Kalvarija, Zemun

Kalvarija, also formerly known as Marija Bursać (Serbian: Калварија or Марија Бурсаћ) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.

It borders the neighborhoods of Sava Kovačević on the north, Železnička Kolonija on the west, the northernmost extension of Bežanijska Kosa on the south and Tošin Bunar on the east and southeast.

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

In 1883 Austrian general Laudon built a trench through the loess to make way for the railway, thus creating the fourth artificial hill, known today as Bežanijska Kosa.

Laudon's trench, whose remnants still can be seen but are turned into an informal settlement, marked to border between the south Kalvarija and north Bežanijska Kosa.

Western, modern part of the neighborhood was officially called Marija Bursać, after a Yugoslav Partisan war hero.

Eastern section of the neighborhood is mostly residential, while western was mostly industrial: factories and depots of Navip, Inos Metal, brickwork, etc., which all went bankrupt by the early 21st century.

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

In 2007 attempts were made to construct buildings in the area, but after the protest of the local population, the park remained and it is in the process of reconstruction which began in September 2007 and ended on 16 April 2008.

[16] Open children playgrounds with rubber floors were placed, so as the volleyball, soccer and basketball courts, connected by the pedestrian paths.

Two Jelovac brothers owned original brickworks, which was confiscated by the Communist government after World War II.