Baja, Hungary

2025-10-23T15:50:39Z

2601:247:C981:9330:4582:A88D:63E3:BF5B: /* Current and past residents in Baja */ cut back to those with their article linked (removed long time red characters)

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name =
| settlement_type = [[City with county rights]]
| image_skyline = Baja városháza.jpg
| image_caption = Town hall
| nickname = ''The Capital of Fisherman's Soup''
| image_shield = HUN Baja Címer.svg
| image_flag = Flag of Baja.svg
| pushpin_map = Hungary#Europe
| pushpin_relief =
| pushpin_label_position = top
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Hungary
| pushpin_mapsize =
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{HUN}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[List of regions of Hungary|Region]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Southern Great Plain]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Counties of Hungary|County]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Bács-Kiskun]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Districts of Hungary|District]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Baja District|Baja]]
| official_name = Baja
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = [[Klára Nyirati]] (Sikeres Bajáért Egyesület)
| area_total_km2 = 177.61
| area_rank = 20th in Hungary
| population_total = 33142
| population_as_of = 2023
| population_footnotes = 
| demographics_type1 = [[Demographics of Hungary|Population by ethnicity]]
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref>[http://www.ksh.hu/apps/hntr.telepules?p_lang=EN&p_id=03522 KSH - Baja, 2011]</ref>
| demographics1_title1 = [[Hungarians]]
| demographics1_info1 = 83.4%
| demographics1_title2 = [[Hungarian Germans|Germans]]
| demographics1_info2 = 4.3%
| demographics1_title3 = [[Croats in Hungary|Croats]]
| demographics1_info3 = 2.1%
| demographics1_title4 = [[Romani people in Hungary|Gypsies]]
| demographics1_info4 = 1.2%
| demographics1_title5 = [[Serbs in Hungary|Serbs]]
| demographics1_info5 = 0.5%
| demographics1_title6 = [[Romanians in Hungary|Romanians]]
| demographics1_info6 = 0.2%
| demographics1_title7 = [[Slovaks in Hungary|Slovaks]]
| demographics1_info7 = 0.1%
| demographics1_title8 = [[Bulgarians in Hungary|Bulgarians]]
| demographics1_info8 = 0.1%
| demographics1_title9 = Others
| demographics1_info9 = 0.8%

| demographics_type2 = [[Demographics of Hungary|Population by religion]]
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref>[http://www.ksh.hu/apps/hntr.telepules?p_lang=EN&p_id=03522 KSH - Baja, 2011]</ref>
| demographics2_title1 = [[Catholic Church in Hungary|Roman Catholic]]
| demographics2_info1 = 47.9%
| demographics2_title2 = [[Hungarian Greek Catholic Church|Greek Catholic]]
| demographics2_info2 = 0.1%
| demographics2_title3 = [[Reformed Church in Hungary|Calvinists]]
| demographics2_info3 = 3.3%
| demographics2_title4 = [[Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary|Lutherans]]
| demographics2_info4 = 0.6%
| demographics2_title5 = [[Jews in Hungary|Jews]]
| demographics2_info5 = 0.1%
| demographics2_title6 = Other
| demographics2_info6 = 2.7%
| demographics2_title7 = [[Non-religious]]
| demographics2_info7 = 16.0%
| demographics2_title8 = Unknown
| demographics2_info8 = 29.2%
| postal_code = 6500
| area_code = 79
| coordinates = {{coord|46|10|47|N|18|57|11|E|region:HU|display=inline,title}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.bajaionkormanyzat.hu/}}
| population_demonym = bajai
}}
'''Baja''' ({{IPA|hu|ˈbɒjɒ}}) is a [[city with county rights]] in [[{{Hungarian county name|Bács-Kiskun}}]], southern [[Hungary]]. It is the second largest city in the county, after the county seat at [[Kecskemét]], and is home to some 35,000 people. Baja is the seat of the [[Baja municipality]].

The environs of Baja have been continuously inhabited since the end of the [[Iron Age]], but there is evidence of human presence since [[Prehistory|prehistoric times]]. The settlement itself was most likely established in the 14th century. After the [[Ottoman Empire]] had conquered Hungary, it grew to prominence more than the other nearby settlements, and was granted town rights in 1696.

