Žabalj

Žabalj Жабаљ
Town and municipality
Orthodox church in Žabalj
Coat of arms
Location of the municipality of Žabalj within Serbia
Coordinates: 45°22′N 20°04′E / 45.367°N 20.067°E / 45.367; 20.067Coordinates: 45°22′N 20°04′E / 45.367°N 20.067°E / 45.367; 20.067
Country	Serbia
Province	Vojvodina
District	South Bačka
Settlements	4
Government
• Mayor	Branko Stajić
Area
• Municipality	400 km2 (200 sq mi)
Population (2011 census)
• Town	9,107
• Municipality	25,777
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	21230
Area code	+381 21
Car plates	NS
Website	www.zabalj.biz

Žabalj (Serbian Cyrillic: Жабаљ) pronounced [ʒǎːbaʎ] is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Žabalj town has a population of 9,107, and Žabalj municipality 25,777. It is located in southeastern part of Bačka, known as Šajkaška.

Its name came from the Serbian word "žaba" / жаба ("frog" in English). In Serbian, the town is known as Žabalj (Жабаљ), in Hungarian as Zsablya or Józseffalva (between 1886 and 1919), in German as Josefdorf, and in Croatian as Žabalj.

Žabalj was first mentioned in 1514 as a fortress captured by György Dózsa. During the Ottoman rule (16th-17th century), it was populated by ethnic Serbs. In the 18th and 19th century, Žabalj was part of the Habsburg Military Frontier (Šajkaš Battalion). First church in Žabalj was mentioned in 1720, but it was later razed. Present-day Orthodox church dedicated to Saint Nicholas was built in 1835. In 1901, the Catholic church was built as well.

Since 1918, Žabalj was part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and subsequent South Slavic states. During the Hungarian Axis occupation, in 1942 raid, 666 inhabitants of the town were murdered, of whom 355 were men, 141 women, 101 children, and 69 old people. By nationality, victims included 614 Serbs, 28 Jews, 23 Romani, and 1 Hungarian.