Zemunski Kej (Serbian Cyrillic: Земунски Кеј) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.

Zemunski Kej, as its name suggests (Zemun's quay), is located alongside the right bank of the Danube.

The promenade itself (officially named Kej Oslobođenja, Quay of Liberation) begins below the Gardoš hill, at the square of Veliki Trg and after 2.5 km (1.6 mi) continues into the municipality of New Belgrade.

[3] When hydroelectrical plant Đerdap I began to fill its reservoir in the late 1960s, due to the backwater of the Danube, underground waters in Zemun and New Belegrade got elevated and the cellars of the buildings got flooded.

To prevent this, the high embankment with the promenade was built in 1967 so the Danube rarely flooded the quay (most notably in 1981).

Over 450 m (1,480 ft) of the embankment was first solidified with 17,000 m3 of different materials, then consolidated with beams and further elevated with 20,000 m3 of sand, gravel and stone.

[10][11] In the early 1970s, architect Branislav Jovin designed the plateau and the quay in front of the Hotel Jugoslavija.

Generally considered beautiful and elegant, the project allows the cascade descent from the hotel to the Danube's bank.

When construction of the supporting piles began, the slabs from the previous embankment were discovered so as several submerged vessels.

There was some initial resistance to the project among the local population,[17] especially regarding the ecological aspect and influence on the nearby protected area of the Great War Island.

[19][20] In 1966, the military placed the pontoon bridge to connect the Lido Beach, on the Great War Island in Zemun, for the first time.

[27] It was partially done because the design for the bridge, made of concrete and wood, didn't take into the account high water levels of the Danube.

[28] In March 2016, mayor of Belgrade Siniša Mali announced the massive reconstruction of the Old Sava Bridge.

[29][30] However, in May 2017, after the project papers were publicized, it was discovered that the city actually plans to demolish the bridge completely and build a new one.

They expressed fear that the seemingly benign idea is actually a strategically disastrous enterprise concerning the protected wildlife on the island.

[32] In June 2018, architect Bojan Kovačević stated that Mali got the idea of connecting the island because of the meeting held several month before, where the Eagle Hills company, an investor of the highly controversial Belgrade Waterfront project, discussed with the city officials a possibility of construction on the island.

[34] During the summer of 2020, a group of Zemun's citizens organized petition for the construction of permanent bridge to the Great War Island.

[9] The environmentalists and urbanists are continuously against the permanent bridge to the island,[27][35] but city reiterated the construction plans in January 2022.

[36] In August 2023, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić said that the "place for the bridge has been already found", to connect Zemun and the Great War Island, and that he will "nominate" the idea to citizens.

[37] In January 2022, plans were announced for the creation of the theme Eupolis park along the quay, stretching from the Hotel Jugoslavija on the south, to the skyscraper on Karađorđe Square on the north.

[38][39] The area includes the locations of the Zemun Railway Station memorial ("collonettes"), amusement park, and children's playground ("castle").

Apart from green-blue park (greenery and water), the project includes a small building of an ecological educational center.

[2] In the neighborhood there are pedestrian paths or green areas used for recreation (including a large, formerly seasonal amusement park) and commercial facilities.

In 2015 the detailed regulatory plan which encompassed this project was adopted, despite the fierce opposition from the experts and public to the construction of the skyscrapers along the quay.

They were mostly fast food and take-out restaurants and grills, and their number continuously grew ("more fast-food venues than elements in Mendeleev's periodic table").

In many cases they are opened 24/7, and in time the social phenomenon developed - constant queues of people which spread along the street waiting for food day and night.

Architect Milun Stambolić designed a memorial complex which consists of five pillars, which used to hold the station's overhang, and several meters of railroad tracks.

The statue holding a sword, work of Hungarian sculptor István Madarasi, was unfavorably compared to the existing monuments to Hunyadi in Budapest and Romania.

Described as looking like a cartoon or a comic book character, it became a hit on social media, where people "guessed" who is actually represented by the statue: actors Zoran Radmilović (in his iconic Ubu Roi role) and Ljuba Moljac [sr], theatrical director Ljubiša Ristić [sr], DJ and radio host Marko Janković (radio host) [sr], cartoon, animated or literature characters Asterix, Sir Giles, Don Quixote and Tin Woodman, Joan of Arc with mustache, Kinder Surprise toy, etc.