Today, Baja plays an important role in the life of [[Northern Bácska]] as a local commercial centre and the provider of public services such as education and healthcare. It has several roads and a railway connection to other parts of the country, and also offers local Public transport for its residents. Being close to the [[Danube]] and the forest of [[Gemenc]], as well as having its own cultural sights, makes it a candidate for tourism, but this is not well established yet.

==Etymology==
The city's Hungarian name is probably derived from a [[Turkic languages|Turkic language]]. The commonly known "bull" name is likely not its real origin, but may have gotten its title from the first owner of the city, Baja. The [[Latin]] name of the town is ''Francillo''. Baja also used to have a German name: ''Frankenstadt''.

The South Slavs, [[Bunjevci]] and [[Serbs]], who live in the city call Baja by the same name as Magyars do, but with a slightly different pronunciation ({{IPA|[baja]}} instead of {{IPA|[bɒjɒ]}}). Its spelling in Serbian [[Cyrillic]] writing is Баја.

==History==
The city was first mentioned in 1308. The Bajai family was the first known owner of the town. In 1474 the settlement was given to the Czobor family by [[Matthias Corvinus]].

During the [[Ottoman wars in Europe|Turkish Conquest]] in the 16th and 17th centuries it was the official center for the region and it possessed a [[fortification]]. This era saw the immigration of [[Bunjevci]] and [[Serbs]] into the town. There was also an active [[Franciscan]] mission with monks from [[Bosnia (region)|Bosnia]].
[[File:Toth Kalman Baja.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Kálmán Tóth Square, Baja]]

In the 18th century, Hungary with its regained territories was a part of the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Empire]]. [[Danube Swabians|Germans]], [[Hungarian people|Hungarians]] and Jews migrated into the town. Due to its location on the [[Danube]], it became a transportation and commercial hub for the region. This was the place where grain and wine were loaded onto boats to be transported upriver to [[Austria]] and Germany. In 1727 the Czobor family regained its ownership. Until 1765, the inhabitants belonged to three nations; [[Bunjevci|Bunjevac]] (under name of ''[[Dalmatia]]ns''), the [[Danube Swabians|Germans]] and the [[Serbs]]. Following this, according to a government decree the ''Natio Dalmatica'' was changed into the ''Natio Hungarica'', but even in 1768, the elected mayor swore the oath in the [[Bunjevac language]] in the [[Franciscan]] Church.

In 1699, Baja was [[Bács-Bodrog County|Bács-Bodrog county]]'s most "industrialized" city.

In the 19th century Baja became a minor railway hub, but its importance declined as the railway to [[Rijeka|Fiume]] (Rijeka) was built in order to get Hungarian grain seaborne. The city was still a commercial and service center for the region.

In 1918, after World War I, the ceasefire line placed the city under administration of the newly formed [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]. By the [[Treaty of Trianon]] from 1920, the city was assigned to Hungary, and became the capital of the reduced county of {{Hungarian county link|Bács-Bodrog}}.

After World War II the city became known for its [[textile mill]] and because of its important bridge crossing the [[Danube]]. Its importance is still evident as people from the [[Bačka|Bácska region]] (Serbian: [[Bačka]]) of Hungary come for higher education, government and business services.

===Historical population===
[[File:Population of Baja, Hungary.svg|250px|right|thumb|Population growth in Baja, 1870–2005]]
The city's population was growing rapidly in the 20th century (especially in the [[Hungary between the two world wars|interwar period]] and during the [[People's Republic of Hungary|socialist era]]), but in the last decade its population declined significantly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ksh.hu/apps/hntr.telepules?p_lang=EN&p_id=03522|title=Detailed Gazetteer of Hungary|website=ksh.hu|access-date=2020-03-03}}</ref>

The demographic evolution of Baja is the following:
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Population
|-
| 1870 || 21,248
|-
| 1910 || 24,588
|-
| 1920 || 22,522
|-
| 1941 || 32,084
|-
| 1949 || 27,936
|-
| 1960 ||30,263
|-
| 1970 || 35,575
|-
| 1980 || 38,523
|-
| 1990 || 38,686
|-
| 2001 || 38,360
|-
| 2008 || 37,573
|-
|2019
|34 495
|}

===See also===
* [[Serbian-Hungarian Baranya-Baja Republic]]

==Demographics==
The city has 33,142 residents as of 1 January 2023. In the 2001 Census, the 16% larger population of 38,360 reported its ethnicity thus:
*93.5% [[Hungarian people|Hungarians]];
* 2.7% [[Germans]];
* 1.3% [[Croats]];
* 0.4% [[Serb]]s;
* 0.1% [[Slovaks]];
* 0.5% [[Romani people]];
* 6.1% unknown or did not say.<ref name="ksh_cite">[{{ksh url}}03522 Baja] at the [[Hungarian Central Statistical Office]]. 1 January 2009.</ref>

As of 1 January 2019, there are 17 149 houses.

