Banatsko Novo Selo

Banatsko Novo Selo ( _sr. Банатско ново село Audio|Sr-Banatsko Novo Selo.ogg|listen) is a village in northern Serbia, situated in the municipality of Pančevo, South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 7,345 people (2002 census).

Name

The name is derived from the local region of Banat ("Banatsko"), while "Novo Selo" literally means "New Village" in Serbian, hence the full meaning of the name would be "a new village of Banat".

The current official Serbian name of the village (confirmed as official in 1922) is "Banatsko Novo Selo" (Банатско Ново Село), but it has previously also been known by different names throughout its history. Older Serbian name of the village (confirmed as official in 1854) was simply "Novo Selo" (Ново Село), while in German it has been known as "Neudorf", "Banater Neudorf", and "Pfefferthal", in Hungarian it has been known as "Ujfalu" (also as "Réva-Ujfalu" and "Bánát-Ujfalu"), and in Romanian it has been known as "Satu Nou".

Geography

Banatsko Novo Selo is located on flat and fertile plains at coord|44|59|23|N|20|47|01|E| (45.0554, 20.8858), approximately 15 km NW of Pančevo and 28 km NW of Belgrade. It is located within the South Banat District, in the Province of Vojvodina, which is in the northern part of Serbia.

The largest neighbouring settlement is Pančevo, but the region is also scattered with other smaller inhabited places, similar in size with Banatsko Novo Selo, such as Kačarevo and Dolovo. The village is also on the main thoroughfare between the capital city Belgrade, and Romania.

The altitude above sea level is roughly about 105 meters, or 347 feet, and the Postal Code is 26314.

History

The village was founded in 1765. It was settled by German settlers, but also by Serbs and Romanians. [http://bnselo.co.yu/history.php] Before the foundation of the village, two older settlement known as "Zeldoš" and "Velika Dolina" existed at this location. These settlements were populated by Serbs and Romanians. [http://bnselo.co.yu/history.php] In 1767, 43 Romanian families from Pančevo were settled in Novo Selo. In 1918, about 80 percent of the population of the village were ethnic Romanians. Fact|date=July 2007 Until 1959, Banatsko Novo Selo had a status of separate municipality.

More recently, on the April 5, 1999, during the NATO Bombing Campaign of the Kosovo War there were unsubstantiated claims of Yugoslavian forces, led by Lt.Col. Zoran Damnjanović's air defense unit shot down up to two NATO aircraft between Banatsko Novo Selo and the neighbouring village of Dolovo.

Demographics

Ethnic groups (2002 census)

The number of reported inhabitants of the village in 2002 was 7,345, with 4,837 (65.85%) of the population being of Serbian descent and 2,036 (27.72%) of Romanian. There is also a small minority of people within the village of Roma descent (110 people or 1.50%), as well as smaller numbers of people belonging to other ethnic groups.

Historical population

*1869: 6,944
*1890: 7,391
*1948: 6,129
*1953: 6,378
*1961: 7,225
*1971: 7,872
*1981: 7,963
*1991: 7,987
*2002: 7,345

Religion

There are two Orthodox churches in the village: one of them was built in 1805 and was originally used by both, Serbs and Romanians, but today it is used only by Romanians, and another one was built in 1877 and is used by the Serbs. In addition to the Orthodox churches there are also Seventh-day Adventist, Nazarene and Baptist churches.

Economy

The main occupation of the villages people is in agriculture. However, an increasing number of community members are establishing small and medium size enterprises, particularly in agricultural processing.

Recent/current community projects

There have been several community projects of late that attempted to enhance the wellbeing of locals, funded by money from both the municipality and residents, and also from money received from US aid. Projects include:
* [http://www.sada.usaid.org.yu/en/projects_details.cfm?ngo=ADF&id=3-08-08-08 Improving Local Health Services] ,
* [http://www.sada.usaid.org.yu/en/projects_details.cfm?ngo=ADF&id=2-08-08-02 Reconstruction of School Toilets] ,
* [http://www.sada.usaid.org.yu/en/projects_details.cfm?ngo=ADF&id=2-08-08-03 Building Capacity of the Communal Public Utility Service] ,
* [http://www.sada.usaid.org.yu/en/projects_details.cfm?ngo=ADF&id=1-08-08-01 Construction of Deep Water Well] ,
* [http://www.sada.usaid.org.yu/en/projects_details.cfm?ngo=ADF&id=2-08-08-04 Cleaning, Beautification of the MZ Territory and Ecological Education] ,
* [http://www.sada.usaid.org.yu/en/projects_details.cfm?ngo=ADF&id=3-08-08-07 Citizens Environmental Action] ,
* [http://www.sada.usaid.org.yu/en/projects_details.cfm?ngo=ADF&id=2-08-08-05 Asphalting the Road to Village Dumpsite] , and
* [http://www.sada.usaid.org.yu/en/projects_details.cfm?ngo=ADF&id=2-08-08-06 Establishing a Community Center] .

References

*Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1996.

ee also

*List of places in Serbia
*List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina

External links

* Satellite image from [http://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=banatsko%20novo%20selo%2C%20serbia&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wl Google Maps]
* Current [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/YI/2/Banatsko_Novo_Selo.html Weather] in Banatsko Novo Selo.
* Site of [http://www.bnselo.rs.sr Banatsko Novo Selo] . [http://bnselo.freeweb7.com Mirror]
* Site of [http://bnselo.co.yu/ Banatsko Novo Selo] .
* [http://www.adf.org.yu/Projects/Communities/08-08.html Banatsko Novo Selo] .
* Forum of [http://bnsforum.co.nr/ Banatsko Novo Selo] .