Rospi Ćuprija ( Serbian

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...

: Роспи Ћуприја) is an urban neighborhood of

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, the capital of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula. The name comes from Ottoman Turkish ''(o)rospı(lı) köprü'' 'bridge of whores' because the high-ranking Turkish officer's harem women suspected of disloyalty (marital or otherwise) were murdered on the banks of the river.

Location

Rospi Ćuprija is located on the western bank of the ''Mirijevski potok'' stream and the right bank of the

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 , pa ...

's arm of ''Rukavac'' which separates it from the former island (now a peninsula) of

Ada Huja Ada Huja ( sr-cyr, Ада Хуја) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula. Location Ada Huja is a peninsula on the right bank of the Danube. It is bordered by the ne ...

. It occupies the western section of the Field of Višnjica and borders the neighborhoods of

Karaburma Karaburma ( sr-cyr, Карабурма) is an List of Belgrade neighborhoods, urban neighborhood of the municipality of Palilula Belgrade, Palilula, Belgrade, Serbia. As of 2002, it has a population of 55,343 inhabitants. Name The name, Karabur ...

on the west (''Mirijevo Boulevard''),

Ćalije Ćalije ( sr-cyr, Ћалије) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Palilula. Ćalije is the southernmost neighborhood in the municipality, located in the western part of the f ...

on the south and Višnjička Banja on the east (the road of ''Slanački put'').

History

Antiquity

The oldest settlement known by name on the territory of modern Belgrade was found near the Rospi Ćuprija. Remains of the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

(and later

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

) settlement of

Singidunum Singidunum ( sr, Сингидунум/''Singidunum'') was an ancient city which later evolved into modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name is of Celts, Celtic origin, going back to the time when Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the area in ...

were found near Rospi Ćuprija and neighboring Karaburma, including

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

rich in artefacts and parts of ''dunum'', fortress. These remains represent a limited archaeological evidence as there were almost no traces left of the Celtic town, except for them. The necropolises contained valuable artistic artifacts which belonged to the warriors of the

Scordisci The Scordisci ( el, Σκορδίσκοι) were a Celtic Iron Age cultural group centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava), Margus (Morava) and Danube rivers. They were historically no ...

tribe. An apparent Celtic cultural influences have been woven into the spiritual culture of the Singidunum inhabitants, and later mixed with Roman classical cultural elements. Though it is today generally considered that the old Celtic fortress was located where the modern

Belgrade Fortress The Belgrade Fortress ( sr-Cyrl, Београдска тврђава, Beogradska tvrđava), consists of the old citadel (Upper and Lower Town) and Kalemegdan Park (Large and Little Kalemegdan) on the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, in a ...

is, it can't be confirmed as there are no records of where the Celts settled. Some historians suggested that it was rather close to the necropolises in Karaburma and Rospi Ćuprija. Celtic settlements belonged to the

La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture without any defini ...

. In the area bounded by the modern Karaburma, Rospi Ćuprija and, at that time island,

, Romans cultivated

grapevines ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, b ...

and used thermal springs for

public bathhouse Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

Characteristics

With an elevation of only 66 meters above the sea level, Rospi Ćuprija is the lowest point of the city of Belgrade proper. Rospi Ćuprija is a partially residential area, but is best known for the series of

brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for cl ...

that occupy extensive areas of the northern ridge of the Field of Višnjica (''Polet'', ''Trudbenik'', ''Jedinstvo'', ''Kozara'', ''Balkan'', ''Rekord''). It had a population of 4,661 in 2002.

References

* ''Beograd - plan grada''; M@gic M@p, 2006; Neighborhoods of Belgrade Palilula, Belgrade {{BelgradeRS-geo-stub