As we conclude our recollection of river shipping and its importance for Novi Bečej, we must not forget a wonderful person who, unfortunately, was the head of the agency in Novi Bečej for only a short time. This was Dragan-Dragi Vulević, who came to Novi Bečej as the head of the agency in 1937 and soon became, besides his regular work, a prominent cultural figure in Novi Bečej. A social and kind person, just as his name suggests, or as we all affectionately called him.

June 3 and October 4, 1999

After two open solo-vocal competitions (1995 and 1997) and two invitational composition contests (1996 and 1998), the organizers of “Horizons on the Tisa” planned the seventh edition of the event with great ambition.

The development of fisheries along the Main Canal Network (OKM) is observed through:

• the use of canal water for recreational and commercial fishing, and
• the supply of fishponds with water along the OKM.

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.

Photographer Lajos Čanji was born in Novi Bečej. After his basic education, his parents apprenticed him to Konstantin Vukov, where he learned the photographic craft from 1932 to 1934. He worked briefly in Čurug before returning to his hometown during the occupation (1941-1944). In 1950, Konstantin Vukov took him on as an assistant, and Čanji continued to refine his photographic skills in Vukov's studio.

How This Booklet Came to Be

When my article titled “Kumane” appeared in the Yugoslav Daily on August 2, 1931 (issue no. 202), my parishioners received it with great enthusiasm. It was read aloud in gatherings and on street corners before groups of listeners. Soon, many expressed the wish that it be printed as a small booklet and distributed among the people of my parish.

Hajnalka Zerebelji is the first female lawyer in Novi Bečej. After several decades of professional work, she has gained extensive experience, which she gladly shares with younger colleagues.

After the capitulation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the country was occupied by the Third Reich and divided according to the occupiers’ interests. Banat, inhabited by a large number of ethnic Germans, received a special status as a protectorate of the Third Reich. Under this protection, life was somewhat calmer and freer than in other parts of the occupied country.

River passenger traffic held a significant place for Novi Bečej. In addition to the ferry and horse-drawn carriage transport to Stari Bečej, there was a smaller boat that made about ten round trips daily between Novi and Stari Bečej. This boat operated for many years, continuing even after World War II until the construction of the dam on the Tisa River and the bridge for road traffic in 1977. It connected the two neighboring towns of Novi and Stari Bečej and served as an important link between Srednji Banat and Srednja Bačka between the wars.

Tibor Nađ was born in 1952 in Novi Bečej. He graduated from the School of Applied Arts in Novi Sad in 1973. His work spans painting, industrial design, and unique ceramics.

At the end of the 9th century, specifically in 895, the Hungarians invaded the region along the middle course of the Danube and Tisza rivers, where they encountered numerous South Slavic tribes. Initially participants in and organizers of raids, they gradually transitioned to a settled way of life and adopted many habits and customs of the indigenous South Slavic population.

The development of the economy in the Novi Bečej subregion is characterized by two periods. Before the Second World War, economic activity in the municipality was very uniform, primarily focused on agricultural production. The initial foundations of industrial production included brick and tile manufacturing, as well as flour and dairy product production in the food industry.

Former municipality in Vranjevo - Novi Bečej, Rajka Rakočevića Street No. 15.
The building was constructed in the "Empire" style (a specific architectural style inspired by ancient buildings - monumentality - seriousness) in the early decades of the 19th century, similar to municipal buildings in Srpski Krstur, Mokrinu, and elsewhere.

Situated at significant global crossroads, the Vojvodina region has undergone multiple changes in both its population and rulers over the centuries. The area where Novi Bečej stands today belonged to ancient Dacia. Dacians resisted Roman attacks for a long time until Trajan (101-107 AD) succeeded in turning their land into the Roman province of Dacia. Given that the region of Novi Bečej has always been suitable for connecting the left and right banks of the Tisza River, it is likely that Bečej existed as a town or province, perhaps under a different name, even during the rule of the Roman emperors.

The occupier was usually not satisfied with just the investigations carried out after each partisan action, as they did not yield the desired results. However, since he could not find the culprits, he took other measures: conducting sudden raids, searching suspicious houses down to their foundations; blocking parts of villages and fields, and searching barns, sheds, and huts; setting ambushes on main approaches to the village; randomly arresting villagers, mistreating, beating, and torturing them in various ways. He also took many other measures, particularly trying to establish a dense and secure intelligence network within the movement by encouraging wavering individuals and traitors to provoke, denounce, and betray others.

