Grocka (, ) or Grocka na Dunavu (, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has 82,810 inhabitants.
Location and geography
The municipality is located east of Belgrade, in the northern part of Šumadija region, with the northern section being part of the Podunavlje macro-region in the valley of the Danube, while the southern section is located around the valley of the Ralja River, which is a tributary to the Velika Morava's arm of Jezava. With an altitude of 71 meters above sea level, the town of Grocka is one of the lowest parts of Belgrade.Politika, April 20, 2008, front page Other rivers in the municipality are Bolečica and Gročica. Being polluted, by 2019 the environmentalists described both rivers as "less of a watercourses, more of a sewage watersheds".
History During the late Ottoman period, there existed the Belgrade nahiya and Grocka nahiya. The Belgrade nahiya included the knežine (Serb self-governing village groups) of Posavina and Kolubara, while the Grocka nahiya included the knežine of Podunavlje and Kosmaj. They were all united into a single Belgrade nahiya which became the Belgrade okrug with the Gročanski srez (srez of Grocka) and Vračarski srez (srez of Vračar).
The municipality of Grocka became part of the wider Belgrade City area in 1955. In 1957 with the dissolution of the Mali Mokri Lug municipality, the eastern section (the villages of Kaluđerica, Leštane and Vinča) were attached to Grocka. In the early 1960s, the municipalities of Umčari and Vrčin were disbanded and incorporated into the municipality of Grocka as well.
Settlements The municipality of Grocka covers an area of 289 km2 and includes 15 settlements, all of which are statistically classified as rural, except for the municipal seat of Grocka, which is urban. The small town of Grocka is located on the right bank of the Danube, where the small river Gročica empties into the Danube, 30 km east of Belgrade. Despite being the seat of the municipality, in terms of population, it is only the fourth largest settlement in the municipality, after Kaluđerica, Vrčin and Leštane.
Begaljica Boleč Brestovik Dražanj Grocka Kaluđerica Kamendol Leštane Pudarci Ritopek Umčari Vinča Vrčin Zaklopača Živkovac
Neighborhoods of Vrčin:
Adamovići Bajića Kraj Carino Naselje Cerje Donja Mala Gornja Mala Jankovići Malo Polje Pobrđani Ramnice Tranšped Karagača Kasapovac
Demographics
According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a population of 82,810 inhabitants. Due to immigration and the natural increase of all of the city's municipalities, Grocka has been for decades one of the fastest growing areas of Belgrade. The population boomed in the last 50 years, increasing the number of inhabitants (1971–2022 by 2.35 times). As in other similar areas surrounding Belgrade, the rapid population growth has not been followed by the equal development of infrastructure (roads, waterworks, sewage system, and waste disposal).
Ethnic groups The ethnic composition of the municipality: Ethnic group Population PercentSerbs75,73591.46%Romani7510.91%Gorani3940.48%Macedonians2750.33%Bulgarians1300.16%Muslims1200.14%Yugoslavs1200.14%Croats880.11%Montenegrins850.1%Russians840.1%Bosniaks720.09%Vlachs460.06%Romanians400.05%Hungarians350.04%Slovaks200.02%Albanians180.02%Ukrainians130.02%Others1850.22%Undeclared/Unknown4,5995.55%Total82,810
Economy In both demographic and economic terms, the municipality is sharply divided into two opposing parts. The western part extends into one urban area with Belgrade, experiencing a boost of both population and economy, as hundreds of small companies are located there (Kaluđerica, Boleč, Leštane, Vinča, Ritopek are some), while the eastern part is agricultural, in particular a fruit growing area, and, apart from the town of Grocka itself, experiencing a net decline in population.
The microclimate is perfect for fruit growing and grapevines. The area east of Boleč is one of the best known fruit growing areas in Serbia. Fruit growing developed in the late 19th century and Grocka, Boleč, Ritopek, Zaklopača, Begaljica and Brestovik became known as the "Serbian California" or "Little California", producing apples, peaches, apricots, plums, and grapes. Ritopek became a major producer of cherries. Production reduced since the 2000s but the capacity of the orchards is 65,000 tons of fruit per year. In 2017 orchards spread over the area of , or almost a quarter of the municipal total area, reaching by 2020.
Grocka is also known as the "Serbian cherry capital" as the cherry survived as the major crop. Cultivation was introduced by Jovan J. Jovanović, gynecologist of queen Draga and pioneer of reproductive health in Serbia. Jovanović noticed vast orchards and organized fruit production during his studying in Austria-Hungary. Austrian experts surveyed the land, which Jovanović wanted to be close to Belgrade, as the largest market in the state. Taking in account soil structure and climate, they suggested slopes above the Danube in Grocka. He purchased the land in 1906 from the Grocka municipality which was in debts due to the renovation of the Holy Trinity church. The municipality decided to sell numerous parcels, remnants of the former Turkish estates. Jovanović outbid one of the wealthiest Grocka families, the Bećagović. The lots were located in the localities of Rupe and Kozjak, at the entrance into Grocka. From 1906 to 1908 he planted 7,000 trees on , forming the largest ever cherry plantation in the Balkans.
