Smederevska Palanka

Smederevska Palanka
Смедеревска Паланка
Town and municipality

Coat of arms

Location of the municipality of Smederevska Palanka within Serbia
Coordinates: 44°21.98′N 20°57.39′E / 44.36633°N 20.95650°E / 44.36633; 20.95650Coordinates: 44°21.98′N 20°57.39′E / 44.36633°N 20.95650°E / 44.36633; 20.95650
Country  Serbia
Region Southern and Eastern Serbia
District Podunavlje
Settlements 18
Government
 • Mayor Petar Milić
Area[1]
 • Municipality 422 km2 (163 sq mi)
Elevation 125 m (410 ft)
Population (2011 census)[2]
 • Town 23,601
 • Municipality 50,284
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 11420
Area code +381(0)26
Car plates SP
Website www.smederevskapalanka.rs

Smederevska Palanka (Serbian Cyrillic: Смедеревска Паланка, pronounced [smɛ̂dɛrɛʋska pǎlaːŋka]) is a town and municipality located in the Podunavlje District of the eastern Serbia. According to the preliminary results of the 2011 census, the municipality had a total population of 50,284, while the town had 23,601 inhabitants.[3]

Geography

Aerial view

Smederevska Palanka lies in Pan-European Corridor X (Belgrade-Niš connection), just south of E75 highway and at the route of the Belgrade-Niš railway. The town's railway station was built in 1884.

Mineral water spring

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'. The town's mineral water was introduced in London by Marco T. Leko.

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

Climate

Smederevska Palanka has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa), bordering an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb). Smederevska Palanka holds the Serbian national record for the highest temperature ever recorded with 44.9 °C (112.8 °F), on 24 July 2007.[4]

Climate data for Smederevska Palanka (1981–2010, extremes 1961–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20.6
(69.1)		 24.4
(75.9)		 28.3
(82.9)		 31.2
(88.2)		 35.6
(96.1)		 39.7
(103.5)		 44.9
(112.8)		 41.7
(107.1)		 37.4
(99.3)		 32.5
(90.5)		 28.0
(82.4)		 21.6
(70.9)		 44.9
(112.8)
Average high °C (°F) 4.7
(40.5)		 7.1
(44.8)		 12.5
(54.5)		 18.0
(64.4)		 23.3
(73.9)		 26.2
(79.2)		 28.7
(83.7)		 28.8
(83.8)		 24.1
(75.4)		 18.3
(64.9)		 11.3
(52.3)		 5.7
(42.3)		 17.4
(63.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 0.7
(33.3)		 2.1
(35.8)		 6.5
(43.7)		 11.8
(53.2)		 17.0
(62.6)		 20.1
(68.2)		 22.0
(71.6)		 21.6
(70.9)		 16.8
(62.2)		 11.7
(53.1)		 6.2
(43.2)		 1.9
(35.4)		 11.5
(52.7)
Average low °C (°F) −2.8
(27)		 −2.1
(28.2)		 1.4
(34.5)		 5.9
(42.6)		 10.6
(51.1)		 13.7
(56.7)		 15.1
(59.2)		 14.8
(58.6)		 11.0
(51.8)		 6.6
(43.9)		 2.3
(36.1)		 −1.4
(29.5)		 6.3
(43.3)
Record low °C (°F) −29.9
(−21.8)		 −25.7
(−14.3)		 −20.7
(−5.3)		 −7.8
(18)		 −0.8
(30.6)		 1.5
(34.7)		 6.5
(43.7)		 5.1
(41.2)		 −3.3
(26.1)		 −7.3
(18.9)		 −16.5
(2.3)		 −23.6
(−10.5)		 −29.9
(−21.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 42.4
(1.669)		 39.2
(1.543)		 43.6
(1.717)		 50.1
(1.972)		 54.3
(2.138)		 78.7
(3.098)		 60.5
(2.382)		 58.9
(2.319)		 56.4
(2.22)		 51.2
(2.016)		 50.0
(1.969)		 51.8
(2.039)		 637.2
(25.087)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 13 12 12 13 13 13 10 8 10 10 12 15 139
Average snowy days 9 8 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 32
Average relative humidity (%) 81 75 68 66 67 68 66 66 72 75 78 82 72
Mean monthly sunshine hours 78.1 107.6 156.3 188.8 242.4 263.9 299.1 281.8 208.7 166.1 104.8 70.2 2,167.8
Source: Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia[5]

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 60 ha (99 to 148 acres). Findings from the later Hallstatt culture were also discovered. The most important artifacts, 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.[6]

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. Smederevska Palanka will celebrate its 1,000 year anniversary in 2021.

Settlements

Apart from the town, the municipality of Smederevska Palanka includes the following settlements:[3]

Society and culture

St. Elijah wooden church

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.

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 Damjanović" Chemical and Medical School.

Smederevska Palanka has two local operating radio-television stations; "Jasenica" and "Dević".

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 band, Sunshine rap group and others.[7]

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.

Economy

Smederevska Palanka railway station, built in 1884.

Smederevska Palanka is an important industrial town, primarily due to the influence of manufacturing company Goša FOM which was among one of the most 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", a bricks and building material manufacturer.

Additionally, Smederevska Palanka operates an Institute of Agriculture which researches seeds and vegetables.[8]

Notable people

Some of the notable people of Smederevska Palanka are:

  • Stanoje Glavaš, First Serbian Uprising hero
  • Miloje Popović Đak
  • Vujica Vulićević
  • 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
  • Zdenko Muf, a football player
  • Radmila Milentijević, former minister
  • Dejan Crnomarković, journalist and writer, founder and owner of the magazine Palanacke novine and the internet portal Sumadijska vesti
  • Actors:Zarko Mitrovic, Branka Pantelic, Milenko Stojanovic
  • Veljko Tatalović, zanatlija
  • 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

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:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Municipalities of Serbia, 2006". Statistical Office of Serbia. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  2. ↑ "2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia: Comparative Overview of the Number of Population in 1948, 1953, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2002 and 2011, Data by settlements" (PDF). Statistical Office of Republic Of Serbia, Belgrade. 2014. ISBN 978-86-6161-109-4. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  3. 1 2 "2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia: First Results" (PDF). Media.popis2011.stat.rs. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2012-06-21.
  5. ↑ "Monthly and annual means, maximum and minimum values of meteorological elements for the period 1981–2010" (in Serbian). Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  6. ↑ Olivera Milošević (19 November 2017), "Figurine iz palanačkih nalazišta putuju u Evropu" [Figurines from the Palanka sites travel to Europe], Politika (in Serbian), p. 14
  7. ↑ Katarina. "BEST FEST PALANKA / ROK FESTIVAL". Izlazak.com. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  8. ↑ "Početna - Institut za povrtarstvo". Institut-palanka.co.rs. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
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