The Exhibition on the development of the dominant branch of agriculture in Vojvodina


The early exhibitions on the history of agriculture were displayed in the former wheat storehouse (Pavilion 1). The refurbishment of the premises for housing permanent exhibits started immediately after the foundation of the Museum. In the course of the nineties, several thematic exhibitions were organized on three levels. By their contents, conception and scientific aspect, they make up a unique entity showing how the dominant agricultural branches were developing in this part of the world.

The authors of the exhibitions were experts coming from Novi Sad Faculty of Agriculture, Institute of Crop and Vegetable Growing, as well as the Museum of Vojvodina.

Authors of the exhibition: Ivan Čakan and Filip Forkapić

Ploughing tools have been constantly developing over the centuries. The first tools were small, made from bone remains and materials of similar kind. The so called ’ripper hoes’ make the transition toward the first ploughing tools.

The first man made ploughing tool was the wooden single-handed plough. In these territories, it was in use up until the eighteenth century, when it got replaced by the advanced plough type.

Wooden ploughs are the oldest ploughing tools in the territory of Vojvodina we know about. A vast improvement in ploughing came about in the mid nineteenth century, when iron ploughs, produced in factories occured and rapidly developed into modern tools operated by machine power.

The exhibition displays the advancement of ploughing tools from the pre-historic times, through the Iron Age, Classical Period and the MedievalPeriod, till the mid twentieth century. Wooden ploughs and the widely used horse driven ploughs, manufactured in factories, have a central position at the exhibition.

Horse driven ploughs, widely used in these territories, were produced in many European factories and artisan workshops (in Germany, England, Austro-Hungary, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Yugoslavia...) and in America, as well. As early as the eighteenth century, more precisely, in 1785, Ransomes, Sims & Head factory was founded in England, followed by several other factories in the 19th and mid 20th century: in Germany, Ackergerätefabrik Hohenheim, Gebr. Eberhardt KG, Rud. Sack KG...;In Great Britain: J. & Howart, Clayton & Shuttleworth...;in Austro-Hungary, or Hungary: Hofherr-Schrantz-Clayton-Shuttleworth, Kühne E...;in the Czech Republic: Rudolf Bächer, Karel Vacek, Jan Červinka...; in the USA : John Deere, Oliver Chilled Plow Works, Starbuck & Sons...

Kula in the Bačka Region was famous for its long tradition of manufacturing horse driven ploughs (artisan workshops Polich and Varga, F. Knefely). In Yugoslavia, the following agricultural machinery factories were established in the first half of the past century: Metalna in Štip; Lipos in Tuzla; Agricultural Machinery Equipment (Tvornica poljoprivrednih strojeva)– TPS in Bosanska Kostajnica; Lesce at Bled.

Author of the exhibition: Dr. Ivan Mihaljev, with associates

Wheat is one of the most important plants. It is believed that wheat played a great impact on the cultivation of other field crops.

Bread of highest quality is gained from wheat flour, just as many other bakery products and pasta. Wheat is also used as feed for domestic animals. Due to its great importance, it is cultivated almost all over the world, even where natural conditions are less favourable. Generally, it is wheat among all the field crops, that is produced on largest territories. In this region, wheat is the second most widely grown field crop, coming immediately after corn.

The exhibition has several segments: the origin of wheat growing and how it was being spread, selection and selectors, wheat technology applied through history, wheat protection against weeds and illnesses, traditional harvest and threshing, storage of wheat grains through history.

Beside the documents and photographs, the exhibition also shows some agricultural tools with windmill and watermill models (called "potočare", because they could be found on small streams, potok meaning stream).

Authors of the exhibition: Dr. Jan Kišgeci, M.A.; Jan Sabo; Jaroslav Ljekar, Eng.

The homeland of the hop plant is the fertile lowland around the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus, in the South East Russia. Hop and the tradition of brewery were brought into the today Middle Europe, during the Great Migration of Nations, where hop was grown in hop fields, called "humunolories".

