Metadata: Zemun Magistrate
Collection
- Country:
- Serbia
- Holding institution:
- Historical Archives of Belgrade
- Holding institution (official language):
- Историјски архив Београда (Istorijski arhiv Beograda)
- Postal address:
- Palmira Toljatija 1, 11070 Belgrade; PAK 190446
- Phone number:
- (+381) 11 2606-336
- Web address:
- https://www.arhiv-beograda.org
- Email:
- office@arhiv-beograda.org
- Reference number:
- IAB-10
- Title:
- Zemun Magistrate
- Title (official language):
- Земунски магистрат
- Creator/accumulator:
- Zemun Magistrate; Zemun City Government
- Date(s):
- 1751/1934
- Language:
- German
- Croatian
- Serbian
- Latin
- Hungarian
- Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928)
- Greek, Modern (1453-)
- Hebrew
- Extent:
- 295 linear metres (1,353 volumes, 2,328 boxes)
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- Good
- Scope and content:
-
This fonds comprises documents created by Zemun Magistrate and the Zemun City Government. Documents created before the year 1880 are written in German, in the Gothic alphabet, and from 1881 the documents are in Croatian. A small number of documents are also in Latin, Hungarian, Turkish, Greek and Hebrew. The oldest archival material in the Historical Archives of Belgrade can be found in this fonds, as well as the oldest document on the Jewish community that dates back to 1753. It is a list of 11 Jewish families living in Zemun.
The collection includes numerous books in which Zemun families were registered, including Jewish families. Family register books were organised by streets where all residents/families in one street were registered. The male head of the family is registered first with all personal information: year of birth, profession, religious affiliation; followed by the data on his wife and children. There are numerous notes added about life events of family members, such as the date when someone in the family was granted citizenship, date of entering or leaving the house, birth and death of family members. The family of Simon Herzl, grandfather of Theodor Herzl, initiator of modern political Zionism and creator of the idea of a Jewish state, was registered in the books of Zemun families. The list of the Herzl family registers Simon Herzl as the head of the family, and his sons Mojzes, Jakov and Karol, with all members of their families. Theodor Herzl is registered as son of Karol Herzl, a writer with permanent address in Paris.
This fonds contains registers of Zemun citizens from 1776, 1787, 1794, 1796, 1813, 1843 and 1840, with registered Jewish citizens as well (the list from 1776 contains 30 citizens “of Mosaic faith”) with basic information on them; list of Zemun Jews from 1755; lists of Turkish Jews from the first half of 19th century who had not been granted a permanent residence in Zemun. It also includes documents related to the admission of Jews to citizenship of Zemun, requests to non-privileged citizens to leave Zemun, police investigations, collection of debts, real estate, tax payments and fines for avoiding paying taxes, military service. There are also documents and reports about activities of the Jewish Community and regulations of the Jewish community’s status in Zemun, a number of requests of Jewish citizens to the Magistrate to allow them to buy a house in Christian quarters, and documents relating to law suits for debts, verbal insults, and various offences.
- Archival history:
- The fonds of Zemun Magistrate was transferred to the Historical Archives of Belgrade in several batches: in 1946 and 1935 by Belgrade City Library, in 1977 by IV Municipal Court and in 1980 by the Municipality of Zemun.
- Administrative/biographical history:
-
The Zemun Magistrate was established in 1751, after raising Zemun to the status of free military community in 1749. The Zemun City Government developed in two phases – the first being the period from the establishment in 1751 to 1871, when it worked as Zemun Magistrate, and the second period from 1871 to 1934 when it continued to perform its mandate and somewhat changed functions as Zemun City Government.
Zemun Magistrate had administrative, police and judicial authority. The official language was German. From 1787 Zemun Magistrate was organised in accordance with the regulations issued by Emperor Joseph II for the communities Petrovaradin, Zemun and Karlovci. According to the Constitution adopted on 4 March 1849, Zemun was defined as a part of the Military Frontier, thus the Magistrate was subordinate to he State Military Command in Timisoara until 1869, and later under Petrovaradin Military Command until 1871. In that year, the Magistrate changed its official name to Zemun City Government. It had administrative and police authority on the territory of Zemun, while the judicial authority was transferred to the first instance courts.
Zemun City Government continued to work after the creation of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, i.e. the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In 1934 Zemun became a part of Belgrade so the Zemun City Government ceased to exist. The Municipality of the City of Belgrade – Zemun Department took over the duties of the previous government.
- Access points: locations:
- Zemun
- Access points: persons/families:
- Herzl
- System of arrangement:
- The documents are arranged according to the principle of provenance.
- Access, restrictions:
- The archive material of the fonds is available according to the regulations of the Historical Archives of Belgrade.
- Finding aids:
- The following finding aids are available: summary inventory; analytical inventory.
- Yerusha Network member:
- Historical Archives of Belgrade
- Author of the description:
- Tijana Kovčić; Historical Archives of Belgrade; 2019
