Kelebija

Kelebija (Serbian Cyrillic: Келебија; Hungarian: Kelebia or Alsókelebia) is a village located in the administrative area of Subotica, Serbia.

Kalyb, that is to say, today's Kelebija was mentioned first time in 1297 as the property of Simon Filins Wasa de Kelyb, an aristocrat in the Kingdom of Hungary.

According to a map drawn in 1783, the territory of today's Kelebija was completely intersect by many important roads going out from Subotica towards Baja, Bácsalmás, Tataháza, Mátéháza, Mélykút and Kiskunhalas.

The forming of Kelebija as a proper village took place, actually, in the 20th century, when a monumental Catholic church was built (1937) for the numerous faithful living dispersed in the region.

A part of Kelebija's territory that traditionally belonged to the village remained in Hungary, forming thus a new settlement on the other side of the border, which is called with the same name, but with Hungarian spelling Kelebia.

The facade of the Catholic Church
Passport stamp from the Kelebija border crossing from Serbia into Hungary.
Hungarian dancers in front of the Catholic church