Kumodraž

Kumodraž (Serbian Cyrillic: Кумодраж) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Voždovac.

Location

Kumodraž is located in the central-eastern part of the municipality, in the lower section of the Kumodraž field ("Kumodraško polje"), in the valley of the creek of "Kumodraški potok". Eastern and southern borders of the neighborhood are marked by a series of hills: Torlak, Golo Brdo, Stražarska Kosa, and the Kumodraž area is a source of many other creeks apart from the one that gave its name to the neighborhood: Rakovički potok (flows through the neighborhoods of Selo Rakovica and Rakovica), "Lipica" (Jajinci), "Zavojnička reka" (a tributary to the Bolečica river), "Bubanj potok" (flows through Bubanj Potok, also a tributary to the Bolečica), "Kamena voda", etc. To the north, Kumodraž is bordered by the neighborhood of Voždovac, to the north-west by Veliki Mokri Lug and to the east by Jajinci.

Population

Population of Kumodraž by the official censuses of population:

* 1921 - 1,321
* 1971 - 8,547
* 2002 - 13,004

In 2002 Kumodraž (I) had a population of 9,036 and Kumodraž II 3,968.

Characteristics

Kumodraž used to be a small, agricultural village far from downtown Belgrade, but after the 1960s the population boosted as it was case in almost all Belgrade's suburbs at the time. In 1970s Kumodraž was administratively declared a local community ("mesna zajednica") within the municipality of Voždovac (part of the Belgrade City proper, "uža teritorija grada"), rather than being a separate settlement. Today, Kumodraž makes one continuous built up area, even though it is about 10 kilometers away from downtown. It is divided into several sub-neighborhoods: Kumodraž selo, Kumodraž I, Kumodraž II and Torlak.

One of the most important Serbian army leaders in modern history, vojvoda Stepa Stepanović, was born in Kumodraž in 1856 and his birth place is turned into memorial-house dedicated to him, and the nearby woods is named Stepin Lug ("Stepa's grove"). In addition, the main street in Kumodraž is named "Vojvode Stepe" (though it begins much closer to downtown, at Autokomanda).

Kumodraž selo

Kumodraž selo, or the Kumodraž village, is the oldest section of the entire neighborhood. It occupies the eastern section of the settlement, which continues into the neighborhood of Veliki Mokri Lug. Residential, agricultural area in which the Kumodraž cemetery is located. Connected to Belgrade by the bus line 33.

Kumodraž I

Central and western extension of the neighborhood, the core of the modern settlement of Kumodraž. It extends into Kumodraž II on the east, Kumodraž II on the north and Torlak on the northt-west. Connected to Belgrade by the bus lines 33 and 39.

Kumodraž II

Northern extension of the neighborhood, which makes urban connection to the neighborhood of Voždovac is named Kumodraž II. It is a modern sub-neighborhood, located in the area marked by the elbow turn of the "Kumodraška" street and the street of "Vojvode Stepe". It makes a direct extension of the Voždovac's industrial zone along the "Kumodraška" street. Connected to Belgrade by the bus line 25.

Torlak

Entire western section of Kumodraž is a sub-neighborhood of Torlak. It was named after the 308 meters-high hill of Torlak, which was very important in the military operations for defense of Belgrade in World War I. The Institute for farmacology of Serbia and the Institute for imunobiology and virusology (vacine manufacturer, popularly known as "Torlak") are located in the area.

References

* "Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija", First edition (1959), Vol.I; Prosveta;
* "Beograd - plan grada"; M@gic M@p, 2006; ISBN 86-83501-53-1