Großbetschkerek District


Großbetschkerek District was one of five administrative districts of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar from 1850 to 1860. Its administrative center was Großbetschkerek.

History

The crown land Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar 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 Districte. In 1851 they were divided into subdivisions called Districts of Austria, usually translated as ' districts'.
In Bach's reforms from 1853 the Districte became Kreis, a form of administrative division already in use across much of the non-Hungarian part of the Empire since the 18th century. The term Kreis, literally 'circle', is also often translated as 'district'. The subdivisions of the Kreise were also called Bezirke in German, or to distinguish them from other types of Bezirk. The change of name was not superficial – different political, administrative and judicial structures were used in each subdivision type.
In 1860, the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar and its five districts were abolished and the territory of the Großbetschkerek District was administratively included into the Torontal County.

Geography

The Großbetschkerek District included north-western parts of Banat. It shared borders with the Zombor District and Neusatz District in the west, Temeschwar District in the east, Austrian Military Frontier in the south-west, and Austrian Kingdom of Hungary in the north.

Demographics

According to 1850 census, the population of the district numbered 388,704 residents, including:

Subdivisions

In 1851 Großbetschkerek District was subdivided into 6 political districts, which were structurally akin to the modern districts of Austria :
The city of Großbetschkerek was separate from the political districts; the Becskerek district covered the area around the city, which acted as its seat/capital.
In 1854 Großbetschkerek District was subdivided into 8 'office districts' :
  1. Gross-Becskerek
  2. Türkisch-(Neu-)Becse
  3. Modos
  4. Gross-Kikinda
  5. Türkisch-(Neu-)Kanischa
  6. Gross-Sankt-Miklos
  7. Hatzfeld
  8. Billet

Cities and towns

Main cities and towns in the district were:
Most of the mentioned cities and towns are today in Serbia, while towns of Groß Sankt Nikolaus, Perjamosch, Hatzfeld and Tschene are today in Romania.