Clearwater Republican. [volume] (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922, 1915-12-31
ANCIENT SERBIAN CITY
SEMENDRIA HAS LONG BEEN
KNOWN IN HISTORY.
IT'S Trade, Chiefly With Vienna and
l@aa?ccs, Has specialtes That
Have niade 1t Noted-At One
Time Strongly Fortified.

"Semendria, where the shells from
Austro-German batteries fell in prep
aration for the Teutonic drive toward
the Golden Horn, is one of the first
commercial towns of Serbia" says
war primer issued by the National
Geographic society. Serbia is an
agricultural country. Pigs and grains
are its ranking exports, and the
greater part of the Serbian export in
pigs, and almost all of its export in
cereals, passed through Semendria in
peace times. It's trade has been done
chiefly with Vienna and Budapest.
Among its exports are a superior
white grape and delicious wine.
There is an interesting tradition
connected with the grapes of Semen
dria 1t is told that the Serbian
Prince George Brankovich brought
cuttings of the grape vines of Sc
mendria and planted them upon his
sunny estates in Hungary, when he
became the lord of Tokay there. This
transplanting of the Serbian grapes
took place in the fifteenth century,
and it is from these imported vines
that Hungary's famous, spicy white
wine, Tokay, came. This, the little
the Magyars' best-known product, the
fiery, aromatic glass from Hungary
which is priced by connoisseurs the
world around.
"Semendria lies upon the Danube
between Belgrade and the Iron Gates
1t is distant about 80 miles southeast
from the Serbian capital. 1t is said
to stand upon the site of the Roman
town Mons Aureus, and legend has II
that it's famous grape vines were
planted by the Roman Emperor Pro
bus. Therefore, it may be seen tina
the royal wine had an imperial be
ginning, and the perfect product o
: today can boast long and glorious
past.
AT one time a powerful fortress
guarded the approach to the city.
was a thick-walled, triangular struC
ture, said to have been built in 143C
and for long time it was the dis
tinguishing feature of the small plac
and the river crossing which it guard
ed. Semendria has been under attac
t several times in the course of it's his
2 tory, and one battle of great impol
I lance took place here in 1411, whe
e the Turks forced a passage into HUI
4 gary through Danube choked wit
the bodies of the heroic Magyar d,
), tenders.
- "Semendria has often been f,
vored residence of the Serbian rule
and from 1880 to 145S it was the cap
tai of the state. The town has
picturesque setting upon the broa
river, here narrowing for it's passag
= of the Iron Gates just below it. TIL
" country around it is broken an
wooded The population is about $50
', and, despite a thriving wine produ
e ton and an expanding commerce
Il this population has remained abol
. the same through the last score
years. The port has branch liz
g. connecting it with the Belgrade-Nis
n railway, the main products artery
i the country. Its rugged old tria
i gular fortress still stands, the mo
u interesting architectural feature
the city, and it's "a square towe
e are sentinels CT Semendria today
d. in the days of George Brankovic
n. father Of Tokay wine, who build
It them. The fortress was built on t
Is model of the Constantinople walls"