Smederevo Fortress

The Smederevo Fortress is a medieval fortified city in Smederevo, Serbia, which was the temporary capital of Serbia in the Middle Ages. It was built between 1427 and 1430 on the order of Despot Đurađ Branković, the ruler of the Serbian Despotate. It was further fortified by the Ottoman Empire, which had taken the city in 1459. The fortress withstood several sieges by Ottomans, surviving relatively unscathed. During World War II it was heavily damaged by explosions and bombing, despite which the fortress remained "one of the rare preserved courts of medieval Serbian rulers." Smederevo Fortress was declared a national Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979. In 2010, the fortress was placed on the tentative list for possible nomination as a World Heritage Site (UNESCO).