Šumice, Belgrade Explained

Šumice, Belgrade
Native Name:Шумице
Native Name Lang:sr
Settlement Type:Urban neighbourhood
Pushpin Map:Serbia Belgrade
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Belgrade
Coordinates:44.7858°N 20.4889°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Serbia
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Type2:Municipality
Subdivision Name2:Voždovac
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Total Km2:0.76
Population As Of:2011
Population Total:6,348
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:CET
Utc Offset1:+1
Timezone1 Dst:CEST
Utc Offset1 Dst:+2
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Area Code Type:Area code
Area Code:+381(0)11
Blank Name:Car plates
Blank Info:BG

Šumice (Serbian: Шумице, pronounced as /ʃûmit͡sɛ/) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Voždovac. It is also the name of a park-forest within the neighbourhood.

Location

Šumice is located in the south-eastern section of the hill of Pašino Brdo and in the northern section largely overlaps with the neighborhood of the same name. On the south it is bounded by the Ustanička street and on the east by the Vojislava Ilića street, both streets separating it from the neighborhood of Konjarnik. On the west, the park itself borders the neighborhood of Dušanovac.

Neighborhood

The neighborhood was constructed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A modern settlement, with many green areas, can roughly be divided in two parts: southern, with residential building, and northern with smaller, family houses and villas which were quite popular among Belgrade's celebrities in the 1980s. The population in 2011 was 6,348.

The main features in the neighborhood are:

Park

Šumice
Alt Name:Шумице
Location:Voždovac, Belgrade
Area:14.38ha
Status:urban forest

History

Šumice originated in the 1950s. It was an effort to create the forested belt around the Belgrade (for example, Banjica Forest was created as a part of the same project).

Wildlife

The park is inhabited by hedgehogs and bats, but the main attraction in the park are the squirrels which often leave the park and climb on the trees in people's yards. Woodpeckers and blue tits can be frequently seen in the park.

Characteristics

The park consists of two parts, separated by the Vojvode Toze street into western (larger) and eastern sections.

In the 1990s, in the general air of lawlessness, attempts were made to build concrete objects (shops, kiosks, etc.) in the park itself, but eventually they were removed. In spring 2007, the park was reconstructed. Maps, new wooden gazebos, benches, trash cans and children playgrounds were placed, while a new trim trail through the park was arranged.

The total forested area covers .[1] Main bulk of the park covers an area of 9.8ha, has almost 7km (04miles) of paths,[2] and over 2,900 individual trees. They mostly include ash, black locust, oak and maple. After several consecutive dry years, almost 200 maple trees withered by 2013 and were replaced with the over 300 seedlings. Another reconstruction began in September 2019. New objects include 25 rest pavilions, both open and covered, chess tables, new drainage system and lights.[2] Though the deadline was 31 December 2019, the works continued well into 2020. Works included construction of the children's playground and exercise attraction "Drveni grad" ("Woodville").[3]

2012 incident

On 20 May 2012, group of 20 people hastily entered the forest's section between the Sport Center and the Ustanička street, armed with chainsaws and started to cut the trees. Citizens from the buildings across the Ustanička immediately alerted the authorities, even physically confronted the perpetrators and filmed them with phones. After cutting seven maple trees, which were over 40 years old, the felons ran away as the inspectors, police and later even the mayor of Belgrade Dragan Đilas arrived at the spot. It turned out that it was a private job of the Sport Center's manager who wanted to illegally clear the land so he could build a balloon sports hall. As the city is the owner of the center, he was fired right away and later charged. The city instantly planted ten new maple trees instead of the seven which were cut.[4]

Transportation

Šumice is well connected with other parts of the city, by public transportation:

Buses (with connecting areas of the city):

Trolleys (with connecting areas of the city):

Night buses (with connecting areas of the city):

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: sr: Пројекат "Зелена регулатива Београда" - IV фаза: План генералне регулације система зелених површина Београда (концепт плана) . Project "Green regulations of Belgrade" - IV phase: Plan of the general regulation of the green area system in Belgrade (concept of the plan) . 2010 . Anica Teofilović, Vesna Isajlović, Milica Grozdanić . 40 . Urbanistički zavod Beograda . http://mapa.urbel.com/publish/PGR-SZP-Bgd_za_JU/003_Dokumentacija_plana_Knjiga_3/009_koncept_plana_sa_Izvestajem_o_izvrsenoj_strucnoj_kontroli/Koncept_PGR_sistema_zel_povrsina_KORIGOVAN.pdf.
  2. News: Ana Vuković . sr: Почело уређење парка "Шумице" . Renovation of the park "Šumice" began . Politika . 12 . sr . 21 September 2019.
  3. News: sr: Парк-шума "Шумице" добија модеран изглед . Park-forest "Šumice" gets modern appearance . Politika . sr . 20 February 2020.
  4. Web site: Snimak seče stabala kod "Šumica" na kome se vide lica odgovornih . 24 May 2012 . Blic. sr.