Smederevska Palanka

History

In the vicinity of the town there are two archaeological sites: Medvednjak, near Grčac, and Staro Selo, near Selevac. They belong to the end of Neolithic and early Eneolithic, or the period 4500-3500 BC, during the developed and ending phase of the Vinča culture when the first evidence of metallurgy appeared. The culture then disappears as the population presumably migrated. Both settlements were large, spreading on 40 to. Findings from the later Hallstatt culture were also discovered. The most important artefacts, kept in the People's Museum in Smederevska Palanka, are the anthropomorphic figurines of high artistic and artisan value. One of the most valuable and considered unique is the one called "Woman in labor", due to its contracted position. In total, there are over 1,000 figurines, some complete, some damaged, but it is estimated that at least 3,000 of them are in personal collections.

There are also numerous finds from both Roman and Medieval periods. The most unusual of these finds is the cameo in two-layered onyx of Emperor Constantine I in full battle gear on a horse which was discovered near Kusadak, a village in the Smederevka Palanka municipality.

The town was first mentioned in 1021, in a written document currently preserved in St. Catherine's monastery in Egypt.

On 20 August 1941, 16 Yugoslav Partisans were executed by the Axis occupation forces.

Climate

Smederevska Palanka has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa). Smederevska Palanka holds the Serbian national record for the highest temperature ever recorded with 44.9 °C, on 24 July 2007. |Jan record high C = 21.8 |Feb record high C = 24.9 |Mar record high C = 28.3 |Apr record high C = 32.5 |May record high C = 35.6 |Jun record high C = 39.7 |Jul record high C = 44.9 |Aug record high C = 41.7 |Sep record high C = 37.7 |Oct record high C = 34.5 |Nov record high C = 28.0 |Dec record high C = 21.6 |year record high C = 44.9 |Jan record low C = -29.9 |Feb record low C = -28.4 |Mar record low C = -20.7 |Apr record low C = -7.8 |May record low C = -0.8 |Jun record low C = 1.5 |Jul record low C = 6.5 |Aug record low C = 5.1 |Sep record low C = -3.3 |Oct record low C = -7.3 |Nov record low C = -16.5 |Dec record low C = -23.6 |year record low C = -29.9 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220418211931/https://www.hidmet.gov.rs/ciril/meteorologija/stanica_sr_spalanka.php | archive-date = 18 April 2022 | access-date = 18 April 2022}}{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210720080911/http://www.hidmet.gov.rs/eng/meteorologija/stanica_sr.php?moss_id=13279 | archive-date = 20 July 2021 | access-date = February 25, 2017}}

Settlements

Apart from the town, the municipality of Smederevska Palanka includes the following settlements:

• Azanja (3946)
• Bačinac (688)
• Baničina (941)
• Bašin (442)
• Cerovac (1054)
• Glibovac (2096)
• Golobok (1988)
• Grčac (1094)
• Kusadak (4865)
• Mala Plana (803)
• Mramorac (553)
• Pridvorice (787)
• Ratari (1766)
• Selevac (3381)
• Stojačak (364)
• Vlaški Do (971)
• Vodice (881)

Demographics

|1948|50306 |1953|53039 |1961|55488 |1971|58112 |1981|60945 |1991|59822 |2002|56011 |2011|50284 |2022|42192 As of 2011 census, the municipality had 50,284 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Society and culture

Culture

There are currently three Serbian Orthodox churches in Smederevska Palanka.

The oldest, the church of St. Elijah was built in 1827 and is one of the oldest wooden churches in Serbia. The town's Cathedral Church was built in 1902. The town's newest church, St. Petka, was built in 1997. The town's fourth Serbian orthodox church is under construction. Koporin Monastery, built in 1402 by Serbian prince Stefan Lazarević, lies just outside the town in Velika Plana. Historical Archive "Veroslava Veljašević" of Smederevska Palanka was established on December 30, 1968.

Education

Smederevska Palanka has four elementary schools: Vuk Karadžić, Heroj Radmila Šišković, Heroj Ivan Muker and Olga Milošević. The town has three high schools: Palanka Gymnasium, Goša Technical School, and "Žikica Damnjanović" Chemical and Medical School.

Smederevska Palanka has one local operating television station "Jasenica" and one newspaper "Palanačke" by journalist and writer Dejan Crnomarković.

Sports

Local football club FK Jasenica 2017 plays in the 4th tier of the Serbian football pyramid.

Events

Annually every June, the town hosts the Best Fest Palanka, a rock festival featuring famous Serbian bands including Bajaga, Riblja čorba, Marčelo, Six Pack, Sunshine rap group and others.

