The Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar or Serbian Voivodeship and the Banate of Temes, known simply as the Serbian Voivodeship (Serbische Woiwodschaft), was a crownland of the Austrian Empire that existed between 1849 and 1861. It was a separate crownland named after two former provinces: Serbian Vojvodina and Banat of Temeswar. Its former area is now divided between Serbia, Romania and Hungary. The Voivodeship gave its name to the present Serbian Vojvodina.

Names

In contemporary German, the crown land was officially known as Woiwodschaft Serbien und Temeser Banat ('Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat'; die Woiwodschaft Serbien und das Temeser Banat when definite). The forms die serbische Wojwodschaft und das Temeser Banat ('the Serbian Voivodeship and the Temes Banat') and die serbische Wojwodschaft mit dem Temeser Banate ('the Serbian Voivodeship with the Temes Banat'; the -e on Banat is a now mostly obsolete dative ending) also appeared frequently in official documents. Other variations also appear as a result of grammatical inflection (see German grammar), such as der serbischen Wojwodschaft und des Temeser Banates (genitive case), but these should not be considered distinct. The spellings Woiwodschaft and Wojwodschaft are typographic variations; Woiwodschaft was used officially until 1852, Wojwodschaft from 1853. In contemporary Serbian it was known as Vojvodina Srbska i Tamiški Banat (Войводина Србска и Тамишки Банат) and Vojvodstvo Srbija i Tamiški Banat (Војводство Србија и Тамишки Банат). In Hungarian it was known as Szerb Vajdaság és Temesi Bánság, and in Romanian as Voivodina Sârbească și Banatul Timișan. As in German, in Serbian sources there are two somewhat different variants of the name of the voivodeship; one could be translated into English as Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat and another as Serbian Voivodeship and Temes Banat. Also in modern English use, the term Temes Banat or Banat of Temes is sometimes incorrectly replaced with term Banat of Temeschwar or Temeschwar Banat. In the original name in all native languages, there is no mention of the city of Temeschwar (Timișoara) in the title of Voivodeship. As shown above, the reference to the Temes region is always used, and should be translated into English as Temes Banat or Banat of Temes.

History

The Voivodeship was formed by a decision of the Austrian emperor in November 1849, after the Revolutions of 1848/1849. It was formed in accordance with privilege given to Serbs by the Habsburg emperor in 1691, recognizing the right of Serbs to territorial autonomy within the Habsburg monarchy. It consisted of the regions of Banat, Bačka and northern Syrmian municipalities of Ilok and Ruma. An Austrian governor seated in Temeschwar ruled the area, and the title of Voivode belonged to the emperor himself. The full title of the emperor was "Grand Voivod of the Voivodeship of Serbia". Even after the Voivodeship was abolished, the emperor kept this title until the end of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918. In 1860, the Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat was abolished and most of its territory (Banat and Bačka) was incorporated into the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary, although direct Hungarian rule began only in 1867, after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise. Unlike Banat and Bačka, in 1860 Syrmia was incorporated into the Kingdom of Slavonia, another separate Habsburg crown land. The Kingdom of Slavonia subsequently merged with the Kingdom of Croatia, forming the new kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, which concluded an agreement with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1868, becoming an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Hungary within Austria-Hungary.

Languages

The two official languages of the Voivodeship were German and "Illyrian" (what would come to be known as Serbian).

Demographics

The Voivodeship was ethnically very mixed, since the southern parts of Syrmia, Banat and Bačka with compact Serbian settlements were not included in it, while eastern Banat, with a Romanian majority was added to it.

1846

According to the 1846 census, the territory that in 1849 formed the voivodeship included:

1857

In 1857, population of the voivodeship numbered 1,526,105 inhabitants, including:

1850/51

According to the 1850/51 census, ethnic composition of the voivodeship was as follows: (*) Total number of "Illyrian Slavs" (Serbs, Bunjevci, Šokci, and Croats) was 386,906. According to another source, in 1850/1851, the population of the voivodeship numbered 1,426,221 inhabitants, including: By religious makeup: In 1851, population of the voivodeship numbered 1,426,221 inhabitants, including:

1860

In 1860, population of the voivodeship numbered 1,525,523 inhabitants, including:

Administrative divisions

At first, the crown land was divided into two districts: Later, it was divided into five districts (contemporary, modern spelling Distrikte), which were largely based on the pre-1849 Hungarian counties which made the majority of the crown land. From 1851 they were subdivided into political districts ((politische) Bezirke). In the reforms of 1853, implemented in the crown land in 1854, the Districte became Kreise, which were subdivided into Amtsbezirke (formally Bezirke but of a different type than in 1851). These reforms also separated the capital, the city of Temesvár, from district-administration, placing it under the direct authority of the Statthalterei.

Administration

Great Voivodes

Governors

Sources