| Smederevska Palanka Смедеревска Паланка |
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| — Municipality and Town — | |||
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| Location of the municipality of Smederevska Palanka within Serbia | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Serbia | ||
| District | Podunavlje | ||
| Settlements | 18 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Nenad Milojičić | ||
| Area[1] | |||
| • Municipality | 422 km2 (162.9 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2011 census)[2] | |||
| • Town | 23,152 | ||
| • Municipality | 50,078 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 11420 | ||
| Area code | +381 26 | ||
| Car plates | SP | ||
| Website | www.smed-palanka.rs | ||
Smederevska Palanka (Serbian Cyrillic: Смедеревска Паланка, pronounced [smɛ̂dɛrɛʋska pǎlaːŋka]) is a town and municipality located in Central Serbia. According to the preliminary results of the 2011 census, the municipality had a total population of 50,078, while the town proper has 23,152 inhabitants.[3]
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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 attractive railway station was built in 1884.
Apart from the town, municipality of Smederevska Palanka consists of the following villages[3]:
Smederevska Palanka has a natural mineral water spring which has allegedly been used since the times of the Romans, and has been used by the surrounding peoples since at least 1719. On the 22nd of 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 taken to London by Mr. 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.
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.
The oldest archeological remains date to the early Neolithic era Medvednjak,4500-3500 BC). There are numerous finds of Vinča culture, Hallstatt culture, as well as from both Roman and Medieval periods. The most unique 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.
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 most recent church, St. Petka, was built in 1997. Currently, the town's fourth Serbian orthodox church is under construction. Koporin Monastery, built in 1402 by Serbian prince Stefan Lazarević lies just outside of the town.
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".
Every June, the town hosts the Best Fest Palanka, rock festival with famous Serbian bands including Bajaga, Riblja čorba, Marčelo, Six pack band, Sunshine rap group and others.[4]
Smederevska Palanka has one of Serbia's oldest annual traditional fairs, the Krstovdanski Vašar, that has been held since 1834 when in 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 ex Yugoslavia assemble for the event and live concerts in Smederevska Palanka's Kiseljak. The 2011 event featured a famous Yugoslav band, Divlje Jagode.
Smederevska Palanka is an important industrial town, primarily due to the influence of "Goša", which was among one of the most successful organisations 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, food manufacturer, "Voćar Palanka" a 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.[5]
| Climate data for Smederevska Palanka | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 3 (37) |
6 (42) |
11 (52) |
15 (59) |
21 (69) |
24 (75) |
26 (79) |
26 (79) |
23 (73) |
17 (62) |
9 (48) |
4 (40) |
15.3 (59.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −2 (28) |
−1 (31) |
3 (38) |
7 (45) |
13 (55) |
16 (60) |
17 (62) |
16 (61) |
13 (55) |
8 (46) |
3 (37) |
−1 (31) |
7.6 (45.8) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 41 (1.6) |
38 (1.5) |
43 (1.7) |
56 (2.2) |
71 (2.8) |
86 (3.4) |
64 (2.5) |
53 (2.1) |
48 (1.9) |
51 (2) |
53 (2.1) |
53 (2.1) |
658 (25.9) |
| Source: Weatherbase [6] | |||||||||||||
Beside archaeological findings, medieval monasteries, famous touristic spots in Smederevska Palanka include lake Kudreč, spa complex Kiseljak and forest Mikulja.
Some of the notable people of Smederevska Palanka are:
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 World War I, one street in center of Palanka was named Francuska French street and one street in French city of Grenoble was named after Palanka due to Serbian - French frendship.