Groß Gaj (German) – Gross Gaj (German) – Nagy Gaj (Hungarian) – Nagygáj (Hungarian) – Malenitzfalva (Hungarian) – Melenicafalva (Hungarian) – Maleniczafalva (Hungarian) – Maleniczfalva (Hungarian) – Malleniczefalva (Hungarian) – Veliki Gaj, Serbia (Official)
South Banat District Vojvodina – NE District of Serbia
Nagy Gaj was belonging to the Bishop of Nagybecserek (Zrenjanin) where the Hungarian researcher László Rudolf found the Birth-Marriage-Death records: 1918-1926 (duplicate) for Veliki Gaj (Nagy Gáj/Gross Gaj). And it is for sure that it is not about the original church registers but about a copy on them which, theoretically, after 1825, must be forwarded each year to the superiors.
In “Adalekok a Zrenjanini-Nagy Becskereki Egyhazmegye tortenetehez” [by ERÖS Lajos, 1993]. Translation: [Contribution to the history of Zrenjanin-Nagy Becskerek Churches]. The author gives the exact location [church, civil registration/mayoralty, archives] for the church registers for each village/parish/church in Serbian Banat. Unfortunately, for Nagygay/Maleniczfalva ERÖS Lajos is positive: the church registers were kept separately starting 1832 but “mind megsemmisultek” [translation: everything was lost].
Located in the Plandište municipality, about 1 km SE of the Romanian border, 30 km E of Pantschowa, about 70 km NE of Belgrade.
The village was first mentioned in 1355 under name Gaj. In the 17th century, the name of the village was changed to Veliki Gaj. During the Ottoman rule (16th-17th century), the village was mostly populated by ethnic Serbs.
Malenicafalva Q Torontál m. Zichyfalvai j., ház 114, L 880, п., (symbol circle/cross) terulete : Is. Nagy-Gajuál, tsz, Nagy Becskerek, jb. es adh. Modos, 29, XIV, u.p. Nagy Gáj.
In 1848, Josif Malenica, landowner of Veliki Gaj led the Germans to work on the property and founded a new settlement next to Veliki Gaj, thus named it Malenicafalva, which merged with Veliki Gaj in 1888; both settlements counted 2569 residents.
In 1850-1854, thanks to landowners help, the church was built, and named for his deceased son, St Peter. In this church is the tomb of landowner Malenica, which are all buried (first they were buried in the old church, so they were moved to a new tomb in the church, where they are today).
Ordered by landowner Malenica, the village was laid out with straight streets and the houses were built next to the street. Before that they all were inside the house, the yard, to protect from peeping into the house, theft or breaking into homes. According to the claims of Veliki Gaj was then notorious settlement due to theft and robbery. There were often fights among Serbs, Germans, Hungarians and other nationalities.
The village was founded/colonized with Germans settlers coming from Banat in 1816.
Filial parish of Deutsch-Stamora [between 1816-1832].
The parish was raised in 1832 [and the church registers were kept separately starting 1832]. The RC church, SS Nomen B.M.V., was raised in 1854-’55 and was blessed in 1856.
Maleniczfalva and Nagy Gaj merged in 1889 [or 1885?] and the RC parish was moved from Malenitzfalva to Nagy Gaj.
Since 1716, the village was part of the Habsburg Monarchy, which encouraged the settlement of German-speaking Donauschwaben (Danube Swabians) and others. In 1910, the population of the village numbered 2,930 inhabitants, including 1,456 Serbs, 743 Hungarians, and 620 Germans. After the First World War, the village became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (renamed to Yugoslavia in 1929). During the Second World War (1941–1944), the village was under Axis occupation, and was part of the autonomous Banat region within German-occupied Serbia.
After the war, the village was part of the new socialist Yugoslavia, within the Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and Socialist Republic of Serbia. The German and Hungarian population was been expelled in 1944/45. In 1991, the village had 897 inhabitants, including 883 Serbs, and 14 ethnic Hungarians.
Since 1992, the village was part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, that in 2003 was transformed into the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Since the dissolution of this state in June 2006, the village became part of an independent Serbia.
Veliki Gaj Fade away village… http://www.velikigaj.net/index_e.html
Hungarian Property Tax 1828 Land Census: Maleniczfalva (Német-Gáj): Torontál County LDS/Family History Center Microfilm Number: 0623150
Groß-Gaj/Malenitzfalva by Helmut Kaiser [24 Sep 2010 DVHH-L message posted by Nick Tullius: In an announcement published in the Banater Post, The AkdFF (Arbeitskreis donauschwäbischer Familienforscher or Working group of Danube-Swabian family researchers) announces the following genealogical reference books (Familienbücher) are being prepared (no completion dates are given)]
There are 43 individuals which were born in Malenitzfalva in this Ortsfamilien-Datenbank Zichydorf database. The links lead to detailed family reports of these individual with more additional ancestral links. www.ortsfamilienbuecher.de/namelist.php?ofb=zichydorf&ort=Malenitzfalva
Gross Gaj/Malenitzfalva Roman Catholic Parish Records, CD publication, Baptism Records 1832-1866. Obtained through Zichydorf Village Association (Glenn Schwartz).
“An Excursion to the Kirchweih in Gross Gaj.” This is a humorous story that took place when the automobile was still a novelty in the Banat. A group of young men commandeered a traveling salesman’s automobile and drove it to the Kirchweih celebration in the neighboring village of Gross Gaj. The problem was they did not know anything about cars, nor was the road suited for auto travel! It turned out to be a sensation in Gross Gaj. [Author: Dr. Josef Wüst (1925-2003); English title: “Lost Homeland Georgshausen”; Translated by Henry Fischer; Editors: Ray Borschowa and Barbara Hebenstreit; Published by Ray Borschowa]
Last updated: 06/16/2025