Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and the administrative center of the
Podunavlje District
The Podunavlje District ( sr, Подунавски округ, Podunavski okrug, ) is one of nine administrative districts of Southern and Eastern Serbia. It expands across the central parts of Serbia. According to the 2011 census results, it ha ...
in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
, about downstream of the Serbian capital,
Belgrade.
According to the 2011 census, the city has a population of 64,105, with 108,209 people living in its administrative area.
Its history starts in the 1st century BC, after the conquest of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
, when there existed a settlement by the name of ''Vinceia''. The modern city traces its roots back to the
Late Middle Ages when it was the capital (1430–39, and 1444–59) of the last
independent Serbian state before
Ottoman conquest.
Smederevo is said to be the city of
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
( sr, / ) and
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...
s ().
Names
In
Serbian, the city is known as ''Smederevo'' (Смедерево), in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
Romanian and
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
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
Eparchy of Braničevo is one of the eparchies of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with the seat at Braničevo, Serbia. Since 1994, it is headed by bishop Ignatije Midić.
History
It is mentioned for the first time in 878 as a bishopric. It contin ...
(a
suffragan diocese of the
Archdiocese of Ochrid. Another written record is found in the Charter of Duke
Lazar of Serbia from 1381, by which he bestowed the
Monastery of Ravanica and villages and properties 'to the Great Bogosav with the commune and heritage'’.
The Latin-Italian name also occurs in
Belogradum et Semendria and
Belgrado e Semendria, two of the short-lived 20th-century synonyms of the Latin
titular bishopric
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
of Belgrade, which was suppressed in 1948 in favor of the residential Latin
Archdiocese of Belgrade (Beograd) and 'newly' established titular bishopric of
Alba Marittima.
Coat of arms
Smederevo Coat of Arms uses two shades of blue, which deviates from the
heraldic principles (only one shade of every color, contrasting those). Also, the bar with the year 1430 is placed over the shield. Emblem elements are six white discs arranged 3 + 2 + 1, which represents grapes,
Smederevo Fortress, dark blue and white horizontal lines (representing the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
).
History
Early
In the 7th millennium BC, the
Starčevo culture
The Starčevo culture is an archaeological culture of Southeastern Europe, dating to the Neolithic period between ''c.'' 6200 and 4500 BCE. It originates in the spread of the Neolithic package of peoples and technological innovations including fa ...
existed for a millennia, succeeded by the 6th millennium BC
Vinča culture
The Vinča culture (), also known as Turdaș culture or Turdaș–Vinča culture, is a Neolithic archaeological culture of Southeast Europe, dated to the period 5700–4500 BC or 5300–4700/4500 BC.. Named for its type site, Vinča-Belo Brdo, ...
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 B.C.
The
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
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'' rivers.
Middle Ages
The modern founder of the city was the Serbian
Despot Đurađ Branković in the 15th century, who built
Smederevo Fortress in 1430 as the new Serbian capital. Smederevo was the residence of the Branković house and the capital of the
Serbian Despotate from 1430 until 1439, when it was conquered by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
after a siege lasting two months.
Sanjak of Smederevo
In 1444, in accordance with the terms of the
Peace of Szeged
The Treaty of Edirne and the Peace of Szeged were two halves of a peace treaty between Sultan Murad II of the Ottoman Empire and King Vladislaus of the Kingdom of Hungary. Despot Đurađ Branković of the Serbian Despotate was a party to the ...
between the
Kingdom of Hungary and the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
the Sultan returned Smederevo to
Đurađ Branković, who was allied to
John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...
.
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.
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. Due to its strategic location, Smederevo was gradually rebuilt and enlarged. For a long period, the town was the capital of the
Sanjak of Smederevo
The Sanjak of Smederevo ( tr, Semendire Sancağı; sr, / ), also known in historiography as the Pashalik of Belgrade ( tr, Belgrad Paşalığı; sr, / ), was an Ottoman administrative unit (sanjak), that existed between the 15th and the out ...
