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, but 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 swamp with vast
quick clay areas and was avoided by humans ever since the
Roman period.Thermal springs along the Danube's bank, that no longer exist, 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 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, the Austro-Hungarian army temporarily entered Belgrade, from 3 to 14 December 1914. By 4 December they erected gallows in Karaburma for hanging civilians, as they had in several other locations around the town.
Interwar period During the interwar period a 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 were built on tthe erritory of modern Karaburma, Suburb of King Alexander Karađorđević and Suburb of Prince Paul Karađorđević. The rapid development of Karaburma during the
Interwar Period is link to the development of the textile industry and the business enterprises of the Ilić family, especially
Vlada Ilić who was an industrialist and mayor of Belgrade from 1935 to 1939. After acquiring a cloth factory in 1906 in Karaburma, Ilić sequestered a room and adapted it into the school for the children of his workers. He personally paid the teacher's wages. As the factory complex expanded and number of workers grew, the provisional school became too small, so Ilić rented the upper floor of the nearby
Lavadinović kafana, still fully financed by him. The local population objected that a school and kafana share a building. Ilić then purchased a lot, some away and built a proper school while the old one remained in use until 1933. Named elementary school "Cloth Factory Ilić", it was built from his donations in 1923. It has been renamed "Jovan Cvijić" in 1931, a name it still bears today. During Ilić's tenure as a mayor, the King Peter II Bridge (today the
Pančevo Bridge) across the Danube was built and opened on 27 October 1935, right at the western edge of Karaburma. A section of railway origination from the
Belgrade Main railway station, which encircled the central ridge of the city along the rivers, continued over to the King Peter II Bridge when it was constructed. Ilić also built apartments in Karaburma for his employees, and even his villa was built on a location close to his factories, in the more westernly neighborhood of
Viline Vode. After the war Ilić was imprisoned and his companies nationalized by the new Communist government. Well known post-war Serbian state owned textile companies, like
Beteks,
Beko and
Vunarski kombinat, some of which were located in Karaburma, developed from Ilić's factories. Another person who worked on development of Karaburma in this period was deputy mayor Viktor Krstić. He conducted the waterworks in the neighborhood, though only for the public service at first, and built 4 drinking fountains in Karaburma in 1932. He also organized the paving of the streets with
kaldrma, a type of
cobblestone. On one of the fountains, the inhabitants of Karaburma placed a memorial plaque, thanking Krstić for bringing the water in the neighborhood. None of the fountains survive today. A another mall, Big Fashion Park, was opened in this complex in December 2019. == Location ==