Kožara (

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: Кожара) is a river island (''ada'') in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, located on the left bank of the

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 ...

. It is part of the

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

City proper and belongs to the Belgrade's municipality of Palilula.

Location

Kožara is a triangle-shaped island, located in the

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

section of the municipality of Palilula between the Danube and the Jojkićev Dunavac canal, ending section of the

Vizelj The Vizelj () is a short channeled river in north-central Serbia, the left tributary to the Danube. During its entire flow it runs through the suburban section of Belgrade, on the territory of municipality of Palilula. Course Vizelj originate ...

stream in

Pančevački Rit Pančevački Rit ( sr-cyr, Панчевачки рит) is a small geographical area in south-western Banat, Serbia. It is situated between the rivers Danube and Tamiš, in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula. Features Its wetland was cons ...

("Jojkić's Little Danube", named so after the former mayor of Belgrade,

Đurica Jojkić Đurica Jojkić ( sr-cyr, Ђурица Јојкић; 1914 in Turija – 1981 in Belgrade) was a Yugoslav politician and lawyer. Biography He was born in 1914 in Turija near Srbobran. He studied in gymnasiums in Srbobran and Vrbas, before f ...

Characteristics

The area of Kožara is around . The name means "leather island" in Serbian. The island is floodable, completely covered with forest and without permanent population. On the ''Jojkićev Dunavac's'' mouth into the Danube, across Kožara, a weekend-settlement of Mika Alas is located. There are several permanent elongated

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

s on the island. It represents an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Dorćol Dorćol ( sr-Cyrl, Дорћол; ) is an affluent urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Stari Grad. Located along the right bank of the Danube, Dorćol is the oldest surviving neighbo ...

, right across the Danube). Despite this, in 2005 Belgrade City government announced that Kožara is the most likely site of the future much enlarged semi-artificial island envisioned as the twin-island of the Veliko Ratno Ostrvo, also on the Danube, but some 800 meters to the southwest. Unlike Veliko Ratno Ostrvo which is protected by the law and any human interference is prohibited, future Kožara (probably with changed name; temporary name for the time being is

Čaplja Čaplja (Serbian language, Serbian Cyrillic: Чапља) is a projected river island (''ada'') in Serbia, on the left bank of the Danube. According to the General Urbanistic Plan (GUP) of Belgrade, it will be formed in Belgrade's municipality of Pal ...

) is projected as the island- aqua park and major tourist attraction. However, as of August 2022 no work has begun on this project.

Protection

In June 2021, the city officially started the procedure of protecting the section of the Danube's left bank under the name of "Foreland on Danube's left bank at Belgrade", on roughly . Foreland refers to the land area between the embankment and the river, which is not protected from floods. The area will include Kožara, and the much wider marshland of Beljarica to the northwest. Parts will be in the second level of protection, where the activities and interventions to enhance and revitalize the area will be allowed, while the majority will be in the third level, where all potentially harmed activities will be forbidden.

References

Uninhabited islands of Serbia Neighborhoods of Belgrade Islands of the Danube River islands of Serbia Palilula, Belgrade {{BelgradeRS-geo-stub