Ušće

Coordinates: 44°49′09″N 20°26′13″E / 44.819039°N 20.436931°E / 44.819039; 20.436931

Ušće
Ушће
Ušće
Ушће
Coordinates: 44°44′13″N 20°25′13″E / 44.73694°N 20.42028°E / 44.73694; 20.42028
Country Serbia
District Belgrade
Municipality New Belgrade
Population (2011)
 • Total 9,991
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Historical population
YearPop.±%
19818,032—    
19918,056+0.3%
20026,623−17.8%
20119,991+50.9%
Source: [1][2][3][4]

Ušće (Serbian Cyrillic: Ушће, pronounced [ûːʃt͡ɕe]) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Novi Beograd. Ušće is located on the mouth of the Sava river into the Danube, thus the name (ušće is Serbian for confluence). It occupies Novi Beograd's Blocks 10, 13, 14, 15 and 16 on the Sava's left and the Danube's right bank, covering a tip of land that overlooks the islands of Malo Ratno Ostrvo and Veliko Ratno Ostrvo to the north and the old core of Belgrade, the fortress of Kalemegdan to the west. Ušće borders the neighborhoods of Staro Sajmište and Savograd on the south. As a compact grassy and forested area it stretches along the bank of the Danube into the Block 10, to the Zemun municipality and the Hotel Jugoslavija and the ENJUB shopping mall.

Characteristics

Map of Local communities in Novi Beograd

Like all of Novi Beograd, Ušće is flat, and without buildings to hide that fact like in the rest of the municipality, that is quite obvious here. With only three buildings and several smaller edifices, Ušće is the least urbanized section of Novi Beograd but some residential blocks are administratively attached to the local community of the same name, which had the population of 9,991 in 2011.

Ušće is a vast grassy and forested area (2,5 km x 1 km) along the river banks. As such, it is used by many Belgraders as a recreational area or as a place for organizing political gatherings or musical concerts. However, many areas are not cultivated, but left to grow wild. During the high levels of the Danube and the Sava, bank areas are always flooded.

As maintained open parkland with high levels of human activity, Ušće is characterized by low diversity of breeding landbirds, but in winter the banks are very popular among birdwatchers as it is possible to observe rare and interesting waterbirds swimming at the confluence off the banks of Veliko and Malo Ratno Ostrvo. Ušće is one of the most important eBird hotspots in Belgrade with its own webpage: Ebird Hotspot

Park Ušće

Most of the Ušće area already is, or is projected to be, a large park.

Friendship Park

Friendship Park (Serbian: Парк пријатељства, translit. Park prijateljstva) is a section of the park bounded by the Nikola Tesla Boulevard on the south and the esplanade along the Danube on the north. It covers an area of 127 ha (310 acres) and is specific for the fact that most of the trees are planted by the politicians, artists and celebrities. It was founded in 1961, during the 1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade. The first seedling was planted by the Serbian politician Voja Leković but followed by Josip Broz Tito and Jawaharlal Nehru. In the next decades they were followed by over 180 people, including Gamal Abdel Nasser, Haile Selassie, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Archbishop Makarios III, Elizabeth II, Mikhail Gorbachev and Ion Iliescu, who planted the last "celebrity" tree in 1993 and the park deteriorated due to the lack of maintenance. It was renovated in the mid-2000s and in 2007 the initiative was started to restore the tradition of planting the trees. In 2007 each tree got a memorial plaque with the names of the persons who planted it and the new seedlings were planted by the members of the EYOF and the members of the Rolling stones. Projects for the park caused controversies since the early 2000s. Immediately after the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, the monument "Eternal fire" was built as a pet project of Mirjana Marković, the wife of Slobodan Milošević and later the stir was caused by the proposal for construction the building of the Belgrade Opera in the park. Idea was later dropped.[5]

Features

Buildings

Skyline of the Sava's bank of Ušće by night (with the Ušće Tower), seen from the Kalemegdan fortress

Ušće has only three buildings, but two of them are monumental. One is the Palace of the Federation (Serbian: Палата Федерације, Palata Federacije), a seat of the former federal governments of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro (also called the SIV building). Another monumental building is the Ušće Tower, with 134 m(antenna) of height almost tallest building in the Balkans (it was second tallest before the NATO attack on Serbia in 1999 when Avala TV Tower just outside Belgrade was razed). Third important building is the Museum of Contemporary Art, close to Sava river's left bank.

