ZEMUN, A SLICE OF OLD AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
By Aleksandar Vasovic
BalkanInsight.com
13 October 2008
Serbia
It may have been swallowed up by Belgrade in recent decades but
‘Zemunci’ remain fiercely proud of their town and of its very different
history and identity.
One does not always have to leave Belgrade to find oneself in a
completely different place. Right across the confluence of Sava
and Danube and in full view of the Kalemegdan fortress lies Zemun,
or Semlin, as it was called in the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Cross the city’s Branko’s bridge and head to the right. Past the former
Communist Party Central Committee tower and the sprawling compound of
the former federal government and another five minutes’ drive brings
you to a town within the city, which is, and isn’t, Belgrade.
In the 1970s, the rapidly expanding city of Belgrade and its
conglomerate of drab apartment blocks enthusiastically called Novi
Beograd (New Belgrade) swallowed up Zemun.
According to historians, a settlement at Zemun dates back as far as
the 3rd Century BC. But the present name was first mentioned in the
12th century, by which time the area formed the southern frontier of
medieval Hungary. As wars devastated the Balkans over the next 500
years, control over Zemun passed back and forth between the Hungarians
and the Ottoman Turks. Habsburg Austrian armies finally took over in
1717, to stay for two centuries.
Zemun grew as a border town, located in a highly strategic position,
next to the Ottomans’ northern fortress of Belgrade. It was a key
port and an assembly point for smugglers, rebels, insurgents, spies
and politicians coming and going from Serbia. The population was
mixed, comprising Serbs, Croats, Hungarians, Germans, Jews, Gypsies,
Armenians, Turks, Slovaks and even a few Italians. "It is like that
even now," says Zdenko, a Zemun-born Croat. "The local community is
more multiethnic than any other in Belgrade and we are proud of that."
After the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918, Zemun became a part
of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later renamed
Yugoslavia. Between 1941 and 1945 it formed part of the Nazi-style
Independent State of Croatia and thousands of Jews and others perished
in a nearby death camp, the Judenlager Zemlin, located at the former
Belgrade Fair compound. After the Partisan victory, it again became
part of Yugoslavia.
In administrative terms, Zemun is now no more than a municipality
of Belgrade. But it still fights to preserve its distinct identity
as a town with a very different history from that of Belgrade. Its
Central European architecture and character remain strikingly different
from those of its more Byzantine neighbour. Locals stubbornly insist
they are "Zemunci", not "Beogradjani". "It is a different mentality,
a different way of living," according to Zdenko.
Sadly, Zemun became famous for altogether different reasons in the
1990s, when the town spawned an infamous underworld clan that played
a key part in the 2003 assassination of prime minister Zoran Djindjic,
among others.
Zemun is best explored on foot, starting at the Danube quay, which
begins right after the Hotel Jugoslavija and is good for rollerblading
and cycling. A sprawling marina that spans more than a kilometre
offers views of roughly half of all the boats moored in Belgrade. For
the tired or the hungry there are plenty of floating restaurants and
cafes, dubbed "splavovi", or rafts, often boasting live music.
Fish, often caught nearby in the Danube, is the real specialty of
Zemun’s restaurants but there is also a good selection of alternatives
on local menus. Venues range from more traditional Stara Carinarnica
(Old Customs Depot), with its exhibition of historic photographs
and artefacts, to Sent Andreja, Kod Kapetana (Captain’s Inn), Saran
(Carp), Reka (River), with its live music and colourful local artwork,
and Radecki (Radetsky), a dilapidated watering hole frequented by
colourful local characters.
Past the Radecki, some steep steps bring amblers to the Old Town,
containing Gardos hill and Pregrevica. With its narrow cobbled streets
and Austro-Hungarian atmosphere, this old quarter is a step back in
time. Dozens of cafés such as Burence (Barrel) or Majcina (the word
forms part of a famous Serbian curse), restaurants and churches dot
the area. The most striking landmark is the Millennium Tower, built
in 1896 on the site of a medieval fort to commemorate the 1,000th
anniversary of the Kingdom of Hungary. Years ago it housed a café
at the top. Now it is in a state of disrepair but it may be restored
soon enough. "It looks a sorry sight now but Belgrade city hall has
allocated funds for renovation," a city official said.
Downtown Zemun has a couple of interesting more modern buildings,
too. The Air Force command is a fine an example of the pre-Second
World War Bauhaus architecture, though it was badly damaged in the
1999 NATO bombing. The Magistrates’ building, near the green market,
is another local landmark. Built in the 19th century, it is worth a
look before taking the road back to Belgrade proper.
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