Jajinci

Jajinci (Serbian Cyrillic: Јајинци, pronounced [jâjiːntsi]) is an urban neighborhood located in the municipality of Voždovac, in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It was the site of the worst carnage in Serbia during World War II when German occupational forces executed nearly 80,000 people, many of them prisoners of the nearby Banjica concentration camp. Jewish women and children from German Sajmište concentration camp, killed in a special gas truck on their way to Belgrade were also buried here.

Location

Jajinci is located in the Lipnica creek valley. Once a small village far from downtown Belgrade, Jajinci today has grown into one continuous metropolitan area with the rest of the city. It borders the neighborhoods of Banjica on the north, Kumodraž on the east and Selo Rakovica on the south. The eastern border of the neighborhood is marked by the Jelezovac creek, which also forms a border with the municipality of Rakovica.

Characteristics

The settlement spreads from the central street, the Boulevard of Liebration, which starts in central Belgrade (the Slavija square). A former village and separate settlement, Jajinci is today a local community (mesna zajednica) within the municipality of Voždovac. Unlike neighboring Banjica, it was never developed with high modern buildings and remained a settlement of smaller, family houses, but did evolve from agricultural into a typical suburban area with most inhabitants working in Belgrade.

A large rasadnik (nursery garden) is located in the north of the neighborhood, and the "Jajinci" memorial park is in the southern section.

Mala Utrina

A western sub-settlement of Jajinci located along the lower course of the Lipovica creek, near where it flows into the Jelezovac. It is a direct extension of the rasadnik in the north.

Maxima

A southern sub-settlement of Jajinci. Because of luxury houses, mansions and villas, people call this part of Jajinci New Dedinje.

Population

Jajinci was a separate settlement until the 1970s when it was officially annexed into the Belgrade City Proper (uža teritorija grada). In the 20th century it experienced constant population growth until the 1990s. The Yugoslav Wars brought a large influx of refugees, and Jajinci continued to grow in the early 2000s. Population of Jajinci according to the official censuses of population (until 1971 as a separate settlement, since then as a local community in Belgrade):

• 1921 - 489
• 1931 - 922
• 1948 - 875
• 1953 - 1,080
• 1961 - 2,587
• 1971 - 3,811
• 1981 - 4,386
• 1991 - 4,136
• 2002 - 6,986

World War II

A former military shooting ground near Jajinci was used by the Nazis as an execution place for almost 80,000 people in the period between 1941–44, most of them Serbs and Jews. Many of them were prisoners, either Communists or public figures opposing the German occupation, from the Banjica concentration camp. A large memorial park, with a monument to the victims, was opened on October 20, 1964, marking the 20th anniversary of the Partisan army entering Belgrade.

References

• Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija, Third edition (1985); Prosveta; ISBN 86-07-00001-2
• Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije; Svjetlost-Sarajevo; ISBN 86-01-02651-6