Smederevo (Смедерево) is a city and municipality in
Serbia on the
Danube at 44°40' North, 20°55' East. In 2002 the city had a total population of 77,808, and the surrounding municipality had a population of 109,809. It is the administrative center of the
Podunavlje District.
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.
History
Dacians and Thracians dwelled in the area of
Vinceia until their assimilation with current ethnic groups in the region, Romans conquered Vinceia/
Semendria in the 1st century BC.
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. When he became lord of
Tokaj in
Hungary, he planted vines from Smederevo on his estates there; from these came the famous
Tokaji white wine. 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.
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.
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.
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 placed an
arsenal of ammunition in the fortress. On
June 5 1941 a catastrophic explosion severely damaged the fortress and killed thousands of people in the city.
Saint George Orthodox Church
The Municipality of Smederevo includes the following settlements:
Demographics (2002 census)
Population through history
Hotel Grand - Regija
- 1941. : 11,500 (estimate)
- 2008. : 67,684 (84,456)* (estimate)
( )* - Population related to the present day boundaries of the city
The population increase between 2002 and 2008 is related to a large number of refugees and internally displaced persons from
Kosovo and
Metohija (in 2003, that number was 7,152, not including those who moved permanently to Smederevo since the last census, and those who came to live with their relatives). They settled mostly in urban parts of Smederevo, but also in some suburban settlements such as Radinac, Lipe, Vucak and Petrijevo. The population of three other suburban settlements (Salinac, Seone, and Udovice) has also risen but that increase has been less substantial than in the above-mentioned settlements.
The latest estimates of internally displaced persons made after 2004, claim that the number of such persons in Smederevo grew from 7,152 to 8,194 in the period of just one year. This happened due to the exodus of Serb and Roma population from Kosovo following March 17, 2004. Some other estimates claim that the number of these persons is around 10,000.
Politics
Smederevo Town Hall of Justice
Seats in the municipal parliament won in the 2008 local elections:
- "Movement for Smederevo" citizens group (12)
- "Coalition for better Smederevo" (11)
- Socialist Party of Serbia (7)
- Serbia Radical Party (16)
- Democratic Party of Serbia - New Serbia (10)
Industry
Smederevo is an industrial city, and the center of Serbia's
steel industry. The factory previously known as Sartid was purchased by
U.S. Steel in 2003; USS Serbia employs over 7,000 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.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
See also
