Klek 102 (Former Bär Residence)
Klek (Serbian Cyrillic: Клек; alternative names:
Klekk, Begafó) is a village located in the
Zrenjanin municipality, central Banat
District, Vojvodina, Serbia.
The razed Catholic church stood here until the end of the
village has a Serb ethnic majority, and its population is 2,959
"The Old Village of Klek" was founded in 1766 by German Donauschwaben
, or Banatschwaben, by an ethnic
German population that settled the Danube
valley after the Ottoman
was defeated. The people from the colonies gathered in the
city of Ulm and other areas on the Danube.
they were brought, via the Danube, to the Banat.
"The Old Village of Klek" was founded on a swampy marsh formed by
, in the Banat Region. The first settlers were from the
cities of Sharpeville, Saint Hubert, and Solute. They transformed a
useless swampland into a land that produced many useful crops. The
farmers produced crops such as corn
, sugar beet
, as well as various other fruits and
vegetables. The Old Village, however, became unpopulated due to
repeated flooding, so the present-day location of Klek was founded
Descendants of the original settlers lived in Klek for more than
150 years before being forced from their homes and placed into
concentration camps at the end of World War
, flight, and expulsion led
to a near complete disappearance of The Germans from West Banat.
This formerly strong German minority has now become quite small,
many of which have returned to Germany.
A Brief Timeline
1683: The Ottoman Turks
back after their defeat at the Battle
, which took place on September 12th, 1683.
Prince Eugene of Savoy earned
a decisive victory for Austrian forces in the war between Austria
and the Ottoman Empire when he defeated the Turks at the Battle of Petrovaradin, which is now
part of Novi
After the expulsion of the Turks by Prince Eugene the Banat became
part of the Austrian monarchy, and the walls around the town of
nearby Gross-Betschkerek (now Zrenjanin), constructed during the Great Turkish War, were torn
the Treaty of Passarowitz, the
Ottoman Empire lost the Banat to Austria.
1718 - 1723: Construction of the Bega
began. The Bega Canal was the first navigational
canal, established between the towns of Temeschwar and Klek.
Digging of the canal, namely the
construction of the artificial riverbed of the Bega River started
in 1718. The works started in the southeast of Temeschwar, which is
the Romanian town today, and went all the way to Klek, in the
length of about 70 km (about 37 kn in Romania). The digging lasted
for five years.
1738 - 1740: A typhus
epidemic broke out. In
Banat alone, more than 3,000 people died.
1745 - 1867: Klek became subject to Austrian Habsburg rule, also
known as The Habsburg
1751: Empress Maria Theresa of
encouraged resettlement by colonizing the region with
large numbers of German settlers who were seeking better living
conditions. Many of these settlers arrived from Swabia
. Klek was first settled by a group of
immigrants from the cities of Sharpeville, Saint Hubert, and
Solute. Typically, the settlers arrived in groups originating from
the same area. So their lifestyles, customs, as well as their
language were preserved.
1766: "The Old Village of Klek" was founded. The agricultural town
originally stood on a different spot near the River Bega. This
location was later referred to as "The Old Village of Klek." It was
decided to move the village due to repeated flooding, caused by the
1806: Larger boats (that could carry significantly more cargo) were
now able to travel the Bega River and Theis River.
1818: Klek was founded, with a total of 168 houses.
1820: Principal crops such as wheat and corn were ground with the
aid of a windmill
1822: The first school
was built in Klek. It
also served as a place or worship.
1831: An epidemic of asiatic
broke out, killing
at least 82 residents of Klek.
1837 - 1838: Several powerful earthquakes
occurred on December 23rd, 1837 and
again on January 23rd, 1838, causing several houses to
1848: A Roman Catholic Church
was built and was consecrated on July 2nd, 1848. This marked the
occasion for Church Fest and later, Kirweih, which was celebrated
on this day until 1944.
1848: During the European Revolutions of 1848, the Banat was
occupied by Serbian troops; then by Hungarian troops in 1849.
1849: A swarm of locusts
75% of all the crops in Klek.
1851: Julius Weitersheim, the first priest
came to Klek. Until 1851, Klek was a filial of Lazarfeld.
Franz Joseph I of Austria
also became King of Hungary.
was decided that the Germans were now to be integrated with the
Hungarians, and that the Hungarian language was to be taught in
1867 - 1918: Klek became subject to rule by the Austro-Hungarian Empire
1880: Horse-drawn mills become fairly common, later to be replaced
by steam-driven mills.
