Bilje, Croatia



Bilje (Bellye) is a municipality in the Baranja region of Osijek-Baranja County, in north-eastern Croatia. It is 5 km northeast of Osijek, on the edge of the Kopački Rit nature park. Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736) constructed a hunting lodge here, Bilje Castle, which later became property of the Teschen branch of the Habsburg family.

Name
Its name derived from the Slavic word "bilje" ("herb" in English). In German the village is known as Belje, in Hungarian as Bellye, and in Serbian Cyrillic as Биље. The area occupied by the municipality of Bilje is 260.15 km².

Geography
The municipality of Bilje include following settlements and population (2011 census):
 * Bilje - 3,613
 * Kopačevo - 559
 * Kozjak - 69
 * Lug - 764
 * Podunavlje - 1
 * Tikveš - 10
 * Vardarac - 630
 * Zlatna Greda - 5

Demographics
At the 2011 census, there were 5,642 inhabitants in the municipality, including:
 * 62.87% Croats
 * 29.62% Hungarians
 * 3.83% Serbs
 * 1.05% Germans
 * 0.71% Romani

Minority councils
Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting tasks for the local or regional authorities in which they are advocating for minority rights and interests, integration into public life and participation in the management of local affairs. At the 2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives elections Hungarians and Serbs of Croatia each fulfilled legal requirements to elect 10 members municipal minority councils of the Bilje Municipality.

History
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Bilje was part of the Baranya County of the Kingdom of Hungary.