Smederevo

"Semendria" redirects here. For the Bulgarian wine grape also known as Semendria, see Dimiat.

Smederevo Смедерево
City and municipality
City of Smederevo
Smederevo
Coat of arms
Location of the municipality of Smederevo within Serbia
Coordinates:
Country	Serbia
District	Podunavlje
Settlements	28
Government
• Mayor	Jasna Avramović (PZS)
Area
• Municipality	484 km2 (187 sq mi)
Population (2011 census)
• Town	64,175
• Municipality	108,209
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	11300
Area code	+381 26
Car plates	SD
Website	www.smederevo.org.rs

Smederevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Смедерево, pronounced [smêderevo]) is a city in Serbia, on the right bank of the Danube, about 45 kilometres (28 miles) downstream of the capital Belgrade. According to official results of the 2011 census, the city has a population of 64,105, and 108,209 people live in its administrative area. Smederevo is the seat of the Podunavlje District.

Its history starts in the 1st century BC, with the conquerings of the Roman Empire, when there existed a town called Vinceia. The modern city traces its roots back to the late Middle Ages when it was the capital (1430–1439 and 1444–1459) of the last independent Serbian state before the Ottoman conquest.

Name

In Serbian, the city is known as Smederevo (Смедерево), in Latin, Romanian and Greek as Semendria, in Hungarian as Szendrő or Vég-Szendrő, in Turkish as Semendire. The name of Smederevo was first recorded in the Charter of the Byzantine Emperor Basil II from 1019, in the part related to the Eparchy of Braničevo in Ohrid Bishopry. Another written record is found in the Charter of the Duke Lazar from 1381 by which he bestowed the Monastery of Ravanica and villages and properties ’to the Great Bogosav with the commune and heritage’’.

Coat of Arms

Smederevo Coat of Arms uses two shades of blue, which differs from the heraldic principles. Also, the bar with the year 1430 is placed over the shield, which is unusual. Emblem elements are six white discs arranged 3 + 2 + 1, which represents grapes, Smederevo fortress, dark blue and white horizontal lines (representing the Danube)

History

Main article: History of Serbia

Early

Main articles: Prehistoric Serbia and Roman Serbia

In the 7th millennium BC, the Starčevo culture existed for a millennia, succeeded by the 6th millennium BC Vinča culture that prospered in the region.

The Paleo-Balkan tribes of Dacians and Thracians emerged in the area in the 2nd millennia BC, with the Celtic Scordisci raiding the Balkans in the 3rd century BC.

The Roman Empire conquered Vinceia in the 1st century BC. It was organized into Moesia, later Moesia Superior, and in the administrative reforms of Diocletian (244–311) it was part of the Diocese of Moesia, then the Diocese of Dacia. It was a principal town of Moesia Superior, near the confluence of Margus and Brongus (Morava rivers, between Mons Aureus and Margum).

Middle Ages

Main article: History of Medieval Serbia

The modern founder of the city was the Serbian prince Đurađ Branković in the 15th century, who built Smederevo Fortress in 1430 as the new Serbian capital. Smederevo was the residence of Branković and the capital of Serbia from 1430 until 1439, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire after a siege lasting two months.

Sanjak of Smederevo

In 1444, in accordance with the terms of the Peace of Szeged between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire the Sultan returned Smederevo to Đurađ Branković, who was allied to John Hunyadi. On 22 August 1444 the Serb prince peacefully took possession of the evacuated town.

When Hunyadi broke the peace treaty, Đurađ Branković remained neutral. Serbia became a battleground between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottomans, and the angry Branković captured Hunyadi after his defeat at the Second Battle of Kosovo in 1448. Hunyadi was imprisoned in Smederevo fortress for a short time.

Inside Smederevo Fortress

In 1454 Sultan Mehmed II besieged Smederevo and devastated Serbia. The town was liberated by Hunyadi. In 1459 Smederevo was again captured by the Ottomans after the death of Branković. The town became a Turkish border-fortress, and played an important part in Ottoman–Hungarian Wars until 1526. Because of its strategic location, Smederevo was gradually rebuilt and enlarged. For a long period, the town was the capital of the Sanjak of Smederevo.

In autumn 1476 a joint army of Hungarians and Serbs tried to capture the fortress from the Ottomans. They built three wooden counter-fortresses, but after months of siege Sultan Mehmed II himself came to drive them away. After fierce fighting the Hungarians agreed to withdraw.

