Ćukovac

Ćukovac is one of several small neighborhoods which constitute the downtown of Zemun, former separate city and today's borough and municipality of Belgrade.

Modern area of Zemun's Donji Grad was regularly flooded by the Danube and the water would carve canals through the loess.

In the previous centuries, settlers left many vertical shafts which ventilated the lagums, drying the loess and keeping it compact.

After World War II, inhabitants began to settle Ćukovac hill unaware of the lagums, especially the largest one, which covered an area of 450 m2 (4,800 sq ft).

It is also much cheaper than the expensive construction projects as this type of cedar has a deep and very developed roots, which drains all the atmospheric precipitations, leaving the loess dry.

Additionally, Atlas cedar grows very fast in Belgrade climate, while the tree itself is an appealing park species.

[7] However, Zemun developed completely independently from Belgrade for centuries and for the most part during the history two towns belonged to two different states.