Island of Šarengrad ( hr, Šarengradska ada, sr-Cyrl, Шаренградска ада, or ) is a

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

river island situated close to the village of

Šarengrad Šarengrad ( sr-cyr, Шаренград, hu, Atya, german: Wetterwardein) is a village in eastern Croatia. It is located along the Danube river and is administratively part of Croatian easternmost town of Ilok. Šarengrad is known for its landsca ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. It covers an area of . Old riverbed of the Danube caused problems for the navigation due to its heavy bending in this area. In order to solve the problem,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

began digging a canal which would straighten the flow of the river in 1892. After 17 years, the Mohovo-Šarengrad canal was finally finished, and as a result the Island of Šarengrad was formed in 1909. During the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

the island was part of the

Socialist Republic of Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Socia ...

. During the Croatian War of Independence,

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...

and Serbian militia occupied the island. It was the opinion of the

Badinter Arbitration Committee The Arbitration Commission of the Conference on Yugoslavia (commonly known as Badinter Arbitration Committee) was an arbitration body set up by the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community (EEC) on 27 August 1991 to provide the confer ...

that the borders between republics should become the borders between the countries, In 1998, through the

Erdut Agreement The Erdut Agreement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Erdutski sporazum, Ердутски споразум), officially the Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, was an agreement reached on 12 November 1 ...

, Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia was reintegrated with Croatia. However, the Island of Šarengrad together with Island of Vukovar has stayed under Serbian military control. In 2002 the Serbian army opened fire from the island on the prefect of the

Vukovar-Syrmia County Vukovar-Srijem County ( hr, Vukovarsko-srijemska županija), Vukovar-Sirmium County or Vukovar-Syrmia County, named after the eponymous town of Vukovar and the region of Syrmia, is the easternmost Croatian county. It includes the eastern parts ...

, Nikola Šafer, and his escort which included four children in time when he was going for a meeting with his colleague from Serbia. This was despite the party having had formal consent from Serbian officials.DPI - Foreign Media Monitoring
In 2004 Serbia withdrew its army from the island, which has been replaced with Serbian police. Any citizen of Croatia can approach that island crossing the border Bačka Palanka - Ilok. Land registration books are managed by Croatian authorities, but the Serbian side does not recognise these ownerships. In 2009, the island was opened up for recreational purposes after a temporary arrangement was established. In his statement for daily newspaper '' Novi list'' in February 2012 Croatian President

Ivo Josipović Ivo Josipović (; born 28 August 1957) is a Croatian academic, jurist, and politician who served as President of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ), and played a key ...

said that two countries need flexible solution for border disputes on Danube river that would be combination of solutions proposed by two countries. Croatian president said whatever solution would be adopted it would be good that Island of Vukovar eventually found on the Croatian side of border. In his statement President made no mention of the second Danube island, Island of Šarengrad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Island Of Sarengrad Islands of the Danube River islands of Croatia Syrmia Geography of Vukovar-Syrmia County Croatia–Serbia border River islands of Serbia Territorial disputes of Croatia Territorial disputes of Serbia

See also

References