Uzdin (Serbian Cyrillic: Уздин, Romanian: Uzdâni) is a village located in the Kovačica municipality, in the South Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the autonomous province of Vojvodina. The village has a Romanian ethnic majority (76.42%) and its population is 1,628 (2022 census) spread over 71,36km2 of land.[1][2]
At the turn of the 20th century, its population was approximately 7000. The dramatic decrease is consistent with the decrease of the Romanian population throughout Vojvodina, reflecting emigration, low natality .[citation needed] The village loses about each year 2,2% of its inhabitants.[1]
Culture and society
Romanian Ethno House in Uzdin
Uzdin is famous as a center for the cultural activities of Romanians in Serbia, including naive painting, the Table Tenis Club "Unirea", the publication of the newspaper Tibiscus and other literature as well as the nurturing of Romanian folk music and dance and the hosting of music festivals.
The Gallery of Naive Art in Uzdin was established in 1963. Its first members were mostly women artists, creating paintings inspired by Romanian folklore. Nowdays, the gallery hosts a permanent exhibition of about 100 local artworks.[3]
Uzdin Romanian Ethno House was founded in order to preserve the town's culture and tradition. It displays an ethnic exhibition with hundreds of items, including old agricultural tools, costumes, photographs, and paintings.[4]
Saint George Romanian Orthodox Church
Romanian Orthodoxy is the most prevalent form of religion in Uzdin. The Romanian Orthodox Church of Saint George was built in 1801. The iconostasis was painted by Konstantin Danil, between 1833 and 1836, and represents the largest display of his religious work.[5][6] The church has the status of a cultural monument of exceptional significance.[7]
First documents related to education in Uzdin date back from 1775, when about 30 students attended primary school. It moved to the present building in 1976. The school now has about 200 students of various ethnicities and provides instruction in Romanian and Serbian languages.[8]