==Geography==
[[File:Baja-Paduai Szent Antal Plébánia.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The [[Franciscan Friary, Baja|Franciscan Monastery]]]]

===Location===
Baja is located about {{convert|150|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} south of [[Budapest]] and {{convert|108|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} southwest of Kecskemét, at the crossing of Road 55 and Road 51, on the river [[Danube]]. Baja's main river is [[Sugovica]] (also called ''Kamarás-Duna'').<br>
Baja is at the meeting point of two large regions: the [[Great Hungarian Plain]] (Alföld) and [[Transdanubia]] (Dunántúl). The River [[Danube]] separates the two regions. The occidental part of the city is where the [[Gemenc]]forest starts to spread out next to the ''[[István Türr]] Bridge''. Gemenc is part of the [[Danube-Drava National Park]]. It can be discovered from Baja via a [[narrow gauge railway]].<br>
Baja is located on the left bank of the river, on the Great Hungarian Plain. However, Baja is more similar to the cities of [[Transdanubia]]. To the east, arable crops such as maize, wheat and [[barley]] are grown.

===Climate===
Baja is at the meeting of the continental and mediterranean region of Hungary. The summers are hot (the temperature sometimes goes up to 36–37 °C) and stifling, while the winters are cold and snowy. It often rains in the spring. At summertime extreme torrential rains are getting common every now and then in the region.

{{Weather box
|location = Baja, 1991−2020 normals
|single line = Y
|metric first = Y
|width = auto
|Jan record high C = 18.0
|Feb record high C = 21.4
|Mar record high C = 25.5
|Apr record high C = 31.9
|May record high C = 34.1
|Jun record high C = 37.2
|Jul record high C = 41.2
|Aug record high C = 40.4
|Sep record high C = 37.3
|Oct record high C = 29.1
|Nov record high C = 24.3
|Dec record high C = 20.1
|year record high C = 41.2
|Jan high C = 4.0
|Feb high C = 6.8
|Mar high C = 12.5
|Apr high C = 18.9
|May high C = 23.7
|Jun high C = 27.3
|Jul high C = 29.4
|Aug high C = 29.4
|Sep high C = 23.6
|Oct high C = 17.9
|Nov high C = 10.7
|Dec high C = 4.3
|year high C = 17.4
|Jan mean C = -0.1
|Feb mean C = 1.6
|Mar mean C = 6.1
|Apr mean C = 11.5
|May mean C = 16.3
|Jun mean C = 20.0
|Jul mean C = 21.8
|Aug mean C = 21.4
|Sep mean C = 16.1
|Oct mean C = 11.0
|Nov mean C = 5.7
|Dec mean C = 0.6
|year mean C = 11.0
|Jan low C = -3.5
|Feb low C = -2.8
|Mar low C = 0.4
|Apr low C = 4.6
|May low C = 9.5
|Jun low C = 13.1
|Jul low C = 14.5
|Aug low C = 14.2
|Sep low C = 10.1
|Oct low C = 5.6
|Nov low C = 1.7
|Dec low C = -2.5
|year low C = 5.4
|Jan record low C = -26.6
|Feb record low C = -26.1
|Mar record low C = -22.5
|Apr record low C = -8.0
|May record low C = -1.8
|Jun record low C = 1.4
|Jul record low C = 4.0
|Aug record low C = 4.5
|Sep record low C = -0.1
|Oct record low C = -9.8
|Nov record low C = -15.2
|Dec record low C = -24.9
|year record low C = -26.6
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 32.1
|Feb precipitation mm = 37.3
|Mar precipitation mm = 33.7
|Apr precipitation mm = 39.6
|May precipitation mm = 65.5
|Jun precipitation mm = 76.3
|Jul precipitation mm = 63.6
|Aug precipitation mm = 57.2
|Sep precipitation mm = 63.6
|Oct precipitation mm = 54.6
|Nov precipitation mm = 46.5
|Dec precipitation mm = 47.9
|year precipitation mm = 617.9
|unit precipitation days= 1 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 6.2
|Feb precipitation days = 7.0
|Mar precipitation days = 6.0
|Apr precipitation days = 6.6
|May precipitation days = 9.1
|Jun precipitation days = 8.3
|Jul precipitation days = 6.6
|Aug precipitation days = 6.1
|Sep precipitation days = 6.7
|Oct precipitation days = 6.4
|Nov precipitation days = 7.0
|Dec precipitation days = 7.4
|year precipitation days = 83.4
|Jan humidity = 85.5
|Feb humidity = 80.3
|Mar humidity = 71.4
|Apr humidity = 66.7
|May humidity = 69.9
|Jun humidity = 70.9
|Jul humidity = 68.3
|Aug humidity = 69.6
|Sep humidity = 76.1
|Oct humidity = 80.9
|Nov humidity = 86.8
|Dec humidity = 87.6
|year humidity = 76.2
|source 1 = NOAA<ref name=NOAA9120r>{{cite web
|url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Hungary/CSV/Baja_12960.csv
|title = Baja Climate Normals 1991-2020
|publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
|access-date = August 18, 2023
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230818124524/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Hungary/CSV/Baja_12960.csv
|archive-date = 2023-08-18}}</ref>}}

