The confluence of the rivers Sava and Belgrade belongs to the New Belgrade district. It is a green area of the city where popular events like concerts, festivals, car-races and such are often held. The entire area called Confluence (Usce) occupies the northeast part of New Belgrade and is bordered by the two rivers, Branko’s bridge and the Mihailo Pupin boulevard. North of the confluence, across the way from Danube there are the Small and Big War islands while in the east, across Sava, there is the Kalemegdan park with the Belgrade fort. Located in the south are the old fair grounds which used to be a German concentration camp and is the oldest part of New Belgrade.

Foto: Milena Arsenić

The construction and arranging of this area were initiated as part of the post-war construction of the New Belgrade district. When the works were initiated on 11th of April in 1948, a memorial tablet was set at the confluence with an inscription written by Cedomir Minderovic that reads:
“When the time comes when New Belgrade stands here, built with intent, determination and love, by the will and hands of the workers, youth and the people, let this tablet remind of the day 11th of April 1948. Three years after the end of the People’s liberation battles, the preparation for the beginning of the new, workers’ battle in the efforts for the happiness and bliss of the people. On that day the working people and youth of all the peoples of Yugoslavia worked to build New Belgrade, expand their beloved capitol city of the state of equal nations, to make it larger and more beautiful, the city from which the Yugoslav Communist party, led by comrade Tito, led the uprising, to create another everlasting mention of the victorious fight for liberty of our people, led into the Socialism by marshal Tito in a state built by the people themselves.

Foto: Milena Arsenić

The confluence area is not residential, but rather a green area dominated by cultural objects such as the palace “Serbia”, the Contemporary Art Museum, the “Usce” mall and business center, Serbia’s military objects, popular Confluence restaurant and the large Park of friendship.
The park of Friendship, that is to say the idea of it, originated in 1961 when the thought was born of the visiting foreign officials planting a “tree of friendship” in the park. In time this tradition created a tree-filled area, contributed to among others by: queen Elizabeth II, Joseph Broz Tito, Indira Gandhi, Jimmy Carter, Kim Il Sung, the emperor Haile Selassie, Mikhail Gorbachev, Richard Nixon, Fidel Castro, Jawaharlal Nehru, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Todor Zivkov, Nicolai Chauchesku and many others.
Also located in the park is the “Eternal flame” monument which was built to commemorate the anniversary of the end of the bombings on 12th of June 2000, as a monument to the victims of the Nato attack. The lyrics of the song Yugoslavia are written on the front.
Manifestations in the Confluence are held mostly in the large plateau which is about 10ha large. Held here yearly are all sorts of events, including concerts, festivals, cultural manifestations and such. One of the most famous ones is the “Beer fest” which was previously held in Kalemegdan until one young man, under the influence of alcohol, jumped into the bear cage in the Belgrade zoo.

Foto: Milena Arsenić