Odžaci (Serbian Cyrillic: Оџаци, pronounced [ˈǒdʒat͜si]; Hungarian: Hódság) is a town and municipality located in the West Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia.
Municipality of Odžaci is located in the west part of Bačka, on the left coast of the river Danube in length of 9.5km.
It is surrounded by the municipalities of Apatin, Sombor, Kula, Vrbas, Bačka Palanka, Bač and on Danube is bordered with Republic of Croatia.
Hydrological features of this region were created both by the activity of the Danube River and human work throughout the past and present.
Between the mighty Danube and a lowland forest, in the place where the river is bridged on its way towards Erdut in the neighboring Croatia, there are dozens of vacation homes.
Further away from the Danube towards Bogojevo, a natural process of major flooding took place in the early twentieth century creating Strand Lake.
Small boats allow far easier and quicker maneuvering, docking at various locations, and even relatively easy transfer over short distances, or participation in various sports and recreational events.
One of the most beautiful is Holzer bog, surrounded by reeds, poplars and willows, a habitat of harmony and tranquility for its wealth of biodiversity.
Natural unit called Kamariste, which heavily relies on the Danube, provides a hunting ground of the same name.
The Hunting Lodge, famous for its distinctive architecture, is always at service to individuals interested in the natural resources of the area.
Provala Lake, The Ziva Rivulet, Golic Islet and giant oak trees are just some of the natural features of Kamariste.
Branched canal network of the Danube-Tisa-Danube Channel, approximately 40km long, is an indispensable part of the hydrological system of Odžaci municipality.
It was mentioned as a settlement in Bačka established by the Turks in time of war operations which took place in south Hungary.
In the 17th century Odžaci was deserted, the population was under pressure of impost, charged for military and war needs, and it mainly moved up north.
The Austro-Hungarian authorities decided to colonize this area with German colonists, which resulted with forced emigration of the indigenous population (Serbs and Šokci).
The colonists who inhabited Odžaci were mainly from the German areas: Baden, Schwarzwald, Alsace, Lorene, Hessen etc.
They were arriving in their new habitat through Danube, with ships known by the name "Ulm boxes" they were sailing through Vienna and Budapest to Apatin where they were discharged.
The land in Odžaci and around was ideal for growing these plants, with the help of the river Mostonoga that was frequently casting and flooding the surrounding area.
The production was initiated by baron Kotman who informed Vienna that the hemp succeeds well on the territory of the new colonist settlements.
During World War I a military lazaretto was opened in Odžaci in the elementary school where the wounded people from the front were treated.
The action in Kulturbund was radicalized and national-socialistic ideas were accepted in the organization when Adolf Hitler started to govern in Germany.
During the occupation the Nazi Hungarian army and gendarmerie did a systematic persecution : Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and political opponents of all nationalities.
A number of Germans stayed; they were interned in camps, and afterwards they left the country and moved mainly into Austria and Germany.
After the liberation of these areas, the Battle of Batina started which was the biggest battle in this region where soldiers of the Red army and the brigades of Vojvodina commanded by the lieutenant Sreta Savić, managed to defeat German forces numbering 60,000 soldiers, crossed Danube and liberated Darda and Beli Manastir, which resulted with suppressing the German forces on the territory of Hungary.
In municipality of Odžaci colonists from south Serbia settled and they were mainly from: Vranje, Leskovac, Pirot, Niš and Toplice district.
The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):[5] The annual International Multimedial Art Festival (IMAF) is held in Odžaci since 1998.