Vucedolska golubica The Vukovar area has been settled for five thousand years in a continuous sequence, as witnessed by numerous archaeological sites.
The significant cultures of the Stone age (the neolithic) are those of Starcevo, Vinca and Sopot. They were based on a settled way of life and the construction of permanent dwellings. Polished stone weapons were used and the manufacture of pottery was perfected.
Vucedolska golubica New technologies were introduced with migration and the arrival of new ethnic groups of Indo-European orgin. The Copper Age began with the Baden, Kostolac and Vucedol cultures. New forms of manufacture, burial, and belief were adopted and social relations among people became more complex. The construction of houses and cult objects reveal a conection with the culture of the Mediterranean.
The Vucedol culture is of special significance for the Vukovar area. Its name comes from the Vucedol site, five kilometers away from Vukovar down the Danube. This site has been systematically excavated. The finds include workshops for the processing of copper, characteristic houses (megaron) and beautiful pottery characterized especially by white stylized ornaments on a black background.
There are numerous archaeological sites in the Vukovar area from Copper and Iron Ages testifying to the life of Illyrians and Celts. The necropolis of Illyrian tombs at Lijeva Bara in Vukovar proves that there was a large settlement here.
The Romans, during their campaings, reached the Danube in the last decades before Christ. They built numerous fortresses to fortify their borders against the barbarian tribes (limes). The significant Roman sites in the Vukovar area are Cornacum (Sotin), Cuccium (Ilok), and Ulmo (Tovarnik). There was also important road running along the Danube. The Roman civilization in this area helped to advance farming, marshland was reclaimed and the first vineyards were planted.
Great changes were brought about by the fall of Roman civilization, the great migration of peoples and the expansion of the Avars and the Slavs starting in the 6th century. The territory between the Danube and the Sava was the scene of great clashes of interest among the powerful states of that time. It was during this time that the Croats settled here.
According to the archeological data, the orgins of present-day Vukovar go back very far. The exceptional topographic position on the high bank of the Danube at the influx of the vuka was an important defence point. When Prince Pribina, who was a vassal of Franks, was granted a hundred villages along the river Vuka in the 9th century, this was the centre of the entire region. It is recorded that the Hungarians sacked the Vukovo fortress in the early 10th century. A large cemetery has been excavated at Lijeva Bara in Vukovar, containing numerous artifacts belonging to the Bijelo Brdo culture. The fact that these finds have been dated back to the 10th and 11th centuries confirms that there was a large settlement nearby at that time. This was the time of the Croatian national rulers, when all the Craotian lands from the Drava to the Adriatic coast were united, especially during the reign of King Tomislav and King Petar Kresimir IV.
In the written documents that have been preserved, Vukovar was mentioned in the early 13th century as Valko, Walk, Wolkov, i.e. Vukovo in Croatian. After the 14th century the Hungarian version of the name, Vukovar, was increasingly used. At that time Croatia was in a public-law community with Hungary.
The citizens of Vukovar, like those of neighbouring Ilok, were guardians of Croatian identity in the area between the Danube and the Sava.
The Vukoavr fortress was strongly built and situated on the high bank of the Danube. The suburbs were inhabited by tradesmen, merchants and peasants. Vukovar was granted the status of Royal Borough as early as 1231, and was one of the earliest Royal Borougs in the Croatian lands. The privileges protecting the of Vukovar were confirmed by a charter issued by Duke Koloman.
At that time Vukovar was the seat of the large Zupanija (County) of Vukovo stretching between the Danube and the Sava. The area was then densely populated, with numerous fortresses and villages of serfs. With regard to ecclesiastical matters, the Zupanija of Vukovo was subject to the Catholic archdiocese in Pecuh. Several monastic orders had their monasteries here. The most influential of these was the Franciscan order.
In the 14th and 15th centuries numerous aristocratic families reigned over the Vukovar area. Towards the end of this period the most influential family were the Ilocki. Nikola Ilocki (i.e. Nicholas of Ilok) was proclaimed the titular King of Bosnia and minted his own coin. At that time Ilok was a significant settlement and fortress, and from 1525 on it had its own municipal statute and coat of arms.
