Today Smederevo is marking City Day, which was established in memory of an important historical date: Aranđelovdan (St Michael the Archangel’s Day) in 1805, when the Turkish commander, dizdar Muharem Guša, handed over the keys of Smederevo Fortress to the leader of the Serbian insurgents, Vožd Karađorđe Petrović.
On this occasion, a ceremonial session of the City Assembly was held, at which the councillors, guests and citizens were addressed by the Deputy President of the local parliament, Marko Grujić, and the Mayor of Smederevo, Jasmina Vojinović.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of national authorities and institutions, the Head of the Podunavlje Administrative District, Rodoljub Stanimirović, representatives of city public enterprises and institutions, members of the City Council and numerous guests.
Extending their congratulations on the holiday and on the City patron saint’s day, Aranđelovdan, they recalled that during the First Serbian Uprising Smederevo became one of the most important centres of insurgent Serbia, where two national assemblies were held.
At one of them, the decision was taken to establish the Governing Council of Serbia (Praviteljstvujušči sovjet serbski), the first government and executive authority, which laid the foundations of modern Serbian statehood.
“By marking Smederevo City Day, we remember our history and preserve the memory of the wisdom and the social and moral strength of our ancestors, who showed us the path that leads to freedom,” said the Deputy President of the City Assembly of Smederevo, Marko Grujić, among other things.
“Our goal remains the same: for Smederevo to be a modern, orderly and lively city, a city where children are born, where we stay to live and work, and a place to which people are always glad to return. Development is not measured only by the number of construction sites opened, but also by how safe we are as a community, how much solidarity we show and how ready we are to join forces, following the example of the state policy that the President, Aleksandar Vučić, firmly champions on the path to preserving stability and progress,” stressed the Mayor of Smederevo, Jasmina Vojinović, recalling all the important projects carried out in the city since the previous City Day.
As part of the ceremonial session of the City Assembly, a musical programme was performed by members of the City Choir “Kir Stefan Srbin”, and the poem “Ispod duda” by Jovana Simić was recited by Aleksa Gitarić.
