SMEDEREVO Smederevo, a fortress on the Danube downstream from Belgrade, was built between 1428 and 1430 during the reign of Despot Djuradj Brankovic, the last of medieval Serbia's rulers. The fortress encircled by crenelated walls and towers, was for a long time the last bastion against the Turkish assault. The main tower is well preserved and an inscription on it mentions Despot Djuradj and the date of its construction. Smederevo fortress suffered severe damage to its towers and walls during World War II, when a big ammunition depot exploded within its walls in 1941, and from bombing in 1944.