.
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
}; ro, Paul Chinezu; 1432–1494) was a Hungarian general in the service of Hungarian army under king Matthias Corvinus. He was the Count of Temes County (in the historical Banat region, in the Kingdom of Hungary now part of Romania and Serb ...
tried to capture Smederevo from the Ottomans. In 1512
John Zápolya
John Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, Szapolyai/ Zápolya János, hr, Ivan Zapolja, ro, Ioan Zápolya, sk, Ján Zápoľský; 1490/91 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Fer ...
unsuccessfully laid siege to the town.
Modern
During the
First Serbian Uprising
The First Serbian Uprising ( sr, Prvi srpski ustanak, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; tr, Birinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was an uprising of Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1 ...
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 5 June 1941, a
catastrophic explosion severely damaged the fortress, killing nearly 2,000 residents.
After World War II, Smederevo became an industrial and cultural center of
Podunavlje District
The Podunavlje District ( sr, Подунавски округ, Podunavski okrug, ) is one of nine administrative districts of Southern and Eastern Serbia. It expands across the central parts of Serbia. According to the 2011 census results, it ha ...
. Under the overall industrial development of
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...
, the city received a boost in infrastructure. Due to the ideal geographical position of Smederevo, socialist government supported building of roads, apartment buildings and tens of factories.
Some of the most notable factories built and renewed in period between 1950s until the end of 1980s were Zelvoz (Heroj Srba during the period of
SFRJ
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...
), renewed in 1966. and a new steel plant built on outskirts of Smederevo at that time,
Sartid (MKS during the period of
SFRJ
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...
) which was completely operational in 1971.
Settlements
Aside the city of Smederevo, the administrative area includes the following 27
settlements (number of population according to 2011 census in brackets
):
*
Badljevica (374)
*
Binovac (428)
*
Dobri Do (971)
*
Drugovac (1,566)
*
Kolari
Kolari is a municipality of Finland at the Swedish border, which follows the Torne River, the longest free-flowing river in Europe.
It is located in the region of Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of whic ...
(1,089)
*
Kulič (232)
*
Landol (1,141)
*
Lipe (3,077)
*
Lugavčina (3,078)
*
Lunjevac (563)
*
Mala Krsna (1,552)
*
Malo Orašje (994)
*
Mihajlovac (2,656)
*
Osipaonica (3,560)
*
Petrijevo (1,451)
*
Radinac (5,428)
*
Ralja (1,209)
*
Šalinac
Šalinac is a village in the Municipalities of Serbia, municipality of Smederevo, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 985 people.Popis stanovništva, domaćinstava i Stanova 2002. Knjiga 1: Nacionalna ili etnička ...
(558)
*
Saraorci
Saraorci is a village in the municipality of Smederevo, Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the ...
(2,107)
*
Seone (955)
*
Skobalj (1,614)
*
Suvodol (788)
*
Udovice
Udovice is a village in the Municipalities of Serbia, municipality of Smederevo, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 2018 people.Popis stanovništva, domaćinstava i Stanova 2002. Knjiga 1: Nacionalna ili etničk ...
(1,837)
*
Vodanj
Vodanj is a village in the municipality of Smederevo
Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about ...
(1,206)
*
Vranovo (2,690)
*
Vrbovac (1,020)
*
Vučak (1,890)
Demographics
Economy
Smederevo has a recent history of
heavy industry
Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
and
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...
, which is a result of intense industrialization of the region during the 1950s-1960s era. Previously, this entire geographical region had a heavy focus on agricultural production.
The city is home to the only operating
steel mill in the country -
Železara Smederevo
The HBIS GROUP Serbia Iron & Steel, commonly known as the Hesteel Serbia (Serbian: Хестил Србија / Hestil Srbija) or Železara Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Железара Смедерево), is a Serbian steel manufacturing conglomerate wi ...
