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",[1] Zvezdara forest bears the moniker "left lung of the city".

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.

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.

[3][4] In the 19th century the foothills were not urbanized and, being far from the city center, were used by the Belgraders as a resort and picnic area, named Baba Ružin kraj ("Grandma Ruža's neighborhood").

King Peter I of Serbia wanted to build his royal court on the hill but was persuaded not to do so because it would be easily accessed from the Danube'd direction in the case of war.

After the World War I the hill was covered with meadows, vineyards and many brickyards and the neighborhood at the foothills of Veliki Vračar began to develop, mostly a modest settlements of the farmers and wage earners.

The observatory was originally called zvezdara ("star-house") in Serbian, so the hill and the developing suburban area of Belgrade around it was named that way soon.

In time, Latinism opservatorija replaced zvezdara, which in turn completely disappeared from spoken language as such, but remained as a name of Belgrade's neighborhood.

After the construction of the observatory, the forest creation began in 1933, making a unique artificially created green zone in Belgrade's urban tissue.

Patches of the northern section are urbanized, forming a neighborhood of Zvezdara II (especially along the Dragoslava Srejovića street).

It is supposed to be the 900 m (3,000 ft) long forested esplanade which would connect the Volgina street and the FC Mladi proleter stadium with the roundabout in the neighborhood of Bogoslovija.

[2] Herbaceous plants are typical for this area: sweetscented bedstraw, wood avens, white dead-nettle, yellow archangel, cleavers and blackberries.

By 2021, a total of 77 species was recorded in the forest, including nightingale, Eurasian blackcap, great tit, common blackbird, and black woodpecker.

[11] Protected mammal species are northern white-breasted hedgehog (which has been chosen as the symbol of the forest)[12] and European mole.