Island of Šarengrad (, sr-Cyrl, Шаренградска ада, or ) is a

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

river island situated close to the village of

Šarengrad Šarengrad ( sr-cyr, Шаренград, , ) is a village in eastern Croatia. It is located along the Danube river and is administratively part of Croatian easternmost town of Ilok. Šarengrad is known for its landscape which is dominated by the r ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. It covers an area of . The old riverbed of the Danube caused problems for navigation due to its heavy bending in this area. In order to solve the problem,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

began digging a canal in 1892 to straighten the flow of the river. After 17 years, the Mohovo-Šarengrad canal was finally finished, and as a result the Island of Šarengrad was formed in 1909. During the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

the island was part of the

Socialist Republic of Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...

. During the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

and Serbian militia occupied the island. It was the opinion of the

Badinter Arbitration Committee The Arbitration Commission of the Conference on Yugoslavia (commonly known as Badinter Arbitration Committee) was an arbitration body set up by the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community (EEC) on 27 August 1991 to provide the co ...

that the borders between republics should become the borders between the countries. In 1998, through the

Erdut Agreement The Erdut Agreement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Erdutski sporazum, Ердутски споразум), officially the Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, is an agreement reached on 12 November 19 ...

, Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia was reintegrated with Croatia. However, the Island of Šarengrad together with Island of Vukovar has stayed under Serbian military control. In 2002 the Serbian army opened fire from the island on the prefect of the

Vukovar-Syrmia County Vukovar-Srijem County (), Vukovar-Sirmium County or Vukovar-Syrmia County, named after the eponymous town of Vukovar and the region of Syrmia, is the easternmost Croatian Counties of Croatia, county. It includes the eastern parts of the region of ...

, Nikola Šafer, and his escort which included four children in time when he was going for a meeting with his colleague from Serbia. This was despite the party having had formal consent from Serbian officials.DPI - Foreign Media Monitoring
In 2004 Serbia withdrew its army from the island, which has been replaced with Serbian police. Any citizen of Croatia can approach that island crossing the border Bačka Palanka - Ilok.

Land registration Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, Possession (law), possession, or other rights in Real estate, land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of ti ...

books are managed by Croatian authorities, but the Serbian side does not recognise these ownerships. In 2009, the island was opened up for recreational purposes after a temporary arrangement was established. In his statement for daily newspaper ''

Novi list ''Novi list'' () is the oldest Croatian daily newspaper published in Rijeka. It is read mostly in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County of Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeas ...

'' in February 2012 Croatian President

Ivo Josipović Ivo Josipović (; born 28 August 1957) is a Croatia, Croatian Academic staff, academic, jurist, composer, and politician who served as the president of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communist ...

said that two countries need flexible solution for border disputes on Danube river that would be combination of solutions proposed by two countries. Croatian president said whatever solution would be adopted it would be good that Island of Vukovar eventually found on the Croatian side of border. In his statement Josipović made no mention of the second Danube island, Šarengrad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Island Of Sarengrad Islands of the Danube River islands of Croatia Syrmia Landforms of Vukovar-Srijem County Croatia–Serbia border River islands of Serbia Territorial disputes of Croatia Territorial disputes of Serbia

See also

References