Built on the site of a 1st century BC Roman city called Vinceia, Smederevo was founded in the Middle Ages by Đurađ Branković (Ђурађ Бранковић), the Serbian prince (r. 1427-1456) of the last independent Serbian state before the Ottoman conquest.
Branković wanted to build a secure, new capital city to replace Belgrade, which had already been lost to the Hungarians, so he founded Smederevo and commissioned the construction of Smederevo Fortress (Smederevska tvrđava or Cмeдepeвcκa твpђaвa). Built between 1428 and 1430, the fortress covers an area of 11.3 hectares (27.9 acres) and is strategically located on a triangular plain formed by the confluence of the Danube and Jezava rivers.
For nine years it remained in the hands of the Serbs, but in 1439, Smederevo was conquered by the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad II (r. 1421-1444 and 1446-1451). However, in 1444, in accordance with the peace treaty between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, Murad II returned Smederevo to Branković, who made it the capital of Serbia once again. But in 1459, three years after Branković's death, the Ottomans – now under Murad II's son and successor, Mehmed II (r. 1444-1446 and 1451-1481) – captured Smederevo yet again and brought the independent medieval Serbian state to an end. The Ottomans added to the fortifications and the city went on to play an important part in the Ottoman-Hungarian Wars (1326-1526).
Despite its role in countless wars and sieges, the fortress remained largely undamaged until World War II (1939-1945). In 1941, the ammunition being stored by the Germans in the fortress exploded, destroying much of the southern wall and decimating most of the city. And in 1944, heavy bombing from the Allies caused further damage.
Since 1970, several attempts at conservation and reconstruction have been made. However, there is still a huge amount of work to be done and unrestricted tourism is doing little to help matters. In 2010, it was placed on the Tentative List to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but at the time of writing, it has not been granted that status.
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| Blurry views en-route to Smederevo |
It started raining minutes after I had got on the bus. The rain grew heavier and by the time I arrived, it was tipping it down. And I didn't have an umbrella. Or even a coat. Since I was there though, I was determined to see what I had come to see, rain or not. Unfortunately, all the determination in the world couldn't make the fortress appear more than what it was. It was difficult to imagine its past importance and grandeur from the grey, crumbling walls that stood before me.
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| First look at the crumbling fortress |
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| The remains of one of the towers |
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| Trees in the centre of the fortress |
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| Another of the crumbling towers |
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| Looking across the Danube |
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| If these walls could talk... |
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| One of the better preserved towers |
With no let up in the rain, I figured I should visit something under cover, and thus I found myself standing in the Church of Saint George (Crkva Svetog Đorđa or Црква Св. Ђорђа). The original church was built between 1850 and 1854 by the Macedonian-Bulgarian architect Andreja Damjanov (1813-1878). Demolished by the Germans during WWI, it was rebuilt in 1922.
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| Grey church, grey day |
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| Detail of one of the frescoes |
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| Part of the altarpiece |
On leaving the church I discovered that it was still raining and I had to conclude defeat. There really was nothing else I wanted to see, and certainly not with cold, wet feet. And so I made my way to the bus station, squelching all the way, and jumped on the next bus back to Belgrade...
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| On the bus back to Belgrade |
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