Catholic Albanians from a village of Hrtkovci, Srem, Serbia, early 20th century. Radivoj Simonović, Museum of Vojvodina
Together with the Serbs, during the Second Great Migration of the Serbs they settled in villages in the region of Srem. They did not have permanent settlements until Maria Theresa purchased an estate from a count on the territory of Hrtkovci and settled them there. They also moved to the village of Nikinci and, to a lesser extent, to Miškovci, Šašinci, and Jarak.
As late as 1922, people in Hrtkovci and Nikinci were still referred to as “Arnauts,” and it was said that “some of the older people still know a little of the Arnaut (Albanian) language.” Today, their descendants identify themselves as Croats. A large number of Serbian refugees after the war who had lived in Croatia came to Hrtkovci. The Croats from Hrtkovci exchanged their houses and properties with the refugees and moved to Croatia, and in doing so received larger houses and estates.