Prior to that, cherry was cultivated only in some individual yards in the Grocka area, and this was beginning of the plantation-type fruit production in Serbia in general. Jovanović introduced varieties like hedelfingen, germersdorf and early Lyonnaise, but the names were hard to pronounce for the local farmers so they gave them Serbian names which survived, herc (heart shaped), kerminka (red juice) and doktorka (doctor's cherry), after Jovanović, respectively. Local farmers accepted cherry cautiously at first, planting the trees on the arable lots edges, to make shade. Then they planted it jointly with the grapevine but by the 1920s the cherry began to squeeze out other crops and the formation of the cherry nurseries began. From Grocka, cultivation spread to the nearby Ritopek which is today the major production center. After World War II, the new Communist authorities nationalized Jovanović's land, divided it and awarded the lots to the landless. However, few years later the state nationalized the land again, with one part being re-parceled and sold, while the "PIK Grocka", agricultural farm was formed on the other. By the 1950s, the production in Grocka outgrew demand of Belgrade farmers markets and the export began. On the sold parcels, the weekend-settlement developed. Still, the fruit-growing remains the vastly predominant agricultural branch. Out of all registered agricultural farms and economies, 90%, or some 3,000, are producing fruits.
Unlike cherry, which is fairly recent in the region, the grapevine has been cultivated since the Roman period. The hilly slopes above the Danube, with excellent climate for the grapes, extend from Grocka to Smederevo. In the early modern and modern period, if a landowner or a farmer wanted to be considered successful and distinguished, he had to own his own vineyard. The cluster of white grapes is represented on Grocka's coat of arms. Belgrade and Vienna are the only two European capitals which have grapevines and vineyards with geographical indication on their territories. Those vineyards are organic - the grapevines are treated minimally (with bluestone, without pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or artificial fertilizers), the land is not being plowed or disc harrowed, instead only the organic compost is being poured between the vines. Around and inside the vineyards various medicinal herbs and even weeds, are planted. The certified organic wine is made from the grapes cultivated at the Plavinci locality.
Of the other agricultural products, wheat is the most important. The experimental farm of Radmilovac is located near Vinča, as a section of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Agriculture. Radmilovac is being expanded as an experimental ground for future agricultural production.
As a result of this, industrial processing of the fruit is developed in Grocka, Vinča and Boleč, where the large plantations and refrigeration plants of the agricultural company PKB Beograd are located. Also, several mills are located in Grocka and Vinča.
The textile industry is also important (Grocka, Dunav factory, aka:Partizanka), while hundreds of small family-owned factories and workshops are located in the settlements in the western part of the municipality.
Some major traffic routes, like the "Smederevski put" ("Smederevo road") and both the Belgrade-Niš railway and highway, pass through the municipal territory. Also, there are several docks on the Danube (Vinča, Grocka) with the prospect of a future marina to be built in Grocka in the next few years.
Other important facilities in the municipality are the Geomagnetic observatory in Brestovik, the Nuclear Institute (with a defunct nuclear reactor) and the Belgrade City landfill in Vinča.
Tourism is the most developed part of the municipal economy. Almost every village has its own summer festival (like "Zlatni kotlić" ("Golden Cauldron") in Grocka or Dani trešnje (Days of the cherry) in Ritopek. The women's monastery of Rajinovac in Begaljica, the possible marina and aqua park in Grocka and the archeological find of Vinča culture are potential opportunities to boost the tourist economy.
The game hunting grounds of Gavranski Potok ("Raven's Creek") are in the municipality.
One of the main characteristics of Grocka are weekend-settlements, mostly built by the inhabitants of Belgrade. Booming in the 1970s and 1980s, the building of weekend-houses largely stopped in the 1990s. In the 1980s, having a weekend-house in Grocka was a matter of prestige. It is estimated that there are 4,000 such houses in the municipality in several settlements. The largest settlements are Rujište on the slope above the Danube in Grocka itself with 200 houses and Ritopek with 300. The weekend-settlement of Čair, at the entrance into Grocka, is developing into a regular neighborhood.
The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2022): Activity TotalAgriculture, forestry and fishing26Mining and quarrying44Manufacturing3,111Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply73Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities344Construction1,560Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles3,848Transportation and storage1,121Accommodation and food services464Information and communication290Financial and insurance activities60Real estate activities15Professional, scientific and technical activities1,491Administrative and support service activities277Public administration and defense; compulsory social security569Education976Human health and social work activities881Arts, entertainment and recreation145Other service activities349Individual agricultural workers475Total16,120
Politics Since the elections in 2000, Grocka became the most politically turbulent of all Belgrade municipalities. Recent Presidents of the Municipality: 1992 - 1995 - Bogoljub Stevanić (1943) 1995 - November 24, 2000 - Milan Janković (1954) November 24, 2000 - June 28, 2002 - Vesna R. Ivić (1962) June 28, 2002 - December 8, 2002 - Milan Tanasković December 8, 2002 - April 15, 2003 - Sava Starčević (1955) April 15, 2003 - December 15, 2004 - Vladan Zarić (1972) December 15, 2004 - June 23, 2005 - Blažo Stojanović June 23, 2005 - November 4, 2005 - Dragoljub Simonović (1959) November 4, 2005 - June 12, 2008 - Blažo Stojanović (second term)