SMEDEREVO (1.116 km)

The present center of the Serbian metal processing industry, Smederevo, a town on the mouth of the small river Jezava in the Danube, was the Medieval Serbian capital. A tourist attraction of this town is a fortress, the largest Medieval monument in Serbia. The Serbian Despot Đurađ Branković and his wife Jerina, the Greek Princess, had it constructed from 1428 to 1430. The works were managed by brother of the Despot's wife Jerina, Đorđe Kantakusen. The mason masters were the Greeks and those from Dubrovnik. The largest part of the work fell however to Serbian people, who also had to work free of charge, in addition to taxes in money. The fortress is the fastest fortified castle in our region. Due to the fear from the Turks, it was finished in two years only. According to a legend, in the two construction years nobody was allowed to eat a single egg, since all of them were used for mortar mixing, in order to make the walls stronger. The fortress, due to which Jerina was called 'The Damned', takes the area of 11 hectares, it has 24 towers, connected by strong walls and belongs to the largest plains fortresses in Europe.

Soon after the work completion, the castle becomes the spiritual and cultural center of Serbia at that time. A great book fan and benefactor, the Despot gathered around himself writers, musicians and painters. The works of Konstantin the Philosopher were written there, those of Stefan Ratković, Smederevo's speaker, as well as the first forms of notes of the oldest Serbian composer, Kir (Mr.) Stefan Domestik.

Money was wrought and jewels were made. The Despot was one of the richest feudal people of that time in Europe. There were about 10 million Ducats in his treasury. Nothing of that great wealth was found, other than a golden earring with pearls and rubies. But the legend of "Jerina's Treasury", hidden in the fortress walls, still lives and attracts tourists keen for an adventure to look for it.

Within Medeival walls every autumn starts event The Golden autumn dedicated to grape picking and making wine, most famous by its quality.

Near Smederevo, there are Obrenović Dynasty's Summer House, constructed in 1831 by Prince Miloš Obrenović.

At the 1,433rd kilometer of its flow, the Danube enters Serbia, flows through it for 588 kilometers, it is navigable on its whole flow and a natural connection to Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. The vicinity of the Tisa, the Morava and the Drina, as well as numerous internal channels and lakes, river islands and branches, it makes the sailing an unforgettable happening. On the way though Europe, by its entering Serbia, the Danube flows through the most interesting geographic, geological and cultural / historical regions. It flows from the Pannonian Plains on the north to Đerdap, the largest river gorge in Europe. At its banks, the empires of intact nature, culture created for centuries, cities with their specific characteristics replace each other. On its way through Serbia, the Danube informs the travelers with the origin and disappearance of civilizations, it makes them closer to the nations and their habits.
Internet Serbia Travel News is sailing into Smederevo