Restaurants

Other facilities in the neighborhood are several restaurants along the river banks. Oldest and the best known is the restaurant "Ušće". It was built in 1960 by Stojan Maksimović and entered Serbian textbooks of architecture as the first public facility of the contemporary architecture in Belgrade. The interior design was work of Mario Maskareli. Due to its location, near the confluence and close to the river with the view on Kalemegdan, Cathedral Church and the old section of Belgrade across the Sava river, the restaurant was featured in numerous movies, music videos and broadcasts. The restaurant was refurbished and ceremonially reopened on 1 June 2017 under the name of "Nacionalna Klasa". Only five days later, on 6 June, the restaurant was partially burned in the fire.[6]

Sava's left bank contains numerous barges (Serbian: сплав, splav), which since the early 1990s became center of the famed Belgrade's night life.

Quay

The embankment along the rivers has been turned into the long promenade, which connects the promenade in Staro Sajmište (on the south, along Sava) and Zemunski Kej (on the north, Danube). The section of the Ušće promenade between the Branko's Bridge and the Hotel Jugoslavija has been renamed to the "Quay of the king Alexander I Karađorđević" on 29 June 2017.[7]

Motorsport circuit

Ušće was also the site of temporary street circuit where races were held since 1967. and were held almost every year afterwards. The track (in a 2.310 meter configuration) encompasses roads around the blok 15 (Ušće park), passing near the Ušće Tower, along the Branko's Bridge and then along the Sava bank, with its start-finish straight just across the eternal fire monument. The circuit is popularly known as "a circuit without right hand turn", although it has two slight right-handers, and it is famous for its high speed S-curve near restaurant "Ušće" and Museum of Contemporary Art, on Sava coast, which exist because the road had to navigate around the previously made Ranney collector. The first race was held on 30 April 1967. but the most remembered is the one held in 1969. (on a 4.350 configuration) when around 40.000 spectators flocked to see powerful Fiat Abarths in European Touring Car Challenge, and Formula Vee cars race on the streets. After poor management and maintenance of roads and circuit, and race cars reaching high speeds in 1990s and 2000s, FIA and drivers continuously criticised the safety of the track, lack of proper barriers and run-off areas. After many unfortunate events, and a fatality in 2005, the circuit was taken off the calendar and "Grand Prix of Belgrade" was subsequently replaced with a race held in Batajnica Air Base. Despite these events, the race on Ušće was held in 2008, and never again. The rich history of races held on Ušće have gained somewhat a "classic" status in Serbia and former Yugoslavia, with meany people's associations on hearing the word "Ušće" firstly reminding them about the race.[8][9][10]

Skatepark

After 20 years of skateboarders' activism to get one, the first skatepark in this part of Europe was opened on 28 September 2008. It is located in the Block 15, across the Ušće Tower and covers an area of 2,200 m2 (24,000 sq ft), which made it the largest one in the region when opened. Originally, it had 15 elements but after the 2011 reconstruction, 6 new elements were added. Apart from the everyday use (entrance is free for everyone with skateboards, rollers and bicycles), local and international competitions are being held at the park.[11][12][13]

Belgrade Philharmonic

In 1961 an all-Yugoslav architectural design competition for the "Museum of the revolution of the nations and nationalities of Yugoslavia" was announced. It was to be built in Block 13, on the location between the modern Palace Serbia and Ušće Tower. Out of 29 design entries, the project of Vjenceslav Richter was chosen. Construction began only in 1978 and it was envisioned as a square with the alley, eternal flame and the monument to the President of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito. The museum was planned to cover an area of 15,200 m (49,900 ft) but only the basement was built with the iron rods, for the projected reinforced concrete pillars, protruding above the ground ever since.[14]

As Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra has no building of its own, and after the proposed locations for it on Vračar, near Gradić Pejton, or near the Hotel Jugoslavija, on the Danube's bank, on 12 October 2016 city announced the architectural design competition for the new building of the Belgrade Philharmonic on the location of the projected museum and the surrounding terrain, 47.2 ha (117 acres) in total.[14][15] In January 2017, out of 34 design entries, the one by Dragan Marčetić and Milan Maksimović won the competition. The central hall will have 1,500 seats and the 400 m2 (4,300 sq ft) large stage. Smaller hall, with 400 seats is projected, so as the outdoor venue.[16] The building will cover an area of 27,000 m2 (290,000 sq ft). The park and the lookout are planned on the roof while the coffee shops, restaurants and luxury boutiques will cover 19,000 m2 (200,000 sq ft). Surrounding area will include the bicycle paths, small square, the fountain and an underground garage for 3,960 cars. The estimated value of the project is 30 million euros.[17]

Additionally, Marčetić and Maksimović also projected the four 24-floor skyscrapers west of the Palace Serbia, between it and the shopping mall of "YU Business Center". The projected skyscrapers will have a total floor area of 200,000 m2 (2,200,000 sq ft) and a two-level underground garage with 47,000 m2 (510,000 sq ft).[17]

Gathering place

Due to its central location and wide-open space, Ušće has hosted some mass gatherings:

Concerts and festivals

References

  1. ↑ Osnovni skupovi stanovništva u zemlji – SFRJ, SR i SAP, opštine i mesne zajednice 31.03.1981, tabela 191. Savezni zavod za statistiku (txt file). 1983.
  2. ↑ Stanovništvo prema migracionim obeležjima – SFRJ, SR i SAP, opštine i mesne zajednice 31.03.1991, tabela 018. Savezni zavod za statistiku (txt file).
  3. ↑ Popis stanovništva po mesnim zajednicama, Saopštenje 40/2002, page 4. Zavod za informatiku i statistiku grada Beograda. 26 July 2002.
  4. ↑ Stanovništvo po opštinama i mesnim zajednicama, Popis 2011. Grad Beograd – Sektor statistike (xls file). 23 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Branka Vasiljeć (23 June 2008), "Sađenje stabala u Parku prijateljstva", Politika (in Serbian)
  6. ↑ B.V., A.K. (7 June 2017), "Izgorela bašta tek otvorenog restorana "Nacionalna klasa"", Politika (in Serbian), p. 16
  7. ↑ Dejan Aleksić, Branka Vasiljević (30 June 2017), "Jarbol glavni začin u skupštinskoj raspravi", Politika (in Serbian), p. 17
  8. ↑ "Ušće, legendarna staza bez desne krivine". B92.net. 2010-11-03. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  9. ↑ "e-Tracks: Europe | Serbia | Usce". Etracksonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  10. ↑ "Tracks: Ušće, Nikola Tesla". Gdecarli.it. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  11. ↑ Đ.A. (29 September 2008). "Konačno otvoren skejt park" (in Serbian). Politika.
  12. ↑ "Na Ušću otvoren prvi skejt park u Beogradu" (in Serbian). Blic. 29 September 2008.
  13. ↑ L.L. (6 October 2011), "Obogaćen skejt park", Politika (in Serbian)
  14. 1 2 Daliborka Mučibabić (23 October 2016), "Arhitekte komponuju Novi Beograd za buduću filharmoniju", Politika (in Serbian)
  15. ↑ "Raspisan konkurs za novu zgradu Beogradske filharmonije" (in Serbian). Politika. 12 October 2016.
  16. ↑ Beoland.rs (10 January 2017). "Svemirski Blok 13: Ovako će izgledati zgrada Beogradske filharmonije" (in Serbian). Blic.
  17. 1 2 borka Mučibabić (11 January 2017), "Park na krovu filharmonije", Politika (in Serbian)
  18. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  19. ↑ "Jelen Pivo". Jelen Pivo. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  20. ↑ "I ''Dubioza kolektiv'' na Ušću". B92.net. 2012-06-18. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  21. ↑ J.O. "Počela prodaja ulaznica za "Belgrade Calling"". Blic.rs. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  22. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2012-06-26.

Bibliography

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