek District.

In German the original term used for these subdivisions was  (modern spelling ). In 1851 they were divided into subdivisions called , usually translated as '(political) districts'.

In Bach's reforms from 1853 the  became , a form of administrative division already in use across much of the non-Hungarian part of the Empire since the 18th century. The term , literally 'circle', is also often translated as 'district'. The subdivisions of the  were also called  in German, or  ('office districts', in reference to the  or 'district offices' which ran them) to distinguish them from other types of . The change of name was not superficial – different political, administrative and judicial structures were used in each subdivision type. (See also .)

In 1860, the Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat and its five districts were abolished and the territory of the Zombor District was administratively included into the Batsch-Bodrog County (part of the Austrian Kingdom of Hungary).

Geography
The Zombor District included northern parts of Bačka. It shared borders with the Neusatz District in the south, Großbetschkerek District in the east, Austrian Kingdom of Slavonia in the south-west, and Austrian Kingdom of Hungary in the north-west.

Demographics
According to 1850 census, the population of the Zombor district numbered 376,366 residents, including:
Hungarians = 160,016 (42.52%)
Germans = 103,886 (27.6%)
Bunjevci = 53,908 (14.32%)
Serbs = 40,054 (10.64%)
Jews = 7,830 (2.08%)

Subdivisions
In 1851 Zombor District was subdivided into 4 political districts (), which were structurally akin to the modern districts of Austria:
 Zombór
 Baja
 Theresiopel
 Kula

The cities of Zombór (Sombor) and Theresiopel (Subotica) were separate from the political districts; the districts which carried their names covered the areas around the cities, which acted as their seats/capitals (i.e. they were statutory cities).

In 1854 Zombor District (now a ) was subdivided into 6 'office districts' ():
 Zombor
 Apathin
 Kula
 Baja
 Maria-Theresiopel
 Zenta

Cities and towns
Main cities and towns in the district were:
Abthausen (Apatin)
Ada an der Theiß (Ada)
Almasch (Almás)
Alt-Kanischa (Stara Kanjiža)
Batschka Topola (Bačka Topola)
Frankenstadt (Baja)
Jankovatz (Jankovácz)
Josephsfeld (Kula)
Maria-Theresiopel (Subotica)
Zenta (Senta)
Zombor (Sombor)

Most of the mentioned cities and towns are today in Serbia, while towns of Frankenstadt (Baja), Almasch (Almás) and Jankovatz (Jankovácz) are today in Hungary.

References

Further reading
Dr Saša Kicošev - Dr Drago Njegovan, Razvoj etničke i verske strukture Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 2010.
Dr Drago Njegovan, Prisajedinjenje Vojvodine Srbiji, Novi Sad, 2004.

See also
Sombor
Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat

External links
Map of the District
Map of the District
Map of the District

 

Sombor
History of Bačka
Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar