Veliko Ratno Ostrvo

Great War Island
(Serbian: Велико ратно острво Veliko ratno ostrvo)
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Great War Island
Location	Zemun, Belgrade,  Serbia
Nearest city	Belgrade
Coordinates	Coordinates: 44°49′54″N 20°26′09″E / 44.831632°N 20.435798°E / 44.831632; 20.435798
Area	2.11 km2 (0.81 sq mi)
Established	2005

Great War Island (Serbian: Велико ратно острво, Veliko ratno ostrvo) is a river island in Belgrade, capital of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of Sava and Danube rivers. Though uninhabited, the island is part of the Belgrade City proper, and belongs to the city municipality of Zemun.

Great War Island is located at the mouth of the Sava river into the Danube, in the Danube's widening between the Kalemegdan fortress as the ending section of the Terazije ridge of northernmost part of Šumadija on the west and the low, easternmost section of the Syrmia plain, the modern Ušće neighborhood of Novi Beograd, on the south.

The island is relatively close to the banks, at the closest it is just 200 meters away from both Novi Beograd and Kalemegdan. On the south, halfway between the Great War Island and Ušće is the remnant of Little War Island.

The Great War Island is generally triangular in shape and covers an area of 2.11 km² (0.81 sq mi). It is low, for the most part marshy and often flooded by the Danube. The main physical feature on the island is the canal of Veliki Galijaš. In time, the canal was cut off from the Danube and effectively turned into a lake, with an area of 0.24 km² (0.09 sq mi) and the major natural bird and fish spawning area on the island. However, during drought years the lake drains completely causing damage to the closed eco-system centered around it. Currently some two-thirds of the island are used as a nature reserve for 196 bird species, many of which are endangered. One of Belgrade's beaches, Lido, is located on the northern tip of the island.