Figure 1.--This photograph shows boys at a Temesvár Timisoara boys school doing drill. Timisoara was unfer Hungarian Administration. Although the mumber of ethnic Hungarians was small. Wwe think the school was probably taught in Hungarian. Perhaps some of our European readers will know more about that. Click on the image to see the writing on the back. We are not sure just how to interpret it, perhaps 1904. Click on the image to see the inscriotion on the back and a fuller discussion.

The Banat is a relatively small province with an extremely complicated history and is further compivated beause it was also divuded, meaning that the history varied by area. Geographically it is part of the Pannonian Basin bordered by the River Danube (south), the River Tisa (west), the River Mureș (north), and the Southern Carpathian Mountains (east). The historic capital is Timișoara. With the Ottoman move into the Balkans and defeat of the medieval Christan Serbian Army at Kosovo Polje, large areas of the Balkans were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire (1389). The Ottomam defeat of the Hungatians st Mohács (1526) brought the Ottomand furher into Europe. A 16,000 man Ottoman army conquered Timișoaraand and established it as their regional capital (1552). The city was defended by only a small local militia. They captured the local Christian military commander, Stefan Losonczy, and beheaded him. Timișoara and the surrounding area was rulled by the Ottomans for more than 150 years. It was a frontiet region. The Sultan ruled Timișoara directly (like other cities including Belgrade and Budapest). These cities had a special status in the Empire. Muslim communities developed in the cities. Prince Eugene of Savoy fighting in the name of the Holy Roman Empire conquered the Banat (1716). The Banat thus came under Imperial or Austrian rule, with minor exceptions. During the Ottoman rule, because of the incessent warfare, regions of the Banat were largely depopulated. Areas reverted to marsh, heath and forest. The Austrins ppointed Count Claudius Mercy (1666–1734), who was appointed governor of the Banat of Temeswar (1720). He proceeded to adopt measures aimed at restoring the economic life of the rehion and repopulating it. He recruited German artisans and farmers as colonists. They were guaranteed cultural privileges like keeping their language and religion. Farmers were able to bring their families and belongings on rafts down the Danube. This played a major role in restoring farming. It also introduced Germans into an area traditionally populated by Serbs and Romanians along with smaller number of Hungarians and some Jews. The Ottoman threat gradually wained and Timișoara evolved from a fortified starategic town to an important economic and industrial center. Emperess Maria Theresa also took a special interest in the Banat, in part because of the opportunities for German colonization. She also promoted exploitation of the mineral resources. The Germans colonists came from Swabia, Alsace, and Bavaria along with Austria. As a result, settlements in the eastern Banat were founded by Germans and had ethnic-German majorities. This group of Folk Deutsche became known as the The ethnic Germans in the Banat region became known as the Danube Swabians, or Donauschwaben. The Banat was incorporated into the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. With the May Assembly, the western Banat became part of the Serbian Vojvodina (a Serbian autonomous region within the Habsburg Monarchy). During the Revolutions of 1848, the Banat was respectively held by Serbian and than Hungarian troops (1848-49). The Banat (together with Syrmia and Bačka) after the Revolution was designated as a separate Austrian crownland known as the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar. Rgw province was disolved and most of its territory was incorporated into the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. After 1871, the former Military Frontier, located in southern parts of the Banat, came under civil administration and was incorporated into the Banat counties. Factories appeared and rail lines from Austria and Germay reached the city. Timișoara became one of the first cities in Central Europe to be electrified (1884). The city was defortified and roads began to be extended into the suburbs and rural areas. Metal bridges spnned the river. This photograph shows boys at a Temesvár Timisoara boys school doing drill (figure 1). Timisoara was unfer Hungarian Administration. Although the mumber of ethnic Hungarians was mall. we think the school was probably taught in Hungarian. Perhaps some of our European readers will know more about that. Click on the image to see the writing on the back. We are not sure just how to interpret it, perhaps 1904.

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Created: 3:08 AM 5/14/2014
Last updated: 3:08 AM 5/14/2014