Subotica

Subotica
Град Суботица
Szabadka

City

City of Subotica

Subotica photomontage

Flag

Coat of arms

Location of the city of Subotica within Serbia

Coordinates: 46°06′01″N 19°39′56″E / 46.10028°N 19.66556°ECoordinates: 46°06′01″N 19°39′56″E / 46.10028°N 19.66556°E

Serbia

Government

• Mayor

Bogdan Laban (SNS)

• Ruling parties

SNS/SVM

Area

• Land

1,008 km² (389 sq mi)

Elevation

109 m (358 ft)

Population (2011)

• City

97,910

• Rank

5th

• Urban

105,681

• Metro

141,554

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

24000

Area code(s)

(+381) 24

Vehicle registration

Website

Official website

Subotica (Serbian Cyrillic: Суботица [sǔbɔtit͡sa], Hungarian: Szabadka) is a city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Subotica is now the second largest city in the province, following the city of Novi Sad. According to the 2011 census, the city itself has a population of 97,910, while the urban area of Subotica (with adjacent urban settlement of Palić included) has 105,681 inhabitants, and the population of metro area (the administrative area of the city) stands at 141,554 people.

The earliest known written name of the city was Zabotka or Zabatka, which dates from 1391. It is the origin of the current Hungarian name for the city "Szabadka".

According to one opinion, the Name "Szabadka" comes from the adjective szabad, which derived from the Slavic word for "free" – svobod. According to this view, Subotica's earliest designation would mean, therefore, something like a "free place".

The origin of the earliest form of the name (Zabotka or Zabatka) is obscure. However, according to a local Bunjevci newspaper, Zabatka could have derived from the South Slavic word "zabat" (Gable), which describe parts of Pannonian Slavic houses.

The town was named in the 1740s for Maria Theresa of Austria, Archduchess of Austria. It was officially called Sent-Maria in 1743, but was renamed in 1779 as Maria-Theresiapolis. These two official names were also spelled in several different ways (most commonly the German Maria-Theresiopel or Theresiopel), and were used in different languages.

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Wikipedia