A hundred and fifty years of Turkish rule grought great changes to the Vukovar area. In their campaign of 1526, led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the Turks seized all the fortresses along the Danube, including Ilok and Vukovar, and then won a great victory at the Battle of Mohacs. Vukovar lost its strategic significance but remained a significant centre of commerce and trade on an important transport route. It had several town quarters, places of worship, public baths, inns and schools. Towards the end of the Turkish reign it had about 3,000 inhabitants.
At that time Ilok was an important Turkish administrative and military centre. It was inhabited by Moslems.
During this period the native Chatolic population, Croatian and Hungarian, suffered grievously; some of them took refuge in the forests, while others were killed. During the Turkish reign the Franciscans were active here, gathering together the Catholic population. The depopulated area was settled by the Vlachs, who were Orthodox, and who arrived as auxiliary Turkish troops. However, they withdrew together with the Turkish army. Vukovar was liberated in 1687, and Ilok in 1688.
About fifty inhabited houses were left in Vukovar. The native Croatian population returned to the devasted Vukovar area, and they were joined by Croats who were newcomers. Some of the devasted villages were settled by Orthodox Serbs, who were accepted by the Court in Vienna becouse of the labour shortage. In the 18th and 19th centuires significant numbers of Germans, Hungarians, Jews, Ruthenians, Slovaks and Ukrainians also settled here. Thus this Croatian territory became populated by a mixture of different ethnic groups.
The Croatian lands were now part of the Habsburg empire. The Empress Maria Theresa restored the Zupanije of Slavonia in 1745. They were governed by the Croatian Parliament and the Ban (i.e. Vice-Roy) of Croatia, but were under Hungarian pressure.
Vukovar was the seat of the large Zupanija of Srijem stretching between the Danube and the Sava as far as Zemun to the east and as far as Osijek to the west, with the exception of the east and as far as Osijek to the west, with the exception of the territory of the Croatian Military Border.
Large estates in Slavonia were granted to or bought by feudal lords. The Counts Eltz, belonging to the most ancient German aristocracy, became the owners of the Vukovar estate. Philip Charles Eltz, the archbishop of Meinz and a German Elector, bought this enormous estate with 35 settlements in 1736. During the following centuries the size of estates was reduced by agrarian reforms. The entire development of the Vukovar area up to 1945 was closely connected to the Vukovar Estate of the Eltz family.
At the same time the Ilok estate was in the possession of the Counts Odescalchi.
In the 18th and 19th centuries Vukovar had the characteristics of an administrative, economic, transport, and cultural centre. People considered in the "capital of Srijem".
At the beginning of this period, half of the population was already made up of tradesmen and merchants. The population was very hard-working; tredes, crafts, commerce, silk-making and shipbuilding flourished. Goods were transported to Danubian countries by barge. Numerous guilds were established early on. Vukovar was the commercial centre of the entire western Srijem area.
The Vukovar area enjoy exceptionally good farming conditions. In the late 19th century, 80% of population were still earning their living by farming. The Eltz estate promoted production, influencing small farms as well. Apart from cereals, which were the main crop, wine-growing was also an important part of economy. The high-quality wines of Vukovar and Ilok received awards at international exhibitions. The best milgiving breeds of cows were introduced and there were also worldfamous horse-farmes here.
From 1840 Vukovar became a regular port of call for steamships on the Danube, and from 1878 it had a railway line. The Vukovar port was the largest reloading port in the Croatian lands.
As in other areas of Croatia, especially Slavonia, industry was slow to develop in Vukovar. Steam engines came into frequent use in the late 19th century and were used more in farming than in industry. The slow development of industry was influenced by a lack of capital. A savings bank was founded in Vukovar in 1861. The firs large industrial plant in Vukovar, the hemp-spinning mill, started operation as late 1905. Electric power was introduced in 1909.
The slow development of industry led to a slow rate of population growth. According to the census in 1900, a quarter of the population of the Vukovar district lived in the town. Vukovar then had 10,400 inhabitants, of whom over 4,000 were Croats, 3,500 were Germans, about 1,600 Serbs, 950 Hungarians, etc.
Large industrial plants were established in the period between the two world wars. The BATA rubber and footwear factory was founded in 1931. Large textile plants started operating in Vukovar at same time.
Industrialization influenced the growth of the urban population, so that in 1948, according to the census Vukovar had over 17,000 inhabitants.
