Zvezdara Forest

Zvezdara Forest (Serbian: Звездарска шума, translit. Zvezdarska šuma) is a park-forest in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Majority of the forest is located in the municipality of Zvezdara with only the small northernmost section being on the territory of Palilula. After Košutnjak and Topčider, Zvezdara is the largest forest in the urban zone of Belgrade and with them, the most important source of the oxygen for the city. While the Košuntjak-Topčider complex is being called the "Belgrade's oxygen factory", Zvezdara forest bears the moniker "left lung of the city".

Zvezdara forest is completely surrounded by the city's urban area and covers most of the 253 m (830 ft) tall Zvezdara Hill. It is situated in the northernmost section of the municipality of Zvezdara, on the border with Palilula. The northern and eastern boundary of the forest is formed mostly by the Dragoslava Srejovića street, except for a wooded patch which spreads into the neighborhood of Karaburma. Karaburma marks the forest's northern (Stara Karaburma) and northeastern border (Ćalije). The forest is bordered by the neighborhood of Mirijevo on the east, Zeleno Brdo on the southeast, Zvezdara on the south, Bulbulder and Zvezdara II on the east and Bogoslovija on the northeast.

On the northern slopes of the hill remnants of the prehistoric and Celtic period have been found (Rospi Ćuprija). Historically, Zvezdara hill was known as Veliki Vračar (Great Vračar). Vračаr area at that time occupied much wider area that it does today and was divided into West Vračar, East Vračar and Great Vračar. Turkish source from 1621 describes it as "a hill and a big field". In the 17th and 18th century, the area was covered in vineyards, orchards and lush oriental gardens, a major excursion ground for the wealthy Belgrade Turks which called the hill Ekmekluk and built their summer houses there. When Belgrade was occupied in 1717 by the Austria, a defense moat was built whose outer section crossed the hill, where the modern Volgina street is today. After Austria re-occupied Belgrade in 1789, the trench was reconstructed by the general Ernst Gideon von Laudon and became known as the "Laudan trench" (Serbian: Laudanov šanac or simply Šanac). Due to the military importance of the hill, its gardens were neglected.

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