Vrbas, Serbia


Vrbas is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the town has a population of 20,892, while the municipality has 36,601 inhabitants.

Name

Its name stems from the word for 'willow' in Serbian. During the SFRY period, the town was renamed Titov Vrbas, after Josip Broz Tito. Like all
other towns in communist Yugoslavia named after Tito, the first part was dropped once the new states were formed during the early 1990s.
In Rusyn language|Rusyn], the town is known as Вербас, in Hungarian as Verbász, in Croatian as Vrbas, in German as Werbass, and in Turkish as Verbas.

History

Vrbas was mentioned first in 1213 during the administration of the Kingdom of Hungary. According to other sources, it was mentioned first in 1387. In the 16th century it became a part of the Ottoman Empire. During Ottoman administration it was populated by ethnic Serbs.
Since the Treaty of Passarowitz, Vrbas and the Banat were placed under administration of the Habsburg monarchy. According to the 1720 census, it was populated exclusively by Serbs.
After 1784 many Germans settled in the town founding a new settlement named Novi Vrbas near the old Serb settlement, which then became known as Stari Vrbas.
In 1910, population of Novi Vrbas was mostly composed of ethnic Germans, while population of Stari Vrbas was ethnically mixed and was mainly composed of Serbs and Germans.
In 1918, Vrbas became part of the Croats and Slovenes">Croats of Serbia">Croats and Slovenes, which was later renamed to Yugoslavia. The town was under Axis occupation in 1941–1944, and during that time it was attached to Horthy's Hungary. As a consequence of the World War II events in Yugoslavia, the German population fled from the town after this war. At the same time, many settlers from Montenegro came to Vrbas and other neighboring places.

Inhabited places

Vrbas municipality includes the city of Vrbas and the following villages:

Demographics

According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has 36,601 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

Settlements with Serb ethnic majority are: Bačko Dobro Polje, Zmajevo, Kosančić, Ravno Selo and Vrbas. Ethnically mixed settlements are: Kucura and Savino Selo.
The ethnic composition of the municipality:
EthnicityPopulationShare
Serbs22,73962.1%
Montenegrins4,26411.6%
Rusyns2,8337.7%
Hungarians1,9495.3%
Ukrainians6261.7%
Croats3791.%
Roma3360.9%
Slovaks2560.7%
Yugoslavs1510.4%
Macedonians1190.3%
Muslims1120.3%
Others2,8377.7%
Total36,601

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity :
ActivityTotal
Agriculture, forestry and fishing385
Mining and quarrying-
Manufacturing2,710
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply91
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities193
Construction188
Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles1,326
Transportation and storage806
Accommodation and food services259
Information and communication74
Financial and insurance activities125
Real estate activities12
Professional, scientific and technical activities249
Administrative and support service activities516
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security547
Education661
Human health and social work activities1,081
Arts, entertainment and recreation191
Other service activities117
Individual agricultural workers270
Total9,802

Notable citizens