Baja

Baja stands beside a branch of the Danube at the western edge of the plain between the Danube and Tisza. The river linked its inhabitants to the traffic of a great waterway, while the surrounding countryside supplied its markets. Its population included South Slavic Catholics, among them Bunjevci families who came north during the wars against the Ottomans.

Ottoman rule ended here in 1687, after which further refugees arrived in the surrounding district. In 1696 Emperor Leopold granted Baja the status of a privileged market town under the royal chamber. Franciscan clergy from Bosnia served the community, and a separate independent parish was established in 1712. The town's recovery brought together inhabitants of different origins in a region reshaped by war and migration.