Wednesday, February 21, 2018, at 7:00 PM
The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is located in the northern part of the Republic of Serbia. It stretches along the Pannonian Plain and for the most part geographically belongs to Central Europe, with an area of approximately 21.5 thousand km2, mostly made up of plains, with a population of more than 2 million. The administrative center of the Province is the city of Novi Sad, which is the headquarters of provincial governing bodies.
Throughout history, many nations lived and transited through Vojvodina, such as the Serbs, Illyrians, Thracians, Celts, Romans, Sarmatians, Goths, Huns, Gepids, Ostrogoths, Lombards, Byzantines, early Slavs, Avars, Franks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Turks, Germans, and others. One of the four capitals of the Roman Empire was Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica) on the territory of modern Vojvodina, and six Roman emperors were born in this city or in its surroundings. The rich architectural and cultural heritage of Vojvodina dates back for centuries and, in addition to the remains of the Roman civilization, it encompasses fortresses and castles, as well as numerous Serbian Orthodox monasteries, the most famous of which are the monasteries on Fruška Gora, in the Serbian baroque style, mostly built between the 15th and 17th century. As a tourist destination, Vojvodina is nowadays known internationally by its numerous cultural events, music festivals, food festivals, hunting and fishing.
The economy of Vojvodina is largely based on the abundance of high-quality arable land, whose fertility is improved by a very elaborate and extensive network of irrigation, drainage and transportation canals, owing to the Danube River, one of the most significant waterways in Central Europe, as well as owing to its tributaries the Tisa, Sava, and Begej. Agriculture is a priority sector in Vojvodina and forms a significant part of the local economy. Agricultural crop residues constitute a valuable source of biomass utilized in energy production which contributes to the development of the renewable energy sources sector. In addition, the metal industry has a long tradition in Vojvodina. Furthermore, the high-technology industry is a fast-growing sector, with many IT sector companies which primarily deal with software manufacture and export at the request of international clients and the development of their own software products for the purpose of the domestic and the international market.
Multiculturalism and multiconfessionalism have always been and still are some of the key features of Vojvodina, in which there are currently more than 26 nations and national minorities or ethnic groups, including the Serbs, Hungarians, Slovaks, Croats, Romani, Romanians, Montenegrins, Bunjevci, Ruthenians, and others. Six languages and their writing systems are officially and equally used in Vojvodina: Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Croatian, Romanian, and Rusyn. The highest provincial legislature is the Assembly of Vojvodina, whereas the executive authority is the Government of Vojvodina. The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is the first region to become a member of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions of the European Parliament with its home country not being a member of the European Union or the Council of Europe at that moment. Moreover, it is the cofounder of the Regional Council of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion. Vojvodina pays special attention to interregional and cross-border cooperation, as well as to the implementation of priorities defined within the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region.
The President of the Provincial Government is Mr. Igor Mirović.
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BANOVINA BUILDING – HEADQUARTERS OF THE AUTONOMOUS PROVINCE OF VOJVODINA
The headquarters of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the Provincial Government are in the grand edifice of Banovina, the former seat of the ban (noble title) of the Danube Banovina (1939-1941), one of nine banovinas of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the second largest one in the country, which is headquartered in Novi Sad. The Banovina complex is a prominent downtown architectural landmark of Novi Sad dominating the space and symbolizing the appearance of Danube ships. The Banovina complex, in the modern style, was designed by the famous Serbian architect Dragiša Brašovan who was merely 32 years old at the time of signing the architectural design.
The construction of the building, which lasted between 1936 and 1939, was an uncommon and very complex endeavor due to the problems with sandy and waterlogged soil. For the purpose of constructing the building, 30,000 m3 of soil were excavated, and the carrying capacity of the terrain was ensured by filling in 20,000 m3 of gravel and 4,000 m3 of sand. The palace is 180 meters long and 44 meters wide, with an elongated horseshoe-shaped base, and it consists of a basement, ground floor and two stories. On the western side it is semicircular in shape, whereas the eastern side has a 42 meters tall tower. The interior design is such that the elongated base of the edifice has three cross-wings adjoined with halls containing staircases and wide landings. The hall behind the main entrance, designed in the contemporary style and decorated with the black and white chessboard pattern, is adorned by the elegant staircase and monumental pillars, where all the surfaces are lined with top-quality marble with a high gloss finish. In the rear of the Banovina Palace is the Ban’s Court or Council Hall, with a crosswise base. The principal room in this building is the large hall for assembly meetings. The Council Hall is positioned at the right angle to the middle section of the longer side of Banovina’s facade. The construction of the Council Hall began somewhat later than the construction of Banovina and was finished afterwards as well. After the World War II, the executive authorities of the Province of Vojvodina, the Provincial Government and the provincial governing bodies, were placed in the administrative building where the Ban’s administration was previously located, whereas sessions of the Assembly of the AP of Vojvodina are held in the Council Hall.
