Great War Island (Belgrade)

 island, forest, green area

Great War Island or Veliko Ratno Ostrvo (Serbian Cyrillic: Велико Ратно Острво) is a river island (ada) in Serbia, located at the mouth of the Sava river into the Danube. Though uninhabited, it is part of the Belgrade City proper, the capital of Serbia, and belongs to the municipality of Zemun. In 2002, the island was declared a natural fish spawning area and declared practically the only part of the City of Belgrade where building of facilities like hotels, motels or restaurants is not allowed. The major works on the island began in 2007. In February 2007, following the disastrous 2006 European floods which wiped out Lido from the northern tip of the island, the Great War Island was completely cleaned with all the bulky junk being removed, so as the remains of the old constructions and the 24 hour guarding service was set. Celebrating the June 29, the international Danube Day, an ecology camp made of pile dwellings for students of the Belgrade University was opened.

In August 2007, digging of a 300 meter-long canal which reconnected Veliki Galijaš with the Danube also began to prevent the seasonal drying of the lake. A 15 meter-high lookout is to be erected west of Veliki Galijaš so as the entire network of visitor centers on the unsinkable points around the lake and throughout the island for the studying of the bird life. A bio-laboratory and the small boat landing are also scheduled for construction.