1888: A new school was built, employing three teachers.
1890: A brickyard, a place where bricks were made and sold, was
built in Klek.
Approximately 62 kilometers of railway tracks were laid from Gross
Betschkerek to Klek, to Hatzfeld.
, as well as
, made transportation
much easier and enhanced the economy of Klek.
1900: The first threshing machine
came to Klek. It was to be used for separating seeds and grain from
their husks or straw.
1906: The first mower
and hay baler
came to Klek. The mower was used to cut
the plants that were harvested, and the baler was used to compress
those crops into bales, and to bind the bales with twine. The
village farmers no longer had to use scythes or sickles
to bring the crops in, working from dawn
1910: The River Bega was widened and deepened to accommodate larger
vessels. A lock was also built near Klek, on the River Bega. In
fact, Klek became a center of rail, water, and road-based traffic.
Neighboring towns began to bring their crops to Klek to be loaded
on freighters and sent to other destinations.
1910: A hail
storm destroyed 100% of the
village's crops, causing a food shortage.
1911: A sugar
factory was built in nearby
Gross-Betschkerek. This was advantageous for Klek farmers who
happened to grow sugar beets.
1911: A Kindergarten
established in Klek. Children started at the age of 4. At age 6
they began First Grade
1914: Archduke Franz
Ferdinand of Austria
, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was
assassinated on June 28, 1914 by Gavrilo
, a Bosnian Serb living in Austria-Hungary.
1914 - 1918: World War I
, also known as
the First World War
1917 - 1918: Klek, located in the Banat was flood plain, was
greatly affected by devastating flooding.
1941: Klek became a part of the Kingdom of
Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (this would become Kingdom of Yugoslavia after 1929).
1920: For most of the period from 1779 to 1920, the Banat was
attached to Hungary. After World War I, the Allies divided it via
the Treaty of Trianon
signed on June 4th, 1920). Hungary retained the district of Szeged, Romania acquired a large eastern section, and the
remainder, largely part of the province of Vojvodina in present-day
Serbia, went to Yugoslavia.
1920: A club, or kulturbund, intended to preserve the culture of
the ethnic Germans in Klek, was established. The club was created
to retain various customs, dances, and songs. However, in 1925, the
governing Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes forbade such
1930: A farmer's cooperative
complete with offices, meeting rooms, storage facilities, and
employee housing. Various types of grain were sold at the co-op and
bulk purchases were made at reduced costs.
1930: An ensemble of singers, or choir was organized, as was a
voluntary fire department and music club.
1937 - 1945: World War II
had initially been separate conflicts. The first began in Asia in
1937 as the Second
, whereas the other began in Europe in 1939
with the German Invasion of
. This global conflict split the majority of the world's
nations into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II
Bombs fell on Belgrade, on Palm Sunday, April
Germany’s army attacked and all Germans became
the object of hatred of the Serbian people. On that day, the
marched through Klek, taking
at the ready.
1941: On Easter Monday
, April 14,
German troops passed through the town of Klek on their way to
Gross-Betschgerek. Fortunately, the hostages were returned,
1943 - 1945: Yugoslavia declared fresh independence as Democratic
established mandatory military
service for ethnic Germans living in Yugoslavia and the Balkan
countries. The Prinz Eugen
Nazi SS Division
was organized; primarily made up of ethnic
Germans from the Banat (many of whom had been former officers in
the Yugoslav Army
enlistment in the Prinz Eugen Nazi SS Division was compulsory, and
resistance was punishable by death. At the age of 20, all
men were drafted into the armed services, regardless of the fact
that the vast majority of Catholic Germans in the Banat left
Germany more than 100 years prior, and were opposed nationalist ideals.
1944: The German military completed construction of an aircraft
landing strip approximately sixteen kilometers from Klek. Not long
afterward, residents of Klek received word that the Germans and
were fighting in Romania, which
was not far from the village. The front was steadily growing
closer, and the soldiers who had escaped, warned the villagers to
leave immediately. Fortunately, many of the residents were able to
flee, never to return again.
present: Klek has remained within Vojvodina which is a part of Serbia.
Serbia had been a
federal republic until 2006 after which it became
- 1961: 1,796
- 1971: 1,940
- 1981: 2,344
- 1991: 2,729
- Lorenz Lang, Geschichte der Gemeinde Klek im Banat 1818-1944,
- Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad,
- Christoph Ohlig, Integrated Land and Water Resources Management
in History: Proceedings (Page 134), BoD – Books on Demand