Karaburma () is an urban neighborhood of the municipality of Palilula, Belgrade, Serbia. As of 2002, it has a population of 55,343 inhabitants.
Name
The name, Karaburma, is Turkish for black ring which is supposed to mean that the area was forbidden, that is, it should be avoided by people. However, this may be an example of folk etymology as the old Ottoman and Austrian maps name the area Kajaburun (Kaya-burun) which is Turkish for rocky headland.
Chronicler Milan Milićević confirms this, using also the name Kajaburma as the mid-variant of the name, referring to Karaburma as the "nose" of the hill which descends into the Danube.
Geography
Karaburma was geographically a headland peaking into the Danube. It was the ending section ("nose" or "point") of the Great Vračar hill, today called Zvezdara, which descended in slopes where modern neighborhoods of Karaburma and Ćalije are today, plunging into the river.
When the neighboring island of Ada Huja was connected to the mainland thus becoming a peninsula, Karaburma's area on the right bank of Danube also became known as Ada Huja, so Karaburma is now a few hundred meters away from the river.
In the expansion of the population of jackals in the outskirts of Belgrade since the 2000s, the animals were reported in Karaburma in the spring of 2022.
History
Antiquity
The oldest settlement known by name on the territory of modern Belgrade was found in the Karaburma area. Remains of the Celtic (and later Roman) settlement of Singidunum were found near Karaburma and neighboring Rospi Ćuprija, including necropolis (Horseman's grave 16) rich in artifacts and parts of dunum, fortress, so it is believed that the settlement itself was located here. These remains represent a limited archaeological evidence as there were almost no traces left of the Celtic town, except for them. The necropolises contained valuable artistic artifacts which belonged to the warriors of the Scordisci tribe. An apparent Celtic cultural influences have been woven into the spiritual culture of the Singidunum inhabitants, and later mixed with Roman classical cultural elements.
Though it is today generally considered that the old Celtic fortress was located where the modern Belgrade Fortress is, it can't be confirmed as there are no records of where the Celts settled. Some historians suggested that it was rather close to the necropolises in Karaburma and Rospi Ćuprija. Celtic settlements belonged to the La Tène culture.
In the area bounded by the modern Karaburma, Rospi Ćuprija and, at that time island, Ada Huja, Romans cultivated grapevines and used thermal springs for public bathhouses.
Later period
For centuries area was a true swamp with vast quick clay areas so it was avoided by humans ever since the Roman period. Today non-existing thermal springs along the Danube's bank fumed and heated the water so the swamp was in constant mist. In the 19th century Serbian prince Miloš Obrenović ordered that Karaburma will be the official place of death sentences executions (until 1912) which just added to the notoriety of the area.
Until Belgrade's expansion after the World War I, Karaburma was sparsely inhabited with small and scattered shanty towns. Today it is a modern neighborhood 10 minutes away from downtown Belgrade with good transportation connections.
Before the joint German-Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia in World War I, Austro-Hungarian army temporarily entered Belgrade, from 3 to 14 December 1914. Already on 4 December they erected gallows in Karaburma for hanging civilians, so as in several other locations around the town.
Interbellum
A whole string of new neighborhoods encircled eastern outskirts of Belgrade, with names usually containing "suburb" and some member of the royal family. These original names either never became popular or were suppressed after World War II and replaced. The inspiration for the design of the neighborhoods came from the complex built in 1912 along the in Paris. It consisted of 40 one-floor houses with gardens, indented from the main street. This style became very popular across the Europe. Two such suburbs originated on territory of modern Karaburma, Suburb of King Alexander Karađorđević and Suburb of Prince Paul Karađorđević.