Nearby Attractions
The city of Smederevo is located in central Serbia, and is the administrative center of the Podunavski district. It covers an area of 481.5 km and is bordered by the Danube on the north, the Velika Morava on the east, and the Sumadija hills to the south and west.
The roman settlements of Mons Aureus and Vincea use to be on the spot of modern-day Smederevo. Smederevo was first mentioned in the 1019 AD Charter by the Byzantine Emperor Basil II, under the name of "Sphenteromon". There is a clear distinction in the landscape between the lower, eastern part, with an average altitude of 85.0 m (Pomoravlje) and the higher, western part with an average altitude of 169.2 m (Sumadija). The climate is moderately continental.
There are 117,134 inhabitants living on the territory of Smederevo, 83,768 of which live within the city and its outskirts. The population density of the municipality in 2006 was 243.27 inhabitants per km.
EVENTS
"Smederevo poetry autumn“, "Days of Nusic“, "Source of living word“, "The poet of my people“, "Cultural summer of Smederevo“, "Graphic art colony“, "Smederevo fall", a big economy and tourism related manifestation.
Wine City
Wine city is a certain feast of wine and grapes, first started during the program of 122nd Smederevo Autumn (2009). This attractive wine festival has a competitive nature and brought together owners of wine cellars from Smederevo and the surroundings, who offer their products to visitors. This ethno-place, called Wine city, with its barrels shaped like houses, even has streets bearing names of the wines for which this region was famous from the ancient times.
In the third century AD, Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus planted the first grapevine on Mons Aureus, also known as Golden Hill, above the village of Oresac, on the bank of Danube, as well as in the area of Jugovo, Redut, Cirilovac, on the slopes of the Petrijevo stream and all other terrains suitable for grapevine.
One of the most famous Smederevo winegrowers was certainly the Prince and ruler of Serbia in the first half of the 19th century, Milos Obrenovic, who cultivated a noble grapevine on a site known today as Plavinac.
Smederevo Fortress
By order of Despot Djuradj Brankovic began in 1428, at the mouth of the river Jezava and Danube, at the very north of the country, the building of the Smederevo fortress, which became the seat of Serbian secular and clerical authorities of the time. Enormous quantities of stone necessary for the construction were dragged from ancient sites: Viminacium, Margum and Kulic, and Serbian medieval burial grounds were also sacrified. The Small Town – The Court – was built within two years, triangular of shape, with six towers, the strongest of which is the Donjon tower. A red brick inscription on the Despot’s tower that tells of the building of the town is preserved. Inside the Court, facing the Danube, there was a reception hall – MAGNA SALA AUDIENTIAS, that is – with three Gothic bifores where mediaval court life took place. Along with it there was a room with a Romanic bifore designated for the ruling family. In the Small Town there was a famous centre for goldsmiths and transcription work, as well as a coin mint.
Golden Hill Villa
The Golden Hill villa (Zlatni breg villa) in Smederevo, better known as The Royal Vineyards (Kraljev vinograd), a one-time summer residence of the Obrenovic royal dynasty, is situated in the most beautiful part of the town, on a hill turned northwards, towards The Danube and the Banat plains.
The history of the Golden Hill Villa traces its descent back to the beginning of the 19th century, during Serbia’s liberation wars against the Ottoman sway. The estate, covered by vineyards and boasting a wine cellar, was founded by Prince Milos Obrenovic, in the third decade of the 19th century. He seems to have displayed a refined sensibility for a countryside setting, having chosen the best position possible. In front of the summer house stands a nicely shaped stone, the so-called binjektas, which the prince, being fairly short in stature, used for mounting a horse.
It was at this very position that, back in history, ancient Romans grew vines that yielded vintage wine, giving it a poetical name, Mons Aureus (Golden Hill). The winemaking tradition was continued on the same spot by medieval Serbian ruler despot Djuradj Brankovic and his noblemen and then by the Ottomans.
In 1865, Milos Obrenovic’s son, Prince Mhailo Obrenovic, restored the vineyards of the estate and built a one-storey summer residence there. King Milan and Queen Natalija Obrenovic organized parties and gathered eminent artists and writers (Milan Rakic, Laza Kostic, Milovan Glisic, etc.) in the residence. When the royal couple divorced, the Golden Hill Villa came into Queen Natalija’s possession and she hired a famous court architect, Jovan Ilkic, to make some alterations in its appearance. (By the way, Ilkic designed edifices in downtown Belgrade such as the Serbian Parliament building, the “Moskva“ hotel and the Officers’ Home – the present Student Cultural Centre). Natalija’s son, King Alexander Obrenovic and his wife, Draga Masin, spent a lot of time in the Golden Hill Villa, hiding due to their unusual way of life and marriage that was not generally accepted. They organized parties, feasts, receptions, gatherings and dances. It was there that they celebrated their birthdays and their first wedding anniversary and it was from there that the news of Queen Draga’s false pregnancy were sent into the world. After their tragic death in 1903, Natalija presented the villa as a gift to colonel Antonije Oreskovic, the head of the Serbian Army Drina Division.