In 1494 Pál Kinizsi tried to capture Smederevo from the Ottomans but he was stricken with palsy and died. In 1512 John Zápolya unsuccessfully laid siege to the town.

Modern

During the First Serbian Uprising in 1806, the city became the temporary capital of Serbia, as well as the seat of the Praviteljstvujušči sovjet, a government headed by Dositej Obradović. The first basic school was founded in 1806.

During World War II, the city was occupied by German forces, who stored ammunition in the fortress. On June 5, 1941 a catastrophic explosion severely damaged the fortress and killed thousands of people in the city.

Panorama of the city along the Danube coast

Settlements

Church of Saint George

Aside the city of Smederevo, the municipality includes the following 27 settlements:

Badljevica Binovac Dobri Do Drugovac Kolari Kulič Landol Lipe Lugavčina

Lunjevac Mala Krsna Malo Orašje Mihajlovac Osipaonica Petrijevo Radinac Ralja Šalinac

Saraorci Seone Skobalj Suvodol Udovice Vodanj Vranovo Vrbovac Vučak

Economy

Smederevo has a history of heavy industry and manufacturing. The city is home to the only operating steel mill in the country - Železara Smederevo. The steel mill, previously known as Sartid, was privatized and sold to the U.S. Steel in 2003 for $33 million. Following the global economic crisis, U.S. Steel sold the plant to the government of Serbia for a symbolic $1 to avoid closing the plant. The plant was renamed Železara Smederevo and employs about 5,400 workers.

The "Milan Blagojević" home appliance factory is the second most important factory in the city. Smederevo is also an agricultural area, with significant production of fruit and vines. However, the large agricultural combine "Godomin" has been in financial difficulty since the 1990s and is almost defunct as of 2005. The grape variety known as Smederevka is named after the city. The "Ishrana" factory is an important supplier of bakery products in northern and eastern Serbia.

U.S.-Dutch consortium Comico Oil planned to build a $250 million oil refinery in the industrial zone of the city in 2012. However, the consortium lost its permit to build the refinery after it failed to meet payment deadlines for the land lease a year later.

River traffic

Infrastructure of the river traffic of the Municipality of Smederevo consists of Danube waterway, old port, marina, new port, terminal for liquid Jugopetrol loads, as well as smaller piers (gravel pits) which are located along the bank in the industrial zone.

The port is registered for international traffic and is located in the very center of the City. It has reloading capacities which can realize 1.5 millions of freight tons a year. The Municipality has significant development options in the area of river traffic, freight and passenger alike.

Demographics

"Karađorđe's mulberry", under which Karađorđe received the city keys during the 1805 uprising.

Hotel Grand – Regija

In the 2011 census, there was 108,209 residents in the municipality, of which 101,908 were Serbs, 2,369 were Romani people.

Population through history

• 1805. : 4,000 (estimate)
• 1834. : 3,907
• 1874. : 8,343
• 1884. : 6,600
• 1900. : 7,141
• 1905. : 7,097
• 1910. : 7,411
• 1921. : 8,500
• 1931. : 10,500
• 1941. : 11,500
• 1948. : 14,206
• 1953. : 18,328
• 1961. : 27,182
• 1971. : 40,192
• 1981. : 55,369
• 1991. : 63,884
• 2002. : 62,805
• 2011. : 64,175

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly won in the 2012 local elections:

• "Movement for Smederevo" dr Jasna Avramović (citizens group) – 20
• Democratic Party – 12
• Socialist Party of Serbia and United Serbia – 10
• Serbian Progressive Party, New Serbia, Party of United Pensioners of Serbia and Socialist Movement – 9
• "Coalition for better Smederevo" Milan Lukić (citizens group) – 6
• United Regions of Serbia – 5
• Liberal Democratic Party and Serbian Renewal Movement – 4
• Democratic Party of Serbia – 4

Twin towns

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Serbia

Smederevo is twinned with:

• Pale, Bosnia Herzegovina
• Volos, Greece
• Herceg Novi, Montenegro

See also

• Municipalities of Serbia
• Cities and towns in Serbia
• Populated places of Serbia
• Smederevo Fortress
• Smederevo Airport

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 

External links

• City of Smederevo
• Virtual tour of Smederevo
• Regional Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments in Smederevo
• Tourist Organization of Smederevo
• Smederevo’s Autumn