Later on, hop cultivation spread in other countries and continents, so traditional hop growing areas came about, such as Žatečka District- in the Czech Republic, Halterau District in Germany, East Kent – in England, Yakima-in the USA. Two hop growing areas existed in the former Yugoslavia: in Vojvodina-Bačka, with Bački Petrovac as its center; in Slovenia-Savinjska Valley which centre was in Žalec.
In Vojvodina, the first hop processing equipments were possessed by Count Andrej Hadik (1770, on the estate near Futog). Somewhat later, hop was grown by the Stratimirović family in Kulpin, while the Dunđerski family grew hops at Čib. A Slovak teacher, Albert Marčiš from Padina, got hop nursery plants from a Czech hop grower at Hotek’s estate. The teacher began growing hops by himself, recommended it to others, therefore, this plant soon became cultivated around Bački Petrovac, the would-be hop growing centre in Vojvodina.

The Association of hop growers from Bačka was established in Sombor, in 1905 with the aim to protect the hop growers’ interests. Back in 1906 the Association counted 1,888 members.
In Vojvodina, there were 1,236 ha of territory under hop yards before WW I, out of which only 400 ha remained after the war. Beer was widely sought after, while the quantity of hops was insufficient. Since the demand after hops grew, and the supply was scarce, the price of hops grew rapidly. Therefore, farmers were encouraged to expand their hop fields and the period between 1920 and 1927 became the golden age of hop growing in Vojvodina. Hop gardens were cultivated in almost every part of Vojvodina. Back in 1927, 8,097 ha of the territories were under hop fields. The same year, a hop growers’ college was established in Bački Petrovac.

Author of the exhibition: Dr. Jan Kišgeci

Beer, the beverage made of barley malt, has been produced for centuries. The Babylonians produced it first, around 2,800 before Christ. Later on, the production of this beverage was overtaken by the Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Spaniards, Galls, Germans and Slovenes. In fact, the Ancient Greeks were the first ones to produce a refreshing beverage called synthium, some kind of beer, made not from hops, but from various sorts of bitter roots and spices.

Historical documents prove that the Ancient Slovenes were the first ones to use hops as spice and preservative. The recipe was overtaken by the neighboring German tribes, who further developed the skill of hops growing and brewing. The first written documents proving that hops were produced in the Middle Europe, date from the 7th and 8th century.

A nun, called Hildegard (1098/1179) from a monastery in Bingen, was probably the first one to publish the recipe as how hops could be used in brewing and medicine making.

A great beer drinker, duke Jean Sans Peur, introduced the Hop Knight Decoration and awarded it to everyone, who had merits in hop growing.

Over the history of brewing, one can find many individuals, who enjoyed drinking beer and had done a lot for making beer a subject of worship. Such an outstanding figure was Gambrinus, Duke of Brabant and Lotaringia (1196-1294), who won the Beer King title.

During the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, many breweries were built in Europe. In the beginning, brewing took place only in private houses. The Age of Enlightenment brought a new impulse to the advancement of hop growing and brewing.

During the Austrian occupation of Belgrade, brewing exceeded the limitations of domestic manufacturing and grew into industrial production. Austrian immigrants, entrepreneurs, erected two small breweries at Dorćol. When the Turks returned to Belgrade, the breweries moved onto the left bank of the Danube and Sava, continuing the production in Austrian territory, in Zemun and Pančevo, from where beer was exported to Belgrade.

In the 19th century, during the reign of Duke Miloš Obrenović, a brewery was built in Belgrade, on the corner of Balkanska and Gepratova Streets. Around the same time, in the today’s place of Skadarlija brewery, building of a small brewery started, owned by Filip Đorđević.

The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century were marked by many technical innovations in brewing, which were applied for the first time by Đorđe Weifert, owner of the Brewery in Pančevo. He built a new, large brewery in Belgrade, under Topčider, where the today’s BIP brewery stands.

The invention of the steam engine meant a lot for the development of the brewing industry. In this respect, its application improved the production process considerably, enabling the shift from home manufacture to industrial production.

