Altina ( sr-cyr, Алтина) is an urban neighborhood of

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, Serbia. Located in Belgrade's municipality of

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality in the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown ...

, it is one of the newest and fastest growing parts of the city.

Location

Altina is located just out of the north-western section of the Belgrade City urban proper (''uža teritorija grada''), 11 kilometers west of downtown Belgrade. It borders the neighborhoods of Galenika in the north, Zemun Bačka in the east, Vojni Put I and Plavi Horizonti in the south while to the west the neighborhood extends in the direction of

Zemun Polje Zemun Polje () is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the municipality of Zemun. Location Zemun Polje is located on both railway and highway Belgrade-Novi Sad, halfway between the western section of urban ...

. The northern and eastern borders of Altina are marked by the sharp elbow turn of the road of ''Novosadski put'', ''Dobanovački put'' marks the southern one, with ''Pazovački put'' and ''Ugrinovački put'' running through the middle of the neighborhood.

History

Until the middle 1990s the area was virtually uninhabited with only a few storehouse facilities. With the outbreak of the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

in 1991, and especially after the 1995 Oluja operation, many refugees settled in this area, which resulted in the creation of several new settlements (Altina, Plavi Horizonti, Grmovac, Busije). Altina grew into a small town, with over 50 streets, adjoining Zemun's western urban area. The local community of Nova Galenika, which covers the neighborhoods of Galenika, Nova Galenika and Altina had a population of 12,533 in 2002, but as over 100,000 refugees gained Serbian citizenship after the 2002 census, newspapers and the municipality of Zemun gives an estimate of 18,000 to 20,000 inhabitants for the combined population of Altina and Plavi Horizonti (without Galenika).

Politika ( sr-Cyrl, Политика, lit=Politics) is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans. Publishing and ownership is publ ...

, January 4, 2007, p.28

Characteristics

As a result of non-planned, accelerated growth Altina grew almost into a

slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...

. After 2000, the urbanistic arrangement of the settlement began: the roads were paved, streets, which were enumerated (Altina 1, 2, 3, etc.), received names and the public transportation was extended to Altina (bus lines number 81 and 81L). However, many problems concerning basic communal infrastructure remain. Despite that, over 1,000 small family companies and shops operate in Altina. Also, the terrain is rich in underground waters, which flooded the settlement in 2005 and 2006. The elementary school "Sava Šumanović" was opened in 2009. One of the largest in Belgrade, as of 2023 it had some 900 pupils. Construction of the first park in the neighborhood was announced in May 2020. The large park will be located in the northern part of Altina. Construction began in January 2021. It will include decorative and drinking fountains, a children's playground, sculptures and

outdoor gym An outdoor gym is a gym built outside in a public park, with the all-weather construction of its exercise machines somewhat modeled on playground equipment. It is similar to the 1960s–1970s proliferation of fitness trails, which continue to ...

. It will be one of the largest parks in the city's outer neighborhoods.

References

Neighborhoods of Belgrade {{BelgradeRS-geo-stub