Jazero (The Lake)

The periphery = the centre, the centre = the periphery.

 

“Jazero” (‘the Lake’) is the slang name for the southern district of the city properly called “Nad Jazerom” (‘Above the Lake’), dominated by the lake to such an extent that the entire district derives its name from it. The suburban quarter is connected to the centre by a fifteen minute tram ride and a well-kept cycle and skate path. 

 

Jazero has a spa-resort feel, despite the eight to twelve storey tower-blocks that make up its architecture. A surplus of greenery and a comparatively generous allowance for space in between the buildings (when compared to other urbanist jewels present within the city), ensure the district is in harmony with the large body of water, the river and the near-by heating plant. The sleepy peripheral district is given an urban feel by the tram route that winds along its western side.

 

From the end of the winter until late autumn, Jazero is the destination of choice for all worshippers of kalokagathia. In-line skaters, joggers, swimmers, cyclists, fishermen, mothers and expecting mothers, flock in from all around the city to make use of the natural beaches, seasonal bistros and bars, the smooth tarmac, water bicycles and all the sport and entertainment infrastructure the place has to offer. For the quarter’s inhabitants who commute for work, the attractiveness of their district must come as a pleasant satisfaction.

 

A portion of the lake is reserved for water-skiing and wakeboarding. Their popularity as sunny-day pastimes for the city’s population grows exponentially each year. The organised sports clubs, affordable prices, top riders and the resort’s ideal location secure its infinite popularity.

 

Moving away from the lake and crossing the tram tracks, you will see a completely different side of the Jazero district. A mill, a machinery-producing factory, water towers and warehouses, all in a greater or lesser state of deterioration, balance out the quarter’s green side. Twenty years ago, the unfinished buildings and the tarmac roads leading to them carried a promise of prosperity, self-sufficiency and employment. The wild bushes, the hundreds of miniature waste dumps and the chaotically arranged plots of land, do not, in all likelihood, amount to a fulfillment of this promise – however, any attempt at civilizing this corner of the earth would rob it of its soul.