Niš– Smederevo
My first impression of Smederevo on the previous night was not favorable. Grey concrete buildings and air filled with smoke made me hastily cancel my reservation for the second night in this city. The owners of Maslina Rooms looked disappointed and then perplexed when I asked if I could have breakfast at their house because I noticed that there was no place to eat in the area. The first reaction was that Maslina Rooms did not provide this service. Then the owners thought about that a little and decided ‘why not?’ I was served a hearty homemade breakfast that included a shot of rakia. I do not normally drink that early in the morning, but my hosts insisted and it was hard to refuse.
The family went to great lengths to make sure that I was comfortable in their house. This explains the high ratings of Maslina Rooms on Booking.com. I changed my mind and stayed for another day. Before moving to my next destination first I should make the most of my time in Smederevo.
Here are some interesting facts about Smederevo that I found on the Internet.
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.
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. 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.
Smederevo has a recent history of heavy industry and manufacturing, which is a result of active and aggressive industrialization of the region conducted by Tito’s regime 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, previously known as Sartid. The plant 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 employs about 5,400 workers. Finally, in year 2016, the Serbian government managed to strike a deal with a Chinese conglomerate HeSteel that purchased the effective assets for $46,000,000 what many consider to be below market rate.
The Smederevo fortress is large. Similarly to the fortress in Niš, it is a park enclosed by fortification walls. The entrance is free. People come to it for a jog or to walk a dog. It is a pity that the walls are covered with graffiti the same way like many buildings in Smederevo. Some parts of the fortress were renovated and look great. I spent the entire morning leisurely wandering around the fortress grounds and half of the afternoon daydreaming on the bank of the Danube.
I understood why I did not like Smederevo at first. For some reason, I pictured it as a green place which it is not. It is an industrial city with a port. The mismatch with reality led to the initial disappointment. It was good to spend a whole day in Smederevo and to enjoy what this city has to offer.