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80-690: The villa is situated on the northern slopes of the Plavinac Hill, overseeing the Danube from its right bank, and the Banat lowlands across the river. It is situated above the Old Smederevo road, which connected the capital Belgrade with Smederevo, a starting section of the historical Tsarigrad Road . The villa is located on the eastern outskirts of Smederevo, above which is the hill of Zlatno Brdo  [ sr ] ("Golden Hill") which gave

160-515: A hypothetical Thracian * Donaris . The Proto-Indo-European root of this presumed name is related to the Iranic word " don- "/" dan- ", while the supposed suffix -aris is encountered in the ancient name of the Ialomița River , Naparis , and in the unidentified Miliare river mentioned by Jordanes in his Getica . Gábor Vékony says that this hypothesis is not plausible, because

240-402: A large number of guests in 1882, it had to be rescheduled as the building turned out to be "cracked a lot and prone to collapse". Apparently it hasn't been maintained well, but the vineyards were superbly cared for. During the reign of King Milan and Queen Natalie, the royal social life was established in the villa, apparently on queen's insistence. Milan introduced the wealth and servants, and

320-531: A leisure one. The vineyards were in operation even during the 1842-58 period, when house of Obrenović was dethroned and exiled. The original house was built in 1865, on the orders of Prince Mihailo , Miloš' son and heir. He planned it as the summerhouse for him and his wife, Princess Julia . It was a simple, one floor edifice built in the Swiss style, but the Serbian press referred to it as "palace". The summerhouse

400-461: A meeting there with the prime ministers of Croatia and Slovenia, Jadranka Kosor and Borut Pahor , respectively. His successors, Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić , continued occasionally to use the venue for official purposes. A meeting of 20 ambassadors with Vučić was held in 2015, while both the Chinese president Xi Jinping and Slovenian prime minister Miro Cerar had official bunket in

480-535: Is 4,152 km (1,603 sq mi), of which 3,446 km (1,331 sq mi) are in Romania. If one includes the lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1,015 km (392 sq mi) of which 865 km (334 sq mi) water surface), which are located south of the delta proper, but are related to it geologically and ecologically (their combined territory is part of the World Heritage Site),

560-664: Is also home to numerous diverse carp and sturgeon , as well as salmon and trout . A few species of euryhaline fish, such as European seabass , mullet , and eel , inhabit the Danube Delta and the lower portion of the river. Today the river carries its name from its source confluence in Donaueschingen , Germany , to its discharge into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine . The river

640-612: Is divided into three main parts, separated by "gates" where the river is forced to cut through mountainous sections: Mean annual discharge on the hydrological stations (period from 2000 to 2023); 1 - Reni , Isaccea ; 2 - Silistra ; 3 - Pristol ; 4 - Batina , Bezdan ; 5 - Nagymaros , Szob ; 6 - Bratislava , Wolfsthal ; 7 - Untergriesbach Multiannual average, minimum and maximum discharge (water period from 1876 to 2010) Simulated water and suspended sediment results from climate-driven decadal study (with STD through specific decade): P – Simulated average precipitation in

720-657: Is estimated that the Danube upper course will one day disappear entirely in favor of the Rhine, an event called stream capturing . The hydrological parameters of Danube are regularly monitored in Croatia at Batina , Dalj , Vukovar and Ilok . The Danube basin was the site of some of the earliest human cultures. The Danubian Neolithic cultures include the Linear Pottery cultures of the mid-Danube basin. Many sites of

800-409: Is set on the high stone foundation with a cellar which was entered from the front, between two forks of the staircase. The vestibule is an entryway into the salon's lobby which was glassed in with windows. The sides and the front were glassed with 4 large French windows . Wooden, gable-shaped decorative elements above the vestibule are in the Swiss style. The windows of the ground level were decorated in

880-686: Is to implement the Danube River Protection Convention by promoting and coordinating sustainable and equitable water management, including conservation, improvement, and rational use of waters and the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive and the Danube Strategy . The Danube Commission is concerned with the maintenance and improvement of the river's navigation conditions. It was established in 1948 by seven countries bordering

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960-701: The Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodos (Argon. IV. 282). At the end of the Okeanos Potamos , is the holy island of Alba (Leuke, Pytho Nisi, Isle of Snakes ), sacred to the Pelasgian (and later, Greek) Apollo, greeting the sun rising in the east. Hecateus Abderitas refers to Apollo's island from the region of the Hyperboreans, in the Okeanos. It was on Leuke, in one version of his legend, that

