EMERGENCE OF THE SETTLEMENT AND ITS NAME
The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century announced the emergence of the present-day settlement and the Municipality of Vozdovac. Around 1870, on the left bank of the Mokroluska River, which has long ago, as a part of the Belgrade sewage system, „gone“ under the ground, on the space of the present-day Autokomanda Square, a merchant Nikola Stefanovic built an inn. Soon thereafter, in its environs, along the Kragujevac and Kumodra` roads and between them, a small settlement emerged the first name of which was – „By the Stefanovic’s Inn“.
Remembering that actually from their area, from the place where Vozdovac church stands today, in 1806, Vozd (i.e. Grand Leader) Karadjordje had set off for the triumphant campaign against the Belgrade fortress, the inhabitants of the newly emerged suburb spontaneously started to use the name – Vozd’s settlement. In 1904, it actually became its official name and, in the course of time, it has been transformed into Vozdovac. The settlement initially spread, not towards Belgrade, but towards Kumodraz which was, probably, because of a lower price of the building land for an increasing number of people who, particularly after the construction of the Belgrade-Nis railroad line, started coming to Belgrade and stayed in it permanently.
Already by the end of the 19th century, Stefanovic’s estate was bought up by the Ministry of War. At the place of the Inn, facilities were erected for accommodation of guns and, therefore, the folks started designating this space as – Topovske Zupe (i.e. gun sheds), which designation actually remained until the guns were replaced by automobiles.
In 1912, Vozdovac inhabitants got electricity and the water supply system and, in 1926, a street car started operating from Slavija Square to Vozdovac. While, in 1896, only 42 Vozdovac houses had been registered, before the First World War, around 600 people had lived there in 95 households. At the time when the Avala road was constructed, in 1927, between the present-day Bulevar oslobodjenja and Bulevar Vojvode Stepe, with the loans from the Mortgage Bank, there started a planned construction of the Civil Servants’ Colony, and further to the south of it, the Suburb of Queen Marija (Mary) also emerged. In the period between the two world wars, Vozdovac settlements of Pasino brdo-Hill, Dusanovac, and Marinkova bara also popped up.
THE MUNICIPALITY AND ITS SYMBOLS
When, in 1856, at the time of the administrative and territorial organization of the Serbian state, Vracar County was formed, it included the entire territory of the present-day Municipality of Vozdovac, except for Zuce and Ripanj.
Less than a century later – in 1952, within the reorganization of Belgrade, which had up to then been divided into districts (former neighborhoods), municipalities were formed and, among them the today City Municipality of Vozdovac. On that occasion, the up-to-then 6th and 7th parts of the Belgrade districts became parts of it.
Three years later, in July 1955, Vozdovac Municipality was extended to include Beli Potok, Jajinci, Kumodraz, Pinosava, and Rakovica village, in the course of 1957, Pasino brdo-Hill and Dusanovac and, somewhat later, Zuce as well. In the beginning of 1960, Vozdovac was also joined by Ripanj. Thereby, the present-day borders of the Municipality were formed.
The coat of arms of the City Municipality of Vozdovac was adopted in 1993. The upper two quarterings of the shield are reminiscent of the coats of arms of Serbia and Sumadija which were on the flag of the rebels and on the seal of Vozd Karadjordje whose name the Municipality bears. The quartering with a double rose reminds of the green Vozdovac areas.
The right supporter of the shield is a black wild boar – the heraldic symbol of Sumadija, of which Vozdovac is the northern gate. The supporters support the flags of Belgrade and Karadjordje’s rebels, and the colors of the Serbian flag are also inwoven in the coat of arms.
The Municipality’s patron saint is the First-called Saint Andrew, which is marked on 13 December.