Abstract

The Republic of Serbia, and especially its northern province of Vojvodina, is a real mosaic
of different nationalities in one area. According to the results of the 2011 Census, 13.47%
of the population belonging to national minorities live in Serbia without Kosovo, among
which the most numerous are the Hungarians with 3.53%, the Roma with 2.05%, the
Bosniaks with 2.02%, the Croats with 0,81%, the Slovaks with 0.73% and others. The
largest number of the Slovaks live in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, in the municipalities
of Kovačica, Novi Sad, Bački Petrovac, Stara Pazova, Bač, Šid, Zrenjanin, etc. The
first Slovaks moved to the territory of today’s autonomous province of Vojvodina from their
Slovak motherland in the 18th and 19th centuries. The beginnings of the Slovak press in
Serbia date back to 1864, when the publishing of the magazine Slavik and Zornička began.
To preserve their national identity in this area, they founded the Slovak Publishing Center in
1919, which grew into the largest publisher of books and magazines in the Slovak language
in Serbia. In the same year, the printing house Kultura was founded in Bački Petrovac, where
all books, magazines, and newspapers in the Slovak language were printed every year. The
importance of the publishing activity of Matica slovenská in Serbia, which was founded in
Bački Petrovac on 18th May 1932, will be presented, as well as the importance of the National
Council of the Slovak National Minority, which today takes into account the rights, use of
language and script among the members of the Slovak national minority in Serbia.

Keywords: Matica slovenská in Serbia, Serbia, Slovak Publishing Center, Slovaks, Vojvodina
publishing