Smederevska Palanka has one of Serbia's oldest annual traditional fairs, the Krstovdanski Vašar which has been held since 1834 when it was introduced by Prince Miloš Obrenović. During the fair, the town is visited by 100,000 to 150,000 tourists from surrounding towns and cities.

Smederevska Palanka hosts the "Motorijada", where thousands of bikers from Serbia and the former Yugoslavia assemble for the event and live concerts in Smederevska Palanka's Kiseljak. The 2011 event featured a famous Yugoslav band, Divlje Jagode.

Tourism

Beside archaeological findings and medieval monasteries, famous touristic spots in Smederevska Palanka include lake Kudreč, the Kiseljak spa complex and Mikulja forest.

Smederevska Palanka has a natural mineral water spring which is said to have been used since Roman times and has been used by the surrounding peoples since at least 1719. On 22 April 1907, the water from the mineral springs was awarded the golden medal for quality at the London 'Balkan Fair'.

According to some researchers, the town's mineral water is the 3rd best in Europe, primarily due to the natural selenium it contains.

Economy

Smederevska Palanka is an important industrial town, primarily due to the influence of manufacturing company Goša FOM which was among the biggest companies in the former Yugoslavia. The company produces trams, train wagons as well as prefabricated steel constructions.

Other industries and businesses based in Smederevska Palanka include "Karađorđe", a company which produces mineral water and juice, "Voćar Palanka" a food manufacturer and fruit supplier as well as "Opeka Palanka", bricks and building material manufacturer.

Additionally, Smederevska Palanka operates an Institute of Agriculture which researches seeds and vegetables.

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2018):

Transportation

Smederevska Palanka lies on A1 motorway, which is part of Pan-European Corridor X. It is also at the route of the Belgrade-Niš railway. The town's railway station was built in 1884.

Gallery

File:Smederevska_Palanka_Sud.jpg| File:SPalanka_Kralja_Petra_I.jpg| File:SP_Ulica_Prvog_srpskog_ustanka.jpg| File:Stara čaršija SP.jpg| File:SPalanka, Crkva Svetog Preobraženja.jpg| File:Crkva Svete Petke, Smederevska Palanka.jpg| File:Kolonija, Smederevska Palanka.jpg| File:Zgrade u Kralja Petra I.jpg| File:Soliter Rudnik.jpg| File:Tržni centar Oblik.jpg| File:Hotel jezero kudreč.jpg| File:Tržni centar Nama.jpg|

Notable people

Some of the notable people of Smederevska Palanka are:

• Stanoje Glavaš, First Serbian Uprising hero
• Miloje Popović Đak
• Dejan Crnomarković, writer, poet
• Josip Broz Tito, statesman, lived in Smederevska Palanka and was employed as a metalworker here
• Vladimir Rakićević, researcher
• Živko Pavlović, general
• Perica Ognjenović, a football player
• Viborg Koceić, a football player
• Miroslav Muta Nikolić, basketball player
• Nino Rešić, singer
• Zdenko Muf, a football player
• Radmila Milentijević, former minister
• Milutin Srećković, professor and writer
• Pera Todorović, journalist
• Aranđel Markićević Minister of Justice 1994-1998
• Mina Milutinović, Miss World Next Top Model 2012
• Ivan Načković, Russian born, lives in Smederevska Palanka, musician
• Zoran Todorović Todor, academic painter and professor

International cooperation

Smederevska Palanka is twinned with Škofja Loka in Slovenia. Before the Yugoslav wars, the two towns had a joint art colony Groharjeva kolonija.

After the first World War, one street in the center of Smederevska Palanka was named Francuska, or French street while a street in the French city of Grenoble was named after Palanka as a way of celebrating the friendship between Serbia and France.

Twin towns

Smederevska Palanka is twinned with:

• BIH Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Slovenia Škofja Loka, Slovenia

References

References

1. {{Serbian municipalities 2006
2. "Насеља општине Смедеревска Паланка".
3. "Census 2022: Total population, by municipalities and cities".
4. Olivera Milošević. (19 November 2017). "Figurine iz palanačkih nalazišta putuju u Evropu". [[Politika]].
5. "Collections Search - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum".
6. "Najtoplija mesta na svetu".
7. "TEMPERATURE REGIME IN SERBIA, Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia". Hidmet.gov.rs.
8. "2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia". Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia.
9. "Попис становништва, домаћинстава и станова 2011. у Републици Србији". Republički zavod za statistiku.
10. "АРХИВ "ВЕРОСЛАВА ВЕЉАШЕВИЋ"". The City of Smederevska Palanka.
11. Katarina. "BEST FEST PALANKA / ROK FESTIVAL".
12. "Početna - Institut za povrtarstvo".
13. (25 December 2019). "MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA, 2019.". [[Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia]].