The two-story building of the former Tursko-Bečejska Savings Bank is located at 3 Marshal Tito Street, extending from the Schlesinger Palace, at the corner with Gimnazijska Street. According to documentation from the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Zrenjanin, written by art historian Vesna Majstorović, the following details about the building are known:

In 1995, Novi Bečej thrived despite economic challenges. The town, closely tied to the Tisa River, saw growth in education, culture, tourism, and community initiatives.

After the great success in the semi-final, the excitement reached its peak. There was little time for celebration, as everyone eagerly awaited October 14 – the day of the European Cup final. I had the impression that my roommate, Laslo Makra, had barely closed his eyes throughout the entire night.

Tivadar Košut, a world-renowned naïve painter, was born in 1947 in Novi Bečej. He inherited his love for painting from his mother, who painted icons. Although his parents wanted him to become a carpenter or a ceramicist, art ultimately became his true calling.

Šandor Kiš was one of the rare true football stalwarts of his generation. A hardworking and exceptionally combative half-back, he left a strong mark with Turul, and after the Second World War he also played for Zvezda.

Between 1945 and 1963, two Water Management Organizations covered the area of the municipality: the Upper Banat Water Organization, with its headquarters in Kikinda, north of Novi Bečej, and the Tisa Water Organization, based in Zrenjanin, south of Novi Bečej. Thus, two water communities existed:

• Upper Banat Water Community (1945-1963)
• Tisa Water Community (1945-1963)

Until the outbreak of the Second World War, football in Novi Bečej was burdened by severe financial difficulties, even when it came to meeting the most basic needs. Above all, Novi Bečej lacked an industrial base from which any form of material support for football clubs could have been expected.

A considerable amount of time had passed since our trip to Šumica before we embarked on a new adventure to Matejski Brod. We were eagerly waiting for Voja Glavaški to get a bicycle so that the three of us could ride together. This anticipation lasted almost until the end of the school year. Voja finally got a Vesta-brand bicycle, just like mine, but his was newer and more stylish by two years.

Fifty years ago, Novi Bečej was the site of one of the terrible crimes of World War II. After five months of imprisonment, the Jewish community, which had existed in our town for more than one hundred and fifty years, disappeared in a single day and forever. Generations after the war could neither learn about nor experience the presence of these people, who were extremely important for the economic and cultural development of our community.

We have no data on how the social life of Jews in Novi Bečej and Vranjevo was organized. However, there remains a general impression among those who remembered that time that the main strength that united them was their religious community, which followed the development of the community and sought to organize assistance whenever a family faced difficulties.

In addition to the construction of the first embankments in the 18th century, the issue of navigation on the Tisza River, specifically its regulation, also arises.
In the first half of the 19th century, the regulation of the Tisza River becomes increasingly relevant for economic reasons, leading to the commencement of the first regular hydrological observations and surveys of its riverbed.

A decade of the festival “Horizons on the Tisa” has placed Novi Bečej among the rare towns that can proudly claim an event of high cultural importance—one that has steadily won the attention of musicians, composers, musicologists, and audiences alike.

The only prominent Jew from Novi Bečej who was not arrested at the time was Dr. Dezider Kanic, a lawyer. He made direct contact with the military commander of the town and, proving that he had served as a German "Uhlan" officer, managed to obtain permission to move to Hungary (see the testimony of Dr. Viktor Jordanić).

The total length of navigable canals currently amounts to:

• in Banat: 309 km
• in Bačka: 355 km

Poverty and harsh working conditions forced the rural poor and proletariat to organize and fight through strikes. Although there were strikes in previous years, those in 1897 were the most massive. The center of the struggle was in Elemir, and the most significant battle took place in Potisje, in the former District, where the strike gained the most momentum in Turski Bečej, Kuman, Melenac, and especially in the Torda municipality.

Mihalj Mesaroš was born in Novi Bečej in 1935, in an era when dreams were shaped on dusty football pitches and the game itself was played more with the heart than for reward. His first steps toward the wider world were taken in Zrenjanin, from where, at only eighteen years of age, his exceptional talent carried him further than he could have imagined — straight into the ranks of FK Partizan.