Drinking in front of stores in Serbia is not just a custom – it’s an institution! It dates back to the first store and the first bottle of rakija – essentially, since the dawn of time. Even the old craftsmen in the Ottoman period would take a “merak break,” drinking in front of shops while debating if it would rain.

How honorable, courageous, humane, and brave Bogdan Čiplić was in crucial moments was illustrated by Ivan Ivanji in his speech at Bogdan’s funeral. Among other things, he recounted how, as a Jew, he managed to escape from Banat—where the Volksdeutsche were among the first to carry out genocide against Jews—and reach Novi Sad without any documents.

In geological and petrographic terms, the Novi Becej subregion is highly intriguing. We have already highlighted that the loess terrace is fundamentally composed of terrestrial—typical, re-deposited, and marsh loess. In delving deeper into this geomorphological entity, we emphasized that the material of the loess terrace accumulates on both dry and moist marshy soils, resulting in a mixture of terrestrial and marsh fauna in subaerial, fluvial, and marshy materials.

1955

In 1954, a total of 43,077 hunted hares were exported abroad, generating 80,700 accounting dollars, along with 7,500 live hares for which 84,500 accounting dollars were received.

The chapel known as Manastir is located in Novi Bečej on the left bank of the Tisa River (near the current cargo dock) and was likely built at the beginning of the 18th century. According to tradition, the chapel was constructed on the site of an earlier Serbian monastery that was burned down by the Turks when they arrived in Potisje.

There is no data regarding the establishment of schools in Novi Bečej in either municipal or church documents, so priests, at the beginning of the twentieth century, attempted to trace back the earliest times based on oral accounts to determine when the schools were founded and began operating. They were somewhat unsuccessful as memories only stretched back to the mid-nineteenth century. Therefore, we are compelled to use general information about schools in Banat, as among these data, there is mention of the existence, but not the year of establishment, of schools in Novi Bečej and Vranjevo.

It is well known that the issue of the division, leasing, and use of wetland arose from the very first days of the establishment of the District and remained unresolved throughout its existence. This was due to the fact that the Chamber had feudal rights to all that land, while the District leased it for a relatively high price on a long-term basis. To meet its obligations to the Chamber, the District further subdivided this land and leased it to individuals for a limited time. The division of land was carried out by a commission, which led to many abuses. Those closest to the authorities, rather than the landless poor, were most often the ones who received land.

The nobility in Hungary considered it beneath their dignity to engage in trade, and the jobagyi (Hungarian serfs) were unable to do so, which resulted in the underdevelopment of commerce. In such conditions, it was understandable that the Serbs, who had the necessary means, soon took over the majority of trade.

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.

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.

The municipality of Novi Bečej is located in the northeastern part of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in the northwestern Banat region, within the Banat Potisje area. In addition to Novi Bečej itself, the municipality includes three more settlements: Novo Miloševo, Bočar, and Kumane.

No more than three or four days had passed since our excursion to the Ivanović estate, and by Sunday, we were off on another one—this time much longer and more exhausting for walking. From Novi Bečej to the Rohonci estate in the Bečej marshland, or as it is known today, Pearl Island, it is at least eight kilometers one way. If you're counting the total distance for both directions, then maybe this trip isn't for you!

On December 31, 1941, municipal gendarmes distributed about eighty calls for forced labor throughout the village. The notices stated that a male member from each household should report to the municipality on the morning of January 1, bringing a shovel or a spade with him.

"Photography as such falls into the category of applied arts, and photographers were officially considered artists rather than craftsmen until 1902, so they are not found in the lists of registered craftsmen until then."⁴ For these reasons, it is much more difficult to determine how many photographers were active before 1902 and who they were, and especially during which period they carried out their artistic mission.

In the territory of the Novi Bečej subregion, all types and subtypes of soil characteristic for the Banat part of the Potisje region are represented. Therefore, there is a noticeable diversity of soil in the field, characterized by variability, unevenness, and a pronounced intermixing of individual soil types.