Beli Manastir

Beli Manastir
Town
Town of Beli Manastir Grad Beli Manastir
Beli Manastir Sports Hall
Beli Manastir Location of Beli Manastir in Croatia
Coordinates: 45°46′N 18°36′E / 45.767°N 18.600°E / 45.767; 18.600Coordinates: 45°46′N 18°36′E / 45.767°N 18.600°E / 45.767; 18.600
Country	Croatia
Region	Baranya (Podunavlje)
County	Osijek-Baranja
Government
• Mayor	Ivan Doboš (SDP)
Area
• Town	55 km2 (21 sq mi)
Elevation	100 m (300 ft)
Population (2011)
• Town	10,068
• Urban	8,049
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	31300 Beli Manastir
Area code(s)	(+385) 31

Beli Manastir is a town and municipality in eastern Croatia. It is the principal town of the Croatian part of Baranja, located in the Osijek-Baranja County.

The name means "white monastery" in Serbian language. This name was imposed in 1923 during the Serb-dominated Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and before this it was known as Monoštor in Croatian. It is also known as Pélmonostor in Hungarian, Manoster in German and Бели Манастир in Serbian Cyrillic.

Other names formerly used for the town were: Pél, Bell, and Monostor. All names are connected with monasteries that existed in history at this location. The first monastery was built in the 9th century during the rule of Slavic duke Kocelj but was later razed, and all that remained of it was pil (obelisk in English), hence the later Hungarian name Pél, which was a version of the Slavic word.

In the 9th century, this area was part of the Slavic Principality of Lower Pannonia and Slavic monastery was situated here. Monastery was founded during the visit of Cyril and Methodius, who spread Christianity among Slavs. After Methodius died, his students were expelled and the monastery was razed.

After the arrival of the Hungarians in the 10th century, this area was included into the newly founded Hungarian state and the settlement was built at this locality. The town was first mentioned in 1212 under name Pél. During Hungarian administration, another monastery was built here (in the 13th century), but it was destroyed by the Mongols in 1241. It was later rebuilt, but was again destroyed during the Ottoman conquest in the 16th century. Between 11th and 16th century, the area administratively belonged to the Baranya county.