1040-647: The Black Forest south into the Black Sea . A large and historically important river, it was once a frontier of the Roman Empire . In the 21st century, it connects ten European countries, running through their territories or marking a border. Originating in Germany , the Danube flows southeast for 2,850 km (1,770 mi), passing through or bordering Austria , Slovakia , Hungary , Croatia , Serbia , Romania , Bulgaria , Moldova , and Ukraine . Among

1120-410: The Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine . Once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire , the river passes through or touches the borders of 10 countries. Its drainage basin extends into nine more (ten if Kosovo is included). In addition to the bordering countries (see above), the drainage basin includes parts of nine more countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina (4.6% of

1200-576: The Bystroye Canal . In 2022, there was a major heat wave in Europe. As a result, there was less water flowing in the rivers. As the water level decreased, a number of ship wrecks from World War II emerged in the Danube River. Many of the ships were from Nazi Germany 's Black Sea Fleet and had been scuttled to stop them from falling into enemy hands. The International Commission for

1280-588: The Celtic ' danu ' or ' don ' (both Celtic gods), which itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European * deh₂nu . Other European river names from the same root include the Dunaj, Dzvina/ Daugava , Don , Donets , Dnieper , Dniestr , Dysna and Tana/Deatnu . In Rigvedic Sanskrit , danu (दनु) means "fluid, dewdrop" and danuja (दनु-ज) means "born from danu " or "born from dew-drops". In Avestan ,

1360-471: The Classicistic style. Three windows on the northern side are framed with chambranles . The lintels above the ground floor windows had decorative plastics which resembles the open crown - above each window there was an arch made from the face bricks with small decorative volutes in the corners and one large with an acorn in the central part. In 1865 Prince Mihailo ordered for the materials used for

1440-713: The Danubian Limes was the northeastern border of the Empire, with occasional interruptions such as the fall of the Danubian Limes in 259. The crossing of the Danube into Dacia was achieved by the Imperium Romanum , first in two battles in 102 and then in 106 after the construction of a bridge in 101 near the garrison town of Drobeta at the Iron Gate. This victory over Dacia under Decebalus enabled

1520-664: The Habsburg monarchy , Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , and Russian Empire for controlling the Danube ( Tuna in Turkish ), which became the northern border of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. Many of the Ottoman–Hungarian Wars (1366–1526) and Ottoman–Habsburg wars (1526–1791) were fought along the river. Milan Raki%C4%87 Milan Rakić ( Serbian Cyrillic : Милан Ракић; 18 September 1876 – 30 June 1938)

1600-480: The 1990s, during the period of Slobodan Milošević 's rule, he never came to the villa but it was frequently visited by some high-ranking officials. It became a gathering place of the secret police which held meetings there headed by Jovica Stanišić . During the 2000s the venue was used as a scenery for following movies and series: The End of Obrenović Dynasty (1995), The Robbery of the Third Reich (2004), On

1680-431: The Danube basin; T – Simulated average temperature in the Danube basin; Q – Simulated average discharge in the Danube River at delta; S – Simulated sediment load in the Danube River at delta ; Historical average flow to the present day; Measured and reconstructed average water flows from 1742. The reconstructed and observed streamflow (Q – m /s) at Ceatal Izmail for the 1742 to 2022: The land drained by

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1760-1040: The Danube extends into many other countries. Many Danubian tributaries are important rivers in their own right, navigable by barges and other shallow-draught boats. From its source to its outlet into the Black Sea, its main tributaries are (as they enter): 18. Tisza (entering near Titel ) 19. Sava (entering at Belgrade ) 20. Timiș (river) (entering at Pančevo ) 21. Great Morava (entering near Smederevo ) 22. Mlava (entering near Kostolac ) 23. Karaš (entering near Banatska Palanka ) 24. Jiu (entering at Bechet ) 25. Iskar (entering near Gigen ) 26. Olt (entering at Turnu Măgurele ) 27. Osam (entering near Nikopol, Bulgaria ) 28. Yantra (entering near Svishtov ) 29. Argeș (entering at Oltenița ) 30. Ialomița 31. Siret (entering near Galați ) 32. Prut (entering near Galați ) The Danube flows through many cities, including four national capitals (shown below in bold), more than any other river in