==Economy==
The city plays an important role in the country's [[Ship transport|water transport]] on the river Danube with its second biggest port in Hungary. Baja gives home to an extensive corporation: to AXIÁL Co. Axiál sells agricultural machines all over eastern Europe with great success. Gemenc Forest and Game Co. Ltd. is managing the nearby [[nature reserve]], [[Gemenc]]. There are numerous commercial structures in the city, which prove important to the people living in and around Baja. Roughly 10 years ago a [[Tesco|TESCO]] supermarket opened along with a shopping centre next to it.

==Culture, education, and life==

The city has some museums and [[Art gallery|art galleries]], most of them with permanent exhibitions. These include the ''[[István Türr]] Museum'' (exhibits objects of former local life), the ''István Nagy Gallery'' (a collection of [[István Nagy (painter)|István Nagy]]'s paintings), and the ''Bunjevci House'' (about [[Bunjevci]] traditions). The annual ''Fisherman's Soup Boiling Festival'' is a famous event in Europe, which includes a great fish soup boiling contest, and other cultural occurrences.

[[File:Kálvária-kápolna_(Hétfájdalmú_Szűz)_(2105._számú_műemlék).jpg|thumb|left|Calvary Chapel in Baja]]
There are 15 churches in the city, representing the religion of each ethnicity. These religions include (with the number of believers) Roman Catholic (25 203), [[Protestantism|Protestant]] (1 623), [[Evangelicalism|Evangelist]] (268), [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] (90), [[Lutheran]] and Judaism (27).

Located relatively close to the [[Great Hungarian Plain]], to [[Gemenc]] and [[Transdanubia]], the city is also feasible as a base for regional tourists.

There are three notable educational institutes in the city: [[Béla III High School|Béla III High school]] and the Eötvös József College. A smaller observatory also exists. There is the MNÁMK (Magyarországi Németek Általános Művelődési Központja; English: ''General Culture Center of Germans Living in Hungary'').

===Endre Ady Library===
Baja's library got its name from the famous [[Hungarian people|Hungarian]] poet, [[Endre Ady]]. The library's building used to be Baja's synagogue. The building was offered by the city's Jewish community. The [[Holocaust]] appreciation memorial stands in the synagogue's garden.

The library has a very large collection of pre-18th-century books. The "Ancient book" collection includes 4,352 volumes, and a lot more writings, because many of the volumes are collectives (for example, one of them contains 17 writings). The library has three [[incunabulum]]s.

