Skadarlija

Skadarlija (Serbian Cyrillic: Скадарлија) is a vintage street, an urban neighborhood and former municipality of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the Belgrade municipality of Stari Grad (Old town) and generally considered the main bohemian quarter of Belgrade, similar to Paris' Montmartre.

Skadarlija is located less than 300 metres (330 yd) north-west of Terazije, central Belgrade. It begins right below the Republic Square and stretches along the short, winding Skadarska Street. One of the most famous streets in Belgrade, it is less than 400 metres (440 yd) long. It connects the Despot Stefan Boulevard with the Dušanova Street, near the Bajloni open green market and the Mira Trailović Square, where it extends into the neighborhood of Dorćol.

Skadarlija became a separate municipality of Belgrade in 1952, after the previous post-World War II division of Belgrade into raions from 1945 to 1952 ended. That municipality included a large portion of urban Belgrade, mainly the Danube oriented neighborhoods like Dorćol, Jalija, Stari Grad, etc. On January 1, 1957 it merged into the new municipality of Stari Grad. Today, Skadarlija forms a "local community" (mesna zajednica), sub-municipal administrative unit, within the municipality of Stari Grad. According to the 2002 census of population, the local community of Skadarlija has 5,942 inhabitants.

The history of Skadarlija began in the 1830s with the settlement of Gypsies in the abandoned trenches in front of the ramparts. The 1854 town plan of Belgrade reveals that the Gypsy hovels had been replaced by brick buildings into which artisans, caterers, petty clerks and others moved. The whole locality was referred to as the Gypsy Quarter until 1872, when the street was named after the town of Skadar) (today: Shkodër in Albania). Skadarska ulica, Serbian for "Skadar street", is still the official name.

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