Smederevo Fortress - History

History

Amidst the turbulence of the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans in the early 15th century, the region's Christian rulers lost several battles, such as the Battle of Kosovo and the siege of Veliko Tarnovo. Despot Stefan Lazarević had to maintain the Serbian Despotate in a delicate balance between the Ottomans and Hungarians. Around 1403, he accepted the Hungarian vassalage from King Sigismund and established the new capital in Belgrade, which was ceded to him as an award. After Stefan's death in 1426, Đurađ Branković, Stefan's nephew and successor, had to return Belgrade to the Hungarians. To compensate for this loss, Đurađ decided to build a new capital, and the choice fell to Smederevo.

Smederevo, which had no prior settlement, was chosen for several reasons. In 1428, during the Ottoman Empire's war with Venice, the Hungarians and Ottomans agreed to recognize Branković as an independent ruler of Serbia, thereby turning it into a buffer state. A contract also established Ottoman overlordship of Serbia, in conjunction with remaining a Hungarian vassal. Between the longer status with Hungary and religious differences with the Ottomans (Hungary and Serbia were Christian, as compared to the Muslim Turks), it was preferred that the capital be closer to Hungary than the Ottoman Empire. Smederevo's location on the Danube, between Belgrade and Golubac, provided easy access to other points along the river. It also allowed the control of Danube traffic, including blocking Hungarian entry into the Morava valley, which satisfied the Turks.

In the fall of 1428, construction of the capital began. In 1430, the first part of the fortress, including a palace and enough other buildings to form a inner city, was completed. Work on a fortified suburb and additional fortifications continued until 1439.

On April 20, 1434, Đurađ Branković's youngest daughter Katarina and Ulrich II of Celje were wed in the new fortress. This marriage stressed the friendly relations the Despot had with the Ottoman Porte, however, as Ulrich's kinship with the Hungarian Queen implied an increased Serbo-Hungarian alliance. As a result, Vizier Mehmet Saridže-pasha arrived in Smederevo in mid-1434 with a message from Edirne. It stated that Serbia's safety from the Ottoman Empire could only be guaranteed through the marriage of Branković's older daughter to Sultan Murad II. After much deliberation, the council convoked at the palace conceded, and arrangements were made for Mara to be engaged to the Sultan. That autumn, Murad sent several of his "most famous viziers" to retrieve his fiancée.

On August 14, 1435, a formal contract of "brotherhood and friendship" between Serbia and the Republic of Venice was signed in Smederevo's audience hall. This contract resulted in Đurađ and his sons being counted as Venetian citizens.

In early June 1439, the peace with the Ottomans, which had been gained through Mara's marriage to the Sultan, was broken. Led by Murad II, 130,000 Turkish soldiers occupied the hills around Smederevo. Branković rushed to Hungary for help, leaving his son Grgur in command. Help was not forthcoming, but Smederevo withstood the attack, even when Murad brought in cannons.

Nearly three months later, on August 18, 1439, hunger forced the Serbs to surrender. Princes Grgur and Stefan were sent to Anatolia and blinded, despite the pleas of their sister, now Sultana Mara. Five years later, however, Smederevo, Grgur, and Stefan returned to Branković through the Peace of Szeged.

Around the beginning of 1449, Branković imprisoned Hungarian regent John Hunyadi in the dungeons of the fortress, but he was ransomed by his countrymen.

In 1453, Sultan Mehmed II and Isak-bey Arbanazović lead another attack on Smederevo as part of a devastating raid on Serbia. The Turks took 50,000 men, women and children during that raid, but Smederevo was well-led by Thomas Kantakouzenos. Despite having only 6,000 men, compared to the Ottoman's 20,000, the city withstood. Smederevo was besieged by Mehmed the Conqueror for the second time and by Ottomans in general for the third time in 1456, ending up again defeated by the Serbians.

In 1459, Smederevo was captured by the Ottomans, leading to the end of the medieval Serbian state.

During World War II, German forces used the fortress for ammunition storage. On June 5, 1941, the ammunition exploded, blasting through the entirety of Smederevo and reaching settlements as far as 10 kilometers away. Much of the southern wall of the fortress was destroyed, the nearby railway station, packed with people, was blown away, and most of the buildings in the city were turned into debris. Around 2,500 people died in the explosion, and every other inhabitant was injured or wounded (approximately 5,500). Bombing by the Allies in 1944 caused further damage.