Bač

Bač (Serbian Cyrillic: Бач) is a town and municipality in South Bačka District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 6,046, while Bač municipality has 16,101 inhabitants. The Bačka region was named after the town of Bač.

From Roman times Bač has been one of major and the best fortified settlements in this area of Vojvodina which according to it the whole region got the name Bačka. Justinian, the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire mentioned fortified city of Bač in his letter dated from 535 AD Though frequently destroyed by barbarians, in the time of Crusade, Bač became an important fortification. In this city there was a seat of Bačka Parish and then feudal customs proclaimed that the great parishes at least once a year host the king. In the time of Hungarian King Bela IV, the city flourished. The fortification on river Mostonga (dried tributary of the Danube) in the time of the King Carl Robert (Ankjoux) got square tower on six floors. At that time the city had eight towers, military barracks, warehouses, stables and other facilities. One can get into it over the folding bridge at Šiljak (sharp point) gate. It is recorded that the Serbian ruler despot Stefan Berisavljević defended it successfully and for a long time from the Turkish invasion. After the Mohač battle in 1529 the city was siege by Turks. The exact description was given by the famous Turkish writer of travels Evlija Šelebija. The fortress was burned and destroyed in the period from 1703 to 1711 during Rakoci rising. The fortress of Bač is the oldest preserved fortification

in Vojvodina.

The Franciscan Monastery is situated next to the fortress itself and its foundation was laded by Templar knights (1169) at the time of Crusade. After their abolishment the Monastery was overtaken by Franciscan monks of Hungarian nationality. In the beginning of the 13th century the Catholic archbishop Ugrin founded a hospital within the Monastery that pope Grgur IX mentioned in his books from 1234. In the time of Turkish occupation the Monastery was rebuilt into the mosque. After the liberation from the Turks it was on several occasions burned down and reconstructed, so we can discuss of several phases of construction from late romanticism, early gothic, and gothic until baroque style. Gothic frescoes from the 15th century and icons from the 17th century are guarded there. According to records, Bodjani Monastery was built by merchant Bogdan who recovered his sight with water from the spring, so in other to thank God for that miracle, he built the Monastery at the spot where he was cured. At the beginning of the 16th century the Monastery was burned by Turks. In Rakoci rebellion the rebuilt facility was destroyed and rebuilt once again by wealthy man Mihailo Temišvarija from Szeged. The interior was painted by the famous zoographic of that time Kristofer Zefarović. Nowadays in Monastery’s bedrooms there is the museum with ancient icons, artistic paintings, potteries belonging to the church and press for printing. Beside nicely arranged monastery complex the monastery estate includes lots with woods, vine-yard and orchards.

Source: www.bacfun.com