Thanks to new techniques and technologies, modernization of breweries and better beer quality have been achieved. In Serbia, the quality of beer has significantly improved in the recent years, while some new brands have also been introduced.

Authors of the exhibition: Dr. Jan Kišgeci, and Jaroslav Ljekar, Eng.

Hemp is primarily grown due to its fibres. Ancient nations in the Middle and Far East, cultivated this plant for narcotic purposes. Roman chronicler Plinius mentioned hemp as a medical herb.

In the territory of today’s Vojvodina, an intensive cultivation of hemp started in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, in these territories, hemp was grown mainly for domestic use and less for sale. It was imported from Italy, whereby the quality improved. Italian sorts were considerably softer and more appropriate for canvas making, whereas domestic hemp was very good for ropes, due to rough, strong fibres.

By using maps, documents, photographs and tools for processing, the exhibition displays hemp growing and its processing under domestic conditions.

The thematic fields of the exhibition are:origin, name and types, shape, sorts of hemp, preparation of the soil for sowing, harvesting, soaking, drying, beating-breaking, hemp braking-smoothing, combing, spinning,warping and weaving. Among the other items, the following ones are displayed: the scythe, combs, treadle driven wheel, „snovaljka" (large spinner), spinning reel, spinner, windlass, mortar, hemp-brake, loom and calender.

Author of the exhibition: Dr. Berényi János

Men have been using brooms probably from the pre-historic times. In the Bible, broom and sweeping is mentioned as many as nine times.

Brooms also appear in Egyptian drawings, while in Rome the believers, the so called "sanctuary cleaners" were particularly renowned citizens, privileged by the permission to sweep religious sites.

As a regular tool of the chthonic demons, and as a symbol of evil, brooms occur in many traditional folk tales, but on the other hand, brooms have special apotropaic characteristics, which means that they can also protect people and households from evil forces and filth. Brooms are also mentioned as symbols of fun at many parties or during the holidays.

Up until recently, brooms have been used as universal cleaning tools. Change of lifestyle and changes in homes interior resulted in the change of cleaning devices (vacuum cleaner was invented, etc.). Unlike other modern devices, brooms can clean up the lesser accessible corners of the house, therefore, they have remained irreplaceable up until today.

Brooms are mostly made of natural plant raw materials, although plastics can also be used for brooms, just as animal fur or feather. Today, however, broomcorn is used prevailingly, due to the habits of the consumers and the fact that most people prefer natural fabrics.

Authors of the exhibition: Dr. Berényi János, Tatjana Mišić

The exhibition consists of two units. In the first one, the history of tobacco growing in Vojvodina is displayed. The thematic units are as follows: the origin, name and sorts, shapes, types and production of nursery plants and their transplantation, the ways of tobacco cultivation in the field, picking and drying, the ways how tobacco is smoked and enjoyed. Some topics are illustrated with three dimensional items: ceramic vessels for manual watering of the tobacco plants, boards for marking the field, a planting device, a device for piling up the leaves, needles for stringing the leaves, hooks and two piles of dried tobacco leaves (of the Berley and Virginia sorts).

In the second unit of the exhibition, pipes are on display. Rare and usual specimens of pipes are classified according to materials which they are made of, such as: ceramics, china, wood, the so called "English pipes" and pipes made of sea foam (meerschaum).

A great variety of pipes is on display, with rich decoration and motifs according to the producers’ imagination. This part of the exhibition is rich in illustrations featuring pipes as central exhibits.

Author of the exhibition: Dr. Timotej Čobić, with associates: Dr. Anđelija Antov, Dr. Georgi Antov, Dr. Radovan Pavlović and Miroslav Plavšić, M.A.

Cattle raising as branch of economy, has had great importance for the development of mankind. The role of contemporary cattle raising is providing food, industrial raw material and goods both for domestic and international trade.

Cattle is among the first animals men have ever domesticated. Cow milk is an almost perfect universal food, so cows may be regarded step-mothers to the entire mankind. Each and every mammal depends on cow milk as basic food, essential for existence in general and this is what makes milk unique. Milk consists almost every element necessary for the existence and growth of many living beings, even in grown ups.