Among the many tragic memories from the time of the Jewish deportations in Novi Bečej, one account stands out. Senji Maćaš recalled how Gabriela, the wife of merchant Adolf Berger, carrying her infant son Ladislav—born on January 19, 1941—managed to bribe a guard and escape through a prepared route into Bačka.

May 11–13, 1994

The successful organization of the first “Horizons on the Tisa” festival did not go unnoticed in the musical circles of Serbia.

This image shows the appearance of Novi Bečej in the late 1910s, with a focus on its Main Street — at the time, the central axis of everyday life, trade, education, and religion. On the left side, we see the prominent building of the state school, one of the cornerstones of the town’s modernization. This institution served not only as a place of learning but also as a space for shaping the collective identity of a diverse population.

He was, heart and soul, bound to Vojvodina. However, those who ingratiated themselves with politicians, receiving authority and promotion to influence the cultural development of the province, saw his dedication as intrusive.

After the Obznana proclamation of 1920, the authorities banned the activities of SKOJ, the revolutionary youth organization of the working class, which also gathered a significant number of rural young people. Despite frequent police raids and arrests, the organization was re-established in Kuman in 1923 and continued to operate illegally until the dictatorship of 1929.

In Novi Bečej, even before the establishment of the Yugoslav Bowling Federation in Belgrade, there was already a very active bowling section. There is no written record of when the bowling section was originally formed, but based on documentation preserved and made available by the well-known collector from Novi Bečej, Andre Karolj, it is evident that since 1948, within the Unified Physical Culture Society “Zvezda,” in Vološinovo (the post-war name for Novi Bečej), alongside football, basketball, table tennis, swimming, and chess sections, there was also a very active bowling section.

The stage — the “boards that mean the world” — has been a lifelong inspiration for Saša Milenković, an actor, director, and passionate theater devotee who has dedicated his life to the art of performance.
Born in 1963, Saša stepped onto the theatrical scene in 1978 and has remained actively involved ever since, contributing immensely to the cultural and artistic life of Novi Bečej and beyond.

May 25–27, 1995
Open Competition for Solo Singers

After the first two “Horizons on the Tisa,” the organizers began preparations for the third festival with even greater enthusiasm and foresight.

Dr Ljubomir Pavlović was born in Novi Bečej on June 18, 1868, into the family of Nikita Pavlović, a gingerbread maker, and his wife Marica. He received his elementary education in his hometown and completed his secondary education in Sremski Karlovci and Hódmezővásárhely. He studied medicine in Vienna and Budapest, graduating in 1892.

May 31 – June 1, 2001
Invitational Composers’ Competition

The jubilee marking the 150th anniversary of the birth and 70th anniversary of the death of composer Josif Marinković was celebrated throughout the year with numerous rich and diverse cultural events. The 9th “Horizons on the Tisa” festival centered around the third composers’ competition for art songs, held on May 31 and June 1, 2001.

The renowned artist and painter Tibor Nađ was born in Novi Bečej on March 23, 1952. He completed his primary education in his hometown and later graduated from the Bogdan Šuput School of Design in Novi Sad, majoring in Interior and Furniture Design.

At the same time, from the synagogue in Novi Bečej, young Jewish anti-fascists were deported to a special prison near the District Court in Veliki Bečkerek. Among them were Đerđ “Đurika” Šlezinger, Herman Bergl, Ištvan “Pišta” Šlezinger, and Margita “Dunda” Huven. They never returned—on July 31, 1941, they were executed as part of the first large group of 90 hostages from across Banat.

In the former Novi Bečej maternity hospital, located near the Andre family home, Karolj Andre was born on July 21, 1951 — a future collector and philatelist. He was educated in Novi Bečej, Subotica, and Novi Sad, where he later worked as a laboratory technician.

The Tisa is a major international river and the largest tributary of the Danube, flowing through four countries. Its total length is 966 km, with 164 km passing through Serbia. The river originates in the Carpathians at an altitude of 1,800 meters, but after 266 km of its upper course, near the mouth of the Samoš, it descends to just above 200 meters, gradually sloping to its confluence with the Danube.