Zemunski Kej

Zemunski Kej, as its name suggests (Zemun's quay), is located alongside the right bank of the Danube. The promenade itself (officially named Kej Oslobođenja, Quay of Liberation) begins below the Gardoš hill, at the square of Veliki Trg and after 2.5 km (1.6 mi) continues into the municipality of New Belgrade. On the west it borders the neighborhoods of Donji Grad and Retenzija and on the south the neighborhood of Ušće in New Belgrade. To the east, in the Danube, is the Great War Island and its beach Lido.^[1][2]

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Modern area of Zemun's Donji Grad was regularly flooded by the Danube. After massive 1876 floods, local authorities began the construction of the stony levee along the Danube's bank. Levee, a kilometer long, was finished in 1889.^[3] When hydroelectrical plant Đerdap I began to fill its reservoir in the late 1960s, due to the backwater of the Danube, underground waters in Zemun and New Belegrade got elevated and the cellars of the buildings got flooded. To prevent this, the high embankment with the promenade was built in 1967 so the Danube rarely flooded the quay (most notably in 1981).^[4] On the other hand, a historical minimum of the water level was recorded in November 1983.^[5]

In September 2007 reconstruction of the quay's 350 m (1,150 ft) long section began including further elevation of the embankment, widening of the pedestrian path and construction another one on separate level, completion of the cycling path, etc. Works, which were the first works on any embankments in Belgrade since 1990, were finished in 2008.^[6][7] Works continued in 2010–2011. After being elevated by one meter in 1967 to the point 70.5 m (231 ft), embankment was further raised to 73.5 m (241 ft) in 2010 and 77 m (253 ft) in 2011, thus preventing any further flooding as the recorded water level was never higher than that. Over 450 m (1,480 ft) of the embankment was first solidified with 17,000 m3 of different materials, then consolidated with beams and further elevated with 20,000 m3 of sand, gravel and stone.^[8]

In October 2020, plans for massive reconstruction and extension of the quay were announced for 2021. The plans include extension to the north, upstream the Danube, to the Pupin Bridge. Deadline is set to 2022.^[9] The area in question is 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) long and covers 22.2 hectares (55 acres). The architectural design competition was organized in October 2021, and three designs were selected by February 2022. The cliff-like bank in this section is prone to erosion, as it is the ending section of the Zemun Loess Plateau. It is located between the Danube and the Gornji Grad's sub-neighborhood of Pregrevica. In order to lift the banks height, and to stop further erosion of the bank, the embankment, with the adjoining promenade and pathways, will be built as the wide, step-like plateaus. Plans also include a marina and the connection with the pedestrian and bicycle paths on the Pupin Bridge.^[10][11]

In the early 1970s, architect Branislav Jovin designed the plateau and the quay in front of the Hotel Jugoslavija. Generally considered beautiful and elegant, the project allows the cascade descent from the hotel to the Danube's bank. Early 1990s saw the expansion of the splavovi (singular, splav), barge-clubs on the rivers. They originated along the banks of the Sava and expanded in the nearby Ušće neighborhood. After 1996, they spread along the quay in front of the hotel.^[12][13]

The location was favorable as it was one of the rare point at the time, where there was enough parking space and the quay was arranged and concreted, while many other parts of the banks were the barges were located were still muddy and inaccessible. In the 1996–2000 period, the splavovi were swiftly anchored in front of the hotel and in such numbers, that they became so close to each other that guests from one splav were able to talk to the guests from another one. In this period, barges at Hotel Jugoslavija became one of the most popular hangouts, as the barges became one of the focal points of the vibrant Belgrade's nightlife, but were also connected with criminals and numerous incidents.^[13] The entire section of the bank in front of the hotel has since then been colloquially known as "Chez Juga" (Kod Juge), after the shortened name of the hotel.

The majority of the barges placed in the last part of the 1990s are still operational, even under the same names, but are being replaced with much larger and modernized versions, unlike the other locations where splavovi appeared and disappeared, or changed names.^[13]

Zemunski Kej is the main Zemun's landing area for numerous boats. In 2014 the government set the area of the former port as the future revitalized port area.^[14] In April 2018 it was announced that the pier for the touristic ships and cruisers will be built on the quay. It was to be constructed near the Old Port Authority (Stara Kapetanija) where the old Zemun port was located. Designed to accept ships up to 120 m (390 ft) long and 15 m (49 ft) wide, the project was to be finished by the 2019 nautical season.^[15] It will be the second international touristic pier in Belgrade, after the one in Savamala neighborhood, on the Sava river. The central steel pontoon, 50 m (160 ft) long and 4 m (13 ft) wide, will serve for the boarding and disembarkation of the visitors.^[16]

