Darda (Serbian Cyrillic: Дарда, Hungarian: Dárda) is a village and a municipality just north of Osijek, Croatia. It is located across the Drava river in Baranja. At the 2011 census, the village population was 5,323, with a total of 6,908 people in the municipality.[3] The castle of the Hungarian Esterhazi family is located in the center of the Darda. [4]
Name
In Hungarian the town is known as Dárda, in German as Lanzenau, and in Serbian Cyrillic as Дарда.[5] In Hungarian, a dárda (spear, lance) is made by ramming a dagger (tőr) into a long handle or pole. It was a military weapon used by the cavaliers and the infantry in the old times.[6] Darda was first mentioned in Roman times under the name Tarda. [4]
It was first mentioned in 1280 as "Turda", later in 1282 as "Tharda", "Thorda", in 1290, 1299 as "Thorda", in 1332–1335 as "Turida", "Torda", later as (Kis-) és (Nagy-) Dárda, Dárda. During the Hungarian administration (13th-16th century), the area was part of the Baranya county. In the 16th-17th century, area was part of the Ottoman Empire and administratively belonged to the Sanjak of Mohaç. Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi in 1663 described Darda as an important market place with a strong fortress with towers. According to Çelebi, fortified part of the settlement had 50 houses and one mosque, while part of the settlement outside of the walls had one han and ten shops.
Since the end of the 17th century, the area was part of the Habsburg monarchy and administratively belonged to the Baranya county, which was part of the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. Darda was administratively included into the municipality of Baranyavár (Branjin Vrh) and in 1850 offices of local administration of this municipality were moved to Darda. In the end of the 18th century, Darda was a multi-ethnic settlement, mainly populated by Croats and Germans. In 1910, population included Germans, Croats and Hungarians.
Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting the local or regional authorities, advocating for minority rights and interests, integration into public life and participation in the management of local affairs.[11] At the 2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives electionsHungarians, Roma and Serbs of Croatia each fulfilled legal requirements to elect 10 members municipal minority councils of the Darda Municipality.[12]
Siniša Đuričić (2023). Сведоци времена: историјски преглед развоја насеља Дарда [Witnesees of Time: Historical Review of the Development of the Darda Settlement] (in Serbian (Cyrillic script)). Vukovar: Joint Council of Municipalities. ISBN978-953-8489-07-5.