==Current and past residents in Baja==
* [[Bogoboj Atanacković]] (1826–1858), a well-known Serbian novelist and a friend of poet [[Branko Radičević]]
* [[Eduard Telcs|Ede Telcs]], sculptor
* [[Emma Sándor]], composer, wife of [[Zoltán Kodály]]
* [[Gavrilo Popović]], Bishop of [[Šabac]], Rector of Lyceum and the [[catechist]] of Belgrade.
* [[Ibolya Dávid]], present-day democrat politician of the [[Hungarian Democratic Forum]]
* [[István Türr]], a general under [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]]
* [[Joakim Vujić]], known as the "Father of Serbian Theatre", writer and playwright who lived and worked in the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth- century.
* [[Jovan Pačić]] (1771–1849), Serbian writer, poet, translator, illustrator and watercolor painter, the first to translate [[Goethe]] in Serbian.
* [[Kálmán Tóth (poet)|Kálmán Tóth]], 19th-century poet
* [[Karl Isidor Beck]], [[Austria]]n poet, writer of poem [[The Blue Danube]]
* [[Lázár Mészáros]], Hungary's first [[defence minister]]
* [[Lukijan Bogdanović]], Serbian Patriarch (1908-1913)
* [[Pavel Đurković]], famous [[Serbian people|Serbian]] icon painter and muralist who lived and worked in the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Empire]], from 1772 until 1830.
* [[Rajko Tomović]], Serbian scientist
* [[Radovan Jelašić]], Governor of the [[National Bank of Serbia]]
*[[János Rácz]] (1941–2023), Hungarian basketball player
* [[Teodosije Mraović]], Metropolitan of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] in the [[Kingdom of Serbia]] from 1883 to 1889

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
File:Ferences templom Baja.jpg|[[Franciscan Friary, Baja|Franciscan Monastery]]
File:Városháza (Grassalkovich-ház) (2123. számú műemlék).jpg|Town Hall
File:Baja - Eötvös utca - 1382.jpg|Eötvös street
File:Baja Sugovica kikötő.JPG|Sugovica [[Marina|yacht harbor]]
File:Jézus Szíve templom Baja.JPG|Sacred Heart church
File:Görögkeleti szerb templom (2130. számú műemlék).jpg|[[Church of the Transfer of the Relics of the Holy Father Nicholas, Baja|Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas]]
</gallery>

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Hungary}}
Baja is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Baja testvérvárosai|url=https://www.baja.hu/index.php/turizmus/varosunk/testvervarosok|website=baja.hu|publisher=Baja|language=hu|access-date=2021-04-06}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Argentan]], France
*{{flagicon|HUN}} [[Hódmezővásárhely]], Hungary
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Labin]], Croatia
*{{flagicon|ROU}} [[Sângeorgiu de Pădure]], Romania
*{{flagicon|SRB}} [[Sombor]], Serbia
*{{flagicon|ROU}} [[Târgu Mureş]], Romania
*{{flagicon|DEN}} [[Thisted Municipality|Thisted]], Denmark
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Waiblingen]], Germany
{{div col end}}

==Nearby villages==
* [[Pörböly]]
* [[Dunafalva]]
* [[Érsekcsanád]]
* [[Gara, Hungary|Gara]]
* [[Vaskút]]
* [[Csávoly]]
* [[Szeremle]]
* [[Bátmonostor]]
* [[Dávod]]
* [[Hercegszántó]]

==References==

===Bibliography===
* ''Nemzeti és etnikai kisebségek Magyarországon'', Budapest 1998
* ''Baja története.'' Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1989

===Notes===
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==

===Official sites===
*{{in lang|hu}} [http://www.baja.hu Baja's public homepage]
*{{in lang|hu|en}} [http://www.bajavaros.hu Official site of the local government]

===Web cameras===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080322070754/http://mail.adukovizig.hu:15628/view/view.shtml Baja, Danube bridge]

=== Additional links ===
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|https://www.bajaionkormanyzat.hu/}} in Hungarian
*{{in lang|en|hu}} [http://www.c3.hu/~aevk/english.htm Ady Endre Library's home page]
*{{in lang|en|hu}} [http://www.bajaobs.hu Observatory Home Page]
*{{in lang|hu}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20081005010736/http://www.bacskaisport.hu/ Baja sport news]
*{{in lang|hu}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20081101090941/http://bajastory.info/ bajastory.info magazine]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060914171143/http://www.terkepcentrum.hu/index.asp?go=map&mid=3&tid=3522 Magnifiable city map]
* [http://www.civertan.hu/legifoto/legifoto.php?page_level=38 Aerial photographs from Baja]

{{Baja District}}
{{Bács-Kiskun}}
{{Cities with county rights (Hungary)}}
{{Danube}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Baja, Hungary| ]]
[[Category:Populated places in Bács-Kiskun County]]
[[Category:Places in Bačka]]
[[Category:Populated places on the Danube]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 14th century]]
[[Category:Hungarian German communities]]
[[Category:Serb communities in Hungary]]
[[Category:Towns in Hungary]]
[[Category:Cities with county rights of Hungary]]

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Baja, Hungary