Construction ultimately began in June 2019 and was to last for 120 days, or to December 2019. However, since the works didn't go as planned, in November 2019 the deadline was moved to March 2020 and the next nautical season. When construction of the supporting piles began, the slabs from the previous embankment were discovered so as several submerged vessels. The pier's bridge will be also 50 m (160 ft) long, with 20 piles, while the pontoon will rest on two dolphins. The piles are being founded to the depth of 10 m (33 ft) in order to endure the pressure of river ice, while some pontoons will be attached to the piles so that it may rise and fall, following the change of the Danube's water level. There was some initial resistance to the project among the local population,^[17] especially regarding the ecological aspect and influence on the nearby protected area of the Great War Island.^[14] The pier was finished on 6 June 2020,^[18] but the cruisers began docking only on 2 September 2023.^[19][20]

In 1966, the military placed the pontoon bridge to connect the Lido Beach, on the Great War Island in Zemun, for the first time. The bridge was relocated from Ada Ciganlija where it was placed in 1961, after the permanent embankment at Ada was finished.^[21] It connected Zemunski Kej and the island, across an arm of the Danube.^[22][23] The bridge was later removed, and the idea of constructing a bridge to the Great War Island was officially abandoned by the city in 1972.^[24]

Since 1996,^[25] the pontoon bridge has been placed by the military almost every year. As the beach was almost wiped out during the disastrous 2006 European floods, the pontoon wasn't laid from 2006 to 2008.^[22][23] In general, the bridge is in place from July to September. It is 375 m (1,230 ft) long and placed by the engineering units of the Serbian Armed Forces. Placing of the bridge regularly sparks protest from the boatmen, either those who work as a ferrymen when there is no bridge, or those who are simply blocked in the Danube's arm between the island and the bank across it.^[26]

In time, there were several proposals of building a proper bridge to the island, though environmentalists are against it. A project for the bridge on two levels to the island was drafted. Designers envisioned that the top level ("upper bridge") would contain a scenic viewpoint and a restaurant. The idea was abandoned.^[27] It was partially done because the design for the bridge, made of concrete and wood, didn't take into the account high water levels of the Danube.^[28]

In March 2016, mayor of Belgrade Siniša Mali announced the massive reconstruction of the Old Sava Bridge.^[29][30] However, in May 2017, after the project papers were publicized, it was discovered that the city actually plans to demolish the bridge completely and build a new one. Citizens protested while the experts rejected the reasons named by the authorities.^[29][31] Mali then said that the old bridge will not be demolished but moved, and that citizens will decide where, but he gave an idea to move it to Zemunski Kej, as the permanent pedestrian bridge to the Great War Island. Members of the Academy of Architecture of Serbia opposed the motion. They expressed fear that the seemingly benign idea is actually a strategically disastrous enterprise concerning the protected wildlife on the island. They also suspected that the administration, in this case just as in all previous ones, will ignore experts.^[32]

In June 2018, architect Bojan Kovačević stated that Mali got the idea of connecting the island because of the meeting held several month before, where the Eagle Hills company, an investor of the highly controversial Belgrade Waterfront project, discussed with the city officials a possibility of construction on the island. The project should include the private villas, golf courses and a de lux hotel.^[33] The Old Sava Bridge relocation to the Great War Island was ultimately scrapped.^[34]

During the summer of 2020, a group of Zemun's citizens organized petition for the construction of permanent bridge to the Great War Island. In September 2020, the municipal administration of Zemun forwarded the preliminary design of the possible bridge to the city administration.^[28] For 2022 city announced construction of the bridge from the quay to the Great War Island.^[9] The environmentalists and urbanists are continuously against the permanent bridge to the island,^[27][35] but city reiterated the construction plans in January 2022.^[36]

In August 2023, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić said that the "place for the bridge has been already found", to connect Zemun and the Great War Island, and that he will "nominate" the idea to citizens.^[37]

In January 2022, plans were announced for the creation of the theme Eupolis park along the quay, stretching from the Hotel Jugoslavija on the south, to the skyscraper on Karađorđe Square on the north. It is part of the pilot project for forming a small, "blue-green" parks in urban environments. Belgrade was one of four pilot cities, the other three being Piraeus in Greece, Gladsaxe in Denmark and Łódź in Poland.^[38][39]

The area includes the locations of the Zemun Railway Station memorial ("collonettes"), amusement park, and children's playground ("castle"). Participants in the design competition were students of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Architecture. In March 2022, three works were selected, and the final design will be the amalgamation of all three. Apart from green-blue park (greenery and water), the project includes a small building of an ecological educational center.^[40][41]