Donji Grad, Zemun

Donji Grad occupies the central part of Zemun, on the left bank of the Danube. It borders the neighborhoods of Gardoš on the north, Ćukovac and Muhar on the north-west, Kalvarija on the west, Tošin Bunar on the south-west, Retenzija on the south while the sub-neighborhood of Zemunski Kej is located along the Danube's bank. It roughly occupies the area bounded by the streets Bežanijska, Vrtlarska, 22. oktobra and Kej oslobođenja.[5][6]

Map of Urban local communities in Zemun municipality

The local community of Donji Grad, which comprised only the small part of the neighborhood, had a population of 8,438 in 1981. Local communities of Dunav and Zemunski Kej were detached from Donji Grad in the 1980s, so the population diminished to 3,214 in 1991 and 3,104 in 2002. However, with all the local communities which formed Donji Grad (including 22.Oktobar, Jugoslavija and Radoje Dakić), population in 2002 was 28,174. By the 2011 census, most of the local communities of the urban Zemun area were merged into one called Zemun.

Being the central part of the formerly separate town of Zemun, the major cultural, historical and administrative facilities of Zemun are located in the neighborhood of Donji Grad.

The main street in Zemun, Glavna, passes through the middle of the neighborhood. Also, almost all of the squares of Zemun are either within or bordering Donji Grad: Karađorđev, Branka Radičevića, Masarikov, Senjski, JNA, Magistratski, Oslobođenja, Veliki, and Pobede.

There are four churches: two Roman Catholic and two Serbian Orthodox (Saint Archangel Gabriel and Church of the Holy Virgin. Within the parochial complex of the Church of the Holy Virgin is the Saint Sava Home, built from 1907 to 1909 which is the only surviving work of architect Kosta Atanacković Stanišić. After World War II the building was nationalized from 1946 to 2007 when was returned to the Serbian Orthodox Church. Since April 2019, the building became a new seat of the Central Archives of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Formation of the archive itself began in 1831. The entire church complex is declared a cultural monument.[7]

Zemun's open green market and a commercial zone are situated along the main road.

Also located in Donji Grade are Zemun's City Hospital, Sports' Hall "Pinki", Zemun's Gymnasium, the faculty of agriculture and the Magistrate building, the seat of the Zemun's municipal assembly.

Zemun's only park, the City park, lies below the main street.

The Binder house, built in 1911

Binder House

The Binder house, located in 4 Dr Petra Markovića street, was built in 1911. The representative, residential one-floor house was projected by Franjo Jenč, who constructed over 100 objects in Zemun, for the industrialist Mavra Binder. It was designed in the Vienna Secession style and is the "unique architectural concept within the Old Core of Zemun". It was declared a cultural monument in April 2013 and today is the location of the military ambulance.[8]

Herzl House

The Herzl house is located at 17 Gundulićeva street. Present house is built after the old one was demolished in the early 20th century. The old house was a birthplace of Jakob Herzl, father of Theodor Herzl, founder of modern Zionism. The family emigrated to Budapest before Theodor was born. The new house was designed by Jozef Marks in the Vienna Secession style. The house is a rarity in Belgrade and the entire Serbia because of the unique façade which is ornamented with five plaster trees. The one-floor house is privately owned, but as it is located within the Old Core of Zemun, the Belgrade Institute for the monuments protection drafter a reconstruction plan for the façade in 2011, but as of 2018 it has not been done.[9]

House and vine at 4 Gospodska Street

A house and the adjoining grapevine in 4 Gospodska street are protected by the law. The house is protected as the cultural monument while the vine was protected by the city on 21 September 2014 as the natural monument. The vine was planted c1910 and still bears fruits. It is of the red grape variety, specifically the Rosette (Seibel 1000), or, as it is called in Serbia, the "Frenchman".[10]

The building was built in 1827. An advertisement from 1878, for the grape juice, survived. Small beverage factory and a store were located in the house at the time. The house was originally built by the Puljo family, the printmakers, but was later obtained by the merchant Živanović family, who adapted it into the store. Popularly nicknamed "Zemunka" ("Zemun girl"), the vine is still vital and spreading.[11]

During the massive Allied 1944 Easter bombing of Belgrade on 17 April 1944, the house was hit. The front site of the building was destroyed, including the Secession style façade. Another consequence of the bombing was that the water well in the yard was buried and remained so until today. There were two fatalities in the house, but the vine survived. When some communal works were done in the 2010s, it was discovered that the root of the vine spread beneath the half of the yard, reaching the buried well and draining water from there.[11]

Belgrade University Faculty of Agriculture examined the grapes. The French hybrid originated from after 1860. The French cultivars were grafted on the American cultivars after the massive Phylloxera epidemic caused the Great French Wine Blight, which actually destroyed vineyards in entire Europe. The "Seibel 1000" cultivar reached Serbia in 1903. Some 30 vines were planted in the faculty's experimental farm in Radmilovac. Grapes from there are being mixed with that from Zemun and experimental wines have been produced. The grafts of the "Zemunka" have been transplanted to several vineyards in Serbia, including the ones at Oplenac.[11]

Spirta House

The Spirta House, built in 1855 in 9 Glavna street, was declared a cultural monument in 1965,[12] so as the large part of Donji Grad which constitutes the Spatial Cultural-Historical Unit of Great Importance of Old Core of Zemun, which was protected in 1979.[13]

• Media related to Donji Grad (Zemun) at Wikimedia Commons