The village is located 13 kilometer south from Sombor on the loess plateau between Mali Bački canal on the east and Sombor – Odžaci canal on the west. The village was first formed as a settlement of colonizers who started inhabiting the Stapar heath in 1752. Most of the settlers were from Bokčenović and Vranješevo, which do not exist anymore and later from the village Prigrevica. The first significant colonization of Germans started in 1748. which made the current settlers very unhappy hence they started intercepting ships on the Danube, that carried the new colonizers, killing the people onboard and loathing the ships. The perpetrators were given a name “Danube Pirates” and the tale is that there is a tunnel connecting the church that is set next to the river itself and the church in the village that the pirates used for transporting the goods they stole from the ships.
Under the ruling of the Austro-Hungarian Empire by the end of the XVIII century, the village has blossomed into the prettiest and biggest villages in Sombor municipality. The villages is the home of distinctive architectural buildings categorized into three types: old type, where the rooms are built in a chain like form connected by a long hallway called “gonk”; L shaped houses and the most common is the German style of building.
Stapar is the home of a genus of pigeons which got its fame and has been acknowledged back in the 1878. and is called “Staparski Letač”. Other rarity that the village prides itself with is the fact that in the time when the official language was German the village stamps had Cyrillic writings on it, the only of its kind from that era.
Sombor cheese
The only indigenous cheese from Serbia officially recognized by the World Dairy Organization.
The Yellow Well
The only remaining functioning artesian draw well the legendary Yellow Well is found in the village. One of the legends is that if a young woman and a man come together to drink from this well, they will get married.
Church of Uspenje Presvete Bogorodice
Located 5 kilometers from the village, on the banks of Mostonga River, was built in 1863. A chapel located next to it was built in 1730.
Church of Vavedenje Presvete Bogorodice
Located in the very core of the village, the church was built in 1776. and is declared to be a cultural heritage of immense significance - Jakov Orfelin, a respected painter, created many of his works here.
A hundred year old linden
The tree is located in the back yard of the primary school „Branko Radičević“.
The Velikogospojinske nights
In mid August many events are organized among others the big culinary competition where a competition of lamb goulash cooking is the main event as well as tasting of mulberry schnapps and literary competitions.
The first Serbian accordion of Vojvodina
An accordion playing competition is held annually at the end of May, beginning of June.
The Staparska ruža association was established in 2016. At the same time, the first looms were purchased with support of the City of Sombor. During that same year, the Association and Museum of Ethnography in Belgrade have jointly managed to list the Stapar rose motif as intangible heritage of the Republic of Serbia.
The main goal of the association is to preserve traditional weaving, using traditional technicques and the rose motif as part of Stapar identity and cultural heritage of Serbs in Backa. At the same time, there is an element of women’s tied into this work, so that women in rural areas can contribute to prosperity of their families and communities.
The members of the Association are actively working to promote the forgotten art of weaving through the production of fabrics of various sizes, leather accessories with fabrics (womens bags and wallets), slippers, umbrellas with the painted motif of Stapar roses and others. The Association achieved its greatest success in 2022, when, after a break of 50 years, the first large-sized carpet or kilim was made in Stapar.
Tourists can familiarize themselves with the work of the Association at the address: Karađorđev plac 84, 25249 Stapar with an announcement on tel. 060/5384543 or e-mail mira.kovacev@gmail.com
