These important events which all took place in the 18th century culminated in 1786, the year when Sombor was proclaimed permanent seat of the Bacs-Bodrog zupanija (political and territorial unit in the Austro-Hungarian Empire). It was then the second largest "zupanija" among the 75 ones in Hungary and it also comprised the towns of Novi Sad and Subotica. A year earlier, Sombor had 13,360 inhabitants who got their first post office on September 1st 1789. It was situated in the so called "Turkish House", one of the two buildings remaining from the time of the Ottoman Empire.

Hump of Bacs-bodrog zupanija

The beginning of the new, 19th century, during which Sombor reached the high point of its fame, was marked by putting into operation the Grand Canal of Backa in 1802. The canal was flowing in the town’s immediate vicinity, which meant that Sombor got both an important traffic artery and a place for fun and recreation, which has remained so down to the present day. In 1808 the zupanija’s administration moved into the just constructed building which was finally completed in 1882 and hence became one of the town’s most dominant sites. The census roll carried out in 1818 showed that the number of citizens increased to 19,439. The town’s Jews erected a synagogue in 1828,while the Town Hall took on its present appearance and the central position in the heart of the town, between the two most important squares.

Zupanija's building today parliament of the city

Having reached the status of a respectable zupanija seat, Sombor based its development on primary agricultural products, commerce and handicrafts, a considerably important and numerous garrison and a large administrative machinery, as well as on the growing number of employees in the field of education. At the same time, industrial development was being neglected, and it was first heralded as late as 1840,when a textile workshop, the first of its kind in Vojvodina, was put intooperation. Cultural institutions emerged as the ones of greatest significance and Sombor began to establish itself as a cultural centre of growing importance.

Serb Reading Club built in 1882

The Hungarian Reading Club was founded in 1844, and the Serb Reading Club just a year later, on March 24th 1845, being the second of its kind among the Serbs. In 1850 Karlo Biterman opened the first printing shop in Sombor, and Karlo Bijelicki established the Town’s Library in 1859. Ipar, the first newspaper in Hungarian, appeared in 1865,followed by Skolski list, the Serb magazine for education, which preceded the famous Golub (1879), a magazine for the Serb youth. Both magazines, printed in Serbian, continued to be published until the onslaught of World War II.
The Serb Singing-club, whose tradition is nowadays being continued by the Iuventus Cantat mixed youth choir, was founded in 1870,after several futile attempts by other ethnically oriented clubs to establish themselves for a longer period to come. The theatre building was erected in Sombor in 1882,the same year when the Serb Reading Club got its premises as well. The following year saw the construction of the Hungarian Reading Club; the History Society of the Bac-bodroska district, which was later to develop into the Town Musem, also started its activities. The end of the century was marked by the opening of the Free Lycee in 1899.
At the same time, education was constantly being encouraged: Mrazovic’s "Norma" had moved to Szent Andrea in the period between 1812 and 1816, and was re-transferred to Sombor as the first Serb teacher-training school. The Grammar School with tuition in Hungarian language was put into operation in 1872, the Trading School in 1888, and the kindergarten in1865, the first of its kind among the Serbs. The Serb Girls’ Secondary School was established in 1875, two years later followed by the Roman Catholic Girls’ teacher-training school, with tuition in Hungarian language. The same year of 1887 saw the foundation of Sombor’s Sports Society, with sections for gymnastics, fencing, swimming and athletics, providing a coach for all the listed sports - Aleksandar-Sana Demetrovic.
In the middle of the 19th century, Sombor was a prosperous town of 23,000 inhabitants (Belgrade - 19,000, Zagreb - 15,000). The citizens established the first Savings bank of Sombor, the forerunner of the later numerous banking firms, in 1868. A year later Sombor was connected to the world by means of the first railway track. The beginning of the next century brought Sombor its final development into a railway centre of greatest importance. Trains used to arrive from seven different railway directions, as appropriate for a "zupanija" seat.

Central Sombor park

The first park in Sombor was to be situated beside the railway station, while the turn of the century was also marked by setting the grand garden-park by the zupanija hall. In the meantime, the process of straightening and cobbling the streets and planting greenery along them was successfully brought to an end. Stirring underground waters and remains of the once powerful Mostonga river, which used to flow alongside the verges of today’s "Venac" ("Wreath"), which is how the citizens of Sombor have named the heart of the town, were being regulated. Day after day, there was a growing number of both public and private buildings whose wealthy owners were following the fashionable trends in architectural styles, contributing to the town’s beauty.