Little War Island or Malo ratno ostrvo (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Мало ратно острво) or Horse Island or Konjsko ostrvo (

: Коњско острво) 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 at the mouth of the

Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...

river into 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, the capital of Serbia, and belongs to the municipality of

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality in the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown ...

Location

The island is located between the southern bank of the

Great War Island Great War Island () is a river island in Belgrade, capital of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. Though uninhabited, the island is part of the Belgrade City proper, and belongs to the city municipality of Zemun ...

and the right bank of the Danube in the municipality of

Novi Beograd New Belgrade (, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. It was a Planned community, planned city and now is the central business district of Serbia and South East Europe. Construction began in 1948 in a previously un ...

(the neighborhood of Ušće), just from the Sava's confluence into the Danube.

Characteristics

The island used to be significantly larger before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. When construction of Novi Beograd began in 1948, the sand from the island was transported to the mainland by large

conveyor belt A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to a belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to as drums), with a closed loop of carrying medium—the conveyor b ...

s and used for covering the swamp on which the new city was to be built. In the process, the island shrank, and sometimes it is poetically said today that "Novi Beograd is a city on the island". What is left of the island is basically a thin strip of land, less than long and at its widest. The island is completely covered by vegetation (poplar trees) and inaccessible for visitors, but can be observed from the

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

s-restaurants on the Danube's bank.

History

The island was previously called ''Konjsko ostrvo'', "horse island". Origin of the name cannot be confirmed by any specific source, but the island was used as a

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

for livestock grazing. Also, when travelling to the other side of the river for trade or supplies, the Prečani left their horses on the island.

Area protection

The natural property of the Great War Island, which consists of the Great and the Small War Island, has been declared an area of exceptional merit since April 8, 2005. It is entrusted to the management of the Public Utility Company Zelenilo-Belgrade and the Administration of the Municipality of Zemun. The decision on protection was made by the Assembly of the City of Belgrade on the proposal of the Secretariat for Environmental Protection. The protected natural asset Great War Island consists of two islands, the Great War Island and the Little War Island. The island's waters have been declared a natural breeding ground for fish within the "Danube III" and "Sava II" fishing areas.„Službeni glasnik RS“, br. 76/94 i 79/2002. Together with Mali, the Great War Island has been placed under protection for the preservation of picturesque landscape features and undisturbed primary landscape values of exceptional importance for the preservation of habitats, natural rarities, rare and endangered wetland birds, and for the protection of the representative morphological and geological creation of the river island, which was created as the product of the fluvial phase in the bed facies, which has ecological, cultural-historical and recreational significance for the city of Belgrade. The nature protection zone (level 1 protection regime) has the character of a special nature reserve and includes the entire Malo War Island, the coastal zone of the Great War Island, the forest complex, wetlands within the Great War Island and water bodies around the Small War Island.

References

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