The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1915-11-05
ANCIENT SERBIAN CITY
sEMENDRlA HAS LONG BEEN
KNOWN IN HISTORY.
lts Trade, Chiefly With Vienna and
Budapest, Has speoialties That
Have Made II Noted-At One
Time Strongly Fortified.

"Semendria, where the shells from
Austro-German batteries fell IN prep
aration for the Teutonic drive toward
the Goldeh Horn, is one OF the first
commercial towns OF Serbia" says "A
war primer issued by the National
Geographic society. Serbia is an
agricultural country Pigs and grains
are It's ranking exports, and the
greater part of the Serbian export in
pigs, and almost all of it's export in
cereals, passed through Semendria in
peace times Its trade has been done
chiefly with Vienna and budapest.
Among its exports are superior
white grape and a delicious wine.
There is an interesting tradition
connected with the grapes of Semen.
dria. II is told that She 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 Tckay 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
Serbian city is the great ancestor OF
the Magyars best-known product, the
merry, aromatic glass from Hungary
which is priced by connoisseurs the
world around.
Semendria lies upon the Danube,
between Belgrade and the Iron Gates.
II is distant about 30 miles southeast
from the Serbian capital 1t is said
to stand upon the site of the Roman
town Mons Aureus, and legend has it
that its famous grape vines we're
planted by the Roman Emperor Pro.
bus. Therefore, it may be seen that
the royal wine had an imperial be.
ginning, and the perfect product of
today can boast a long and glorious
past.
AT one time a powerful fortress
guarded the approach to the city. II
wCs a thick-walled, triangular struc.
ture, said to have been built in 1880,
and for a long time it was the dis
feature of the small place
and the river crossing which it guard.
ed. Semendria has been under attack
several times in the course of its his.
tory, and one battle of great impor.
lance took place here in 14ll, when .
he Turks forced a passage into Hun. .
gary through a Danube choked with I
he bodies of the heroic Magyar de.
lenders. ]
"Semendria has often been a ia.
'ored residence of the Serbian ruler
md from 1430 to 1859 il was the capi.
al of the state. The town has a
picturesque setting upon the broad
liver, here narrowing for its passage
# the Iron Gates just below it. The
country around it is broken and
wooded. The population is about $500,
nd, despite thriving wine produc-
ion and an expanding commerce,
his population has remained about
he same through the last score of
ears. The port has a branch line
onnecting it with the Belgrade-Nish
ailway, the main products artery in
he country Its rugged old trian-
ular fortress still stands, the most
interesting architectural feature N |
he city, and it's "a square towers
re sentinels of Semendria today as
l the days of George Brankovich, {
lther of Tokay wine, who builded
lem. The fortress was built on the t
lodel of the Constantinople walls"