Brdarica
Mačva breadbasket village—Brdarica's 1,519 residents farm Serbia's most fertile plains, large enough to maintain services most villages have lost.
Brdarica exists because the Mačva lowlands needed villages to work the fertile land between the Sava and Drina—and because 'brdarica' (hill-woman, or from 'brdo,' hill) suggests a settlement on slightly elevated ground. This village of 1,519 (2002 census) in Koceljeva municipality sits in the Mačva District of western Serbia, where the alluvial plains create some of the country's most productive agricultural land.
Mačva's reputation as Serbia's breadbasket dates to antiquity. The flat terrain, deposited by the Sava and Drina rivers over millennia, produces corn, wheat, and sugar beets in quantities that supply regional and national markets. Brdarica participates in this agricultural economy, its slightly elevated position (the name suggests a hill) perhaps providing protection from the flooding that periodically devastates the lower-lying fields.
The population of 1,519 makes Brdarica substantial by Serbian village standards—large enough to support a school, church, and local services. Koceljeva municipality overall has seen population decline, but larger villages often fare better than smaller ones, concentrating services and becoming local centers. By 2026, Brdarica's challenge is maintaining that critical mass: enough residents to justify services, enough services to retain residents.