, previously known as Sartid, which is situated in the suburb of
Radinac. This was privatized and sold to
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 at the time employed 5,400 workers. In 2016, the Serbian government managed to strike a deal with a Chinese conglomerate
Hesteel Group
Hesteel Group Company Limited is a Chinese iron and steel manufacturing conglomerate, also known as Hesteel Group or its pinyin shortname Hegang. The company was also known as Hebei Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd. or HBIS until 2016 ().
Hesteel Gr ...
, which purchased the effective assets for $46 million.
The "Milan Blagojević"
home appliance factory is the second largest industry company 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 . 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.
A 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.
As of September 2017, Smederevo has one of 14
free economic zone
Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which co ...
s established in Serbia.
Transportation
The river traffic infrastructure of the city of Smederevo consists of Danube waterway, old port, marina, new port, terminal for liquid
Naftna Industrija Srbije 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 of Smederevo.
It has reloading capacities which can realize 1.5 million freight tons a year. By 2019, the
Government of Serbia invested 9.5 million euros for new railway construction built for the needs of Port of Smederevo.
It was also announced that starting in 2020, the Government of Serbia plans to invest 93 million euros for the construction of new Port Terminal.
Tourism
Among the main tourist attractions in the city are the
Smederevo Fortress and the
Obrenović Villa
The Obrenović Villa ( sr, Вила Обреновића / ''Vila Obrenovića'') or Villa Zlatni Breg ( sr, Вила Златни брег / ''Vila Zlatni breg'') in Smederevo, Serbia, was a summerhouse of the royal Obrenović dynasty. The earlie ...
.
There is an old
white mulberry tree in the center of Smederevo. Called ''
Karađorđe
Đorđe Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Петровић, ), better known by the sobriquet Karađorđe ( sr-Cyrl, Карађорђе, lit=Black George, ; – ), was a Serbian revolutionary who led the struggle for his country's independ ...
v Dud'' ("
Karađorđe's Mulberry"), it is estimated to be over 300 years old. Though there are no historical sources to specifically confirm that, it is believed that under this tree
dizdar {{for, people with the surname, Dizdar (surname)
Dizdar ( fa, دزدار, translit=dizdār; tr, dizdar, kale muhafızı) was the title given in the Ottoman Empire to a castle warden or fortress commander, appointed to manage troops and keep the f ...
Muharem Guša, Ottoman commander of the fortress, handed over the keys to the city to Karađorđe on 8 November 1805, after the city was liberated during the
First Serbian Uprising
The First Serbian Uprising ( sr, Prvi srpski ustanak, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; tr, Birinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was an uprising of Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1 ...
. In May 2018 the tree was declared a
natural monument
A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance.
Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, na ...
of the III category, as the first "living" monument in Smederevo. The three is supported by metallic pipes, but there is an initiative that two sculptures, shaped like a male and female hand, should be installed instead.
Demographics
In the 2011 census, there was 108,209 residents in the city administrative area, of which 101,908 were
Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
s and 2,369 were
Romani.
Twin towns
Smederevo is
twinned with:
*
Pale,
Bosnia Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
*
Volos
Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
*
Tangshan
Tangshan () is a coastal, industrial prefecture-level city in the northeast of Hebei province. It is located in the eastern part of Hebei Province and the northeastern part of the North China Plain. It is located in the central area of the Boha ...
,
ChinaOzvaničena saradnja Tangšana i Smedereva
''podunavlje.info''
* Herceg Novi
Herceg Novi ( cyrl, Херцег Нови, ) is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 ...
, Montenegro
See also
* Municipalities of Serbia
* Cities and towns in Serbia
* Populated places of Serbia
* Smederevo Fortress
* Smederevo Airport
References
Sources
External links
*
Virtual walk through Smederevo
''www.360serbia.com''
Visit Smederevo (Tourist Organization City of Smederevo)
''www.visitsmederevo''
Smederevo's Autumn
{{Authority control
1430 establishments in Europe
Populated places established in the 1430s
Populated places in Podunavlje District
Šumadija
Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia
Former capitals of Serbia
15th-century establishments in Serbia
Starčevo–Körös–Criș culture