In various parts of the world, manure from cattle stalls is the only fertilizer with which soil quality is maintained, while manure is also used as fuel in households. Beside modern mechanical devices and transportation means, beside devices in agriculture, in some parts of the world, cattle is still used for thowing, works in agriculture, as well as for carrying cargo or riding.

Thanks to its good abilities to get adapted, cattle can exist in various climatic and geographical regions. Cattle can be risen in wet climate, in the plain and in the mountains, around the Equator just as near the Polar circle.

Even nowadays, in many countries, cattle reflect a nation’s wealth. In many countries, the currency bears the motif of the cattle, proving this belief.

This exhibition shows the history of cattle raising-from the founder breed, through milk cows and those suitable for fattening, further on, traditional cattle breeding style is presented, the equipment for artificial insemination, milking equipment and feed samples.

Author of the exhibition: Prof. Dr. Ivica Vujičić

Prehistoric artefacts reveal that men started using milk in nutrition and began producing cheese, butter and other products a long time ago. It is believed that the use of milk dates back to 6,000 – 10,000 years ago, when men attempted to domesticate some animals.

By time, the native breed of milking animals developed, as well as the autochthonous way of milk processing. At first, production and processing of milk was going on within farms or households, but it was successively growing to become dairy farming.

The scientific and technical discoveries enhanced the modernization of dairy farming, and in the second half of the nineteenth century, this resulted in dairy farming as an independent branch of economy.

Dairy farming, already strongly established in Europe, resulted in the first dairy cooperative farms. At the beginning of this century, between 1900 and 1907, thirty dairy cooperative farms were established in today’s Vojvodina. Within that time scope, even landowners built dairy stores on their estates. One of them was Count Kotek, who erected a dairy store in his estate Novi Majur (the today’s Veternik).

After the WWI, dairy cooperatives reached their peak of development. Novi Sad Dairy Cooperative was founded in Novi Sad, in 1926, and four years later, the Central Exporting Association of Dairy Cooperatives followed. Djordje Djoka Dundjerski, a landowner from Kulpin was appointed its honorable president.

After the WWII, modern industrial milk processing began.

Author of the exhibition: Ivan Čakan

There have been sheep in these territories for millennia, consequently, sheep breeding in Vojvodina has been developing for centuries.

The exhibition displays the following thematic units: sheep (sheep breeds, marking and traditional ways of curing sheep), natural conditions for sheep breeding (pastures, drinking places), sheep dwellings (huts, dens, objects on pastures and private houses), shepherds ( contracting the shepherds, shepherds’ implements, gowns), shepherd dogs and donkeys, forms of shepherd unions, distribution of goods (milk, sheepfold, lambs, wool, hide), milk and diary products.

The topics are illustrated by museum objects: shepherds’ whips, stamps for marking, shepherds’ staff, double bells, rattles, flasks and dried hollow gourds for storing brandy, products made of wool, milk pails, scissors for shearing and shepherds’ rods.

Author of the exhibition: Prof.Dr. Milan Teodorović with associates

The history of hog raising dates back to the domestication of the wild hog (10,000 years ago). Archaeological artifacts from the Stone Age, Roman Age and Middle Ages clearly prove that men have been using products related to swine from time immemorial. It was only 200 years ago, however, that hog raising took an intensive improvement. Prior to that time, hogs would have been raised extensively. Hogs would have moved freely and they would have found food by themselves in the woods. In the next stage, hogs were kept in stables and would have been driven out to the pastures or orchards.

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, when towns started developing, the need for food increased. Men wanted to breed swine of high quality, that’s why the hogs’ biological characteristics needed to get improved. Therefore in 1851, the first high quality breed, the big Yorkshire, was gained in England.

By producing high quality breeds, men tried to improve their nutrition, dwelling conditions and health care. In recent times, the intensive, closed system of keeping has been practiced, meaning that a large number of swine is kept enclosed in one place, especially in special stalls. As science advanced, it enabled specialized institutes for swine breeding to be founded, while swine raising has become industrialized.