Due to its importance from the aspect of administration and the economy, Vukovar developed into an educational, cultural and health centre. Life in Vukovar in the 18th and 19th centuries resembled life in other European centres.
There were surgeons in Vukovar as early as the 18th century, but some Franciscans also treated the sick. The first doctor of medicine opened his practice in 1763, and a pharmacy was opend in 1791. In the 18th century the Great Plague of Srijem came to these parts. The small hospital was opened as late as 1857.
Vukovar had a developed primary school system since 1730. The primary school developed from the Franciscan school in Old Vukovar. New Vukovar had its own school. There were also denominational schools for Jewish and Orthodox children, as well as schools i German and Hungarian. A school for apprentices was founded in 1886 and a gramar school in 1891.
A printing press was established in Vukovar in 1867. It published the first Vukovar newspaper, which was in the German language and was called Der Syrmier Bote. Several printing presses were established later on and numerous newspapers were published, of which the most noteworthy were the Sriemski Hrvat and the Sriemske novine, which came out for almost three decades at the turn of the 20th century.
The earliest literary works from this area were written by the Franciscans of Vukovar and Ilok. The best-known writers and poets from this area are Nikola Andric, Julije Benesic and Antun Gustav Matos.
Numerous artists lived and worked in Vukovar. The best known of these were J.F. Mucke, F.K. Giffinger before the 20th century, and the grammar school teachers Dragan Melkus, Dragutin Renari], Marijan Detoni.
Vukovar also has its Nobel laureate, Lavoslav Ruzicka. He was born in Vukovar in the 1887 and won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1939.
Vukovar had a highly developed social life modelled after that of other European cities. In the period up to the First World War there were about 30 clubs in Vukovar - singing, reading, and sports clubs, as well as charity organizations. They had their reading rooms and organized concerts and parties. The clubs were often organized along ethnic lines. The first theatre performance in the Croatian language was held in 1821. It was a play written by the guardian of the Franciscan Monastery, Grga Cevapovic. The most influential Croatian club was the "Danube" singing club. The Croatian Centre, were all cultural events took place, was opend in Vukovar in 1922.
In the period between two world wars, within the framework of the Yugoslav state, the Vukovar area, like other parts of Croatia, was exposed to a strong Greater-Serbian pressure. Croatian territory was deliberately fragmented by territorial divisions into provinces and banovine. The composition of the population was alterd by interventions of the Yugoslav state authorities. Land obtained by agrarian reforms was granted to volunteers from the Salonika front and Serbs from Serbia in general. Even the way jobs in factories were given was skillfully used to change the Croatian character of the Vukovar area.
At the beginning of this period there was a strong workers' movement in Vukovar, due to the unsolved social and ethnic issues in the Yugoslav state of that time.
In spite of all the pressure of Greater-Serbian policy, a strong Croatian national consciousness was preserved in Vukovar, and the establishment of the Croatian Banovina in 1939 was greeted with relief. Unfortunately, the tragic events of World War II ensued. The ethnic conflicts provoked earlier now came to a head in Vukovar, as well as in other places. The city did not suffer any major destruction. The composition of the population changed considerably, especially due to presecution of the Jews Serbs, and Croats and the expulsion of Germans towards the end and after the war.
After 1945, in the new Yugoslav state, the whole of Srijem was served from the territory of Croatia. The Vukovar - Ilok region, which made up the Vukovar municipality, remained part of Croatia.
In accordance with the socialist system, most property was nationalized and transformed into state-owned, or, later, socalled socially-owned property. The Vukovar area was rapidly industrialized, at a rate above the average compared to the other parts of Croatia. Unfortunately the industry was narrowly specialized and unattractive, with a large labour force. At the same time farming remained autarchic. In 1990 about 60% of total population employed in the economy of the Vukovar region had jobs in industry, while only 12% had jobs in agriculture, in the so-called social sector.
The government in the socialist Yugoslav state hid behind the Communist idea and the slogan of "brotherhood and unity". It was, in fact, a unitaristic and Greater-Serbian regime. All the most important posts in the economy, politics and government were filled mainly by Serbs. Advocating the Croatian idea or going to church brought on persecution. The Croatian Centre in Vukovar was partially demolished and transformed into a civic centre, to wipe out all trace of it. In the Croatian town of Vukovar, Croats were secondclass citizens.