1840-641: The Danube has been a traditional trade route in Europe. Today, 2,415 km (1,501 mi) of its total length are navigable. The Danube is linked to the North Sea via the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal , connecting the Danube at Kelheim with the Main at Bamberg . The river is also an important source of hydropower and drinking water . The Danube river basin is home to such fish species as pike , zander , huchen , Wels catfish , burbot and tench . It

1920-643: The Danube was variously known as Danubius , Danuvius , Ister or Hister . The Latin name is masculine, as are all its Slavic names, except Slovene (the name of the Rhine is also masculine in Latin, most of the Slavic languages, as well as in German). The German Donau ( Early Modern German Donaw , Tonaw , Middle High German Tuonowe ) is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted as containing

2000-610: The Danube's, today subsurface rivers carry much water from the Danube to the Rhine. On many days in the summer, when the Danube carries little water, it completely oozes away noisily into these underground channels at two locations in the Swabian Alb, which are referred to as the Donauversickerung ( Danube Sink ). Most of this water resurfaces only 12 km (7.5 mi) south at the Aachtopf , Germany's wellspring with

2080-522: The Danube. Today the Commission include riparian and non-riparian states. Although the headwaters of the Danube are relatively small today, geologically, the Danube is much older than the Rhine , with which its catchment area competes in today's southern Germany. This has a few interesting geological complications. Since the Rhine is the only river rising in the Alps mountains which flows north towards

2160-693: The Greeks borrowed the Istros form from the native Thracians. He proposes that the Romanian name is a loanword from a Turkic language ( Cuman or Pecheneg ). Classified as an international waterway , it originates in the town of Donaueschingen , in the Black Forest of Germany , at the confluence of the rivers Brigach and Breg . The Danube then flows southeast for about 2,730 km (1,700 mi), passing through four capital cities ( Vienna , Bratislava , Budapest , and Belgrade ) before emptying into

2240-574: The Harmful Effects of Tobacco (2004), The Fourth Man (2007), The Last Audience (2008). In 2009 the villa was declared a cultural monument, even though the process started back in 1997. It is the only surviving summerhouse of the Obrenović dynasty. Though constantly used in official capacity, it was in 2011 that President of Serbia Boris Tadić publicly showed the use of the villa as an official state representation house, when he organized

2320-731: The North Sea, an invisible line beginning at Piz Lunghin divides large parts of southern Germany, which is sometimes referred to as the European Watershed . Before the last ice age in the Pleistocene , the Rhine started at the southwestern tip of the Black Forest, while the waters from the Alps that today feed the Rhine were carried east by the so-called Urdonau (original Danube). Parts of this ancient river's bed, which

2400-625: The Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II was the first recorded diplomatic visit to the villa. Other diplomats included Russian envoy Nikolai Charykov  [ ru ] , German envoy Ludwig von Wäcker-Gotter  [ de ] , Ottoman general Hamdi Pasha and head of the Russian secret police, Alexander Iosipovich Grabo. After the 1903 May Coup , Queen Natalie bequeathed the villa to Colonel Antonije Orešković . Antonije's sons, Borivoje and Milan significantly advanced

2480-610: The Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) is an organization that consists of 14 member states (Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Montenegro, and Ukraine) and the European Union . The commission, established in 1998, deals with the whole Danube river basin, which includes tributaries and groundwater resources. Its goal

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2560-648: The Province of Dacia to be created, but in 271 it was abandoned by emperor Aurelian . Avars used the river as their southeastern border in the 6th century. Part of the rivers Danubius or Istros was also known as (together with the Black Sea) the Okeanos in ancient times, being called the Okeanos Potamos (Okeanos River). The lower Danube was also called the Keras Okeanoio (Gulf or Horn of Okeanos) in

2640-647: The Serbian and the Romanian stretches of the Danube. However, the transgressions may not be considered acts of piracy, as defined according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , but rather instances of "river robbery". On the other hand, media reports say the crews on transport ships often steal and sell their own cargo and then blame the plundering on "pirates", and the alleged attacks are not piracy but small-time contraband theft along

2720-610: The basin area), the Czech Republic (2.9%), Slovenia (2.0%), Montenegro (0.9%), Switzerland (0.2%), Italy (<0.15%), Poland (<0.1%), North Macedonia (<0.1%) and Albania (<0.1%). The total drainage basin is 801,463 km (309,447 sq mi) in area, and is home to 83 million people. The highest point of the drainage basin is the summit of Piz Bernina at the Italy–Switzerland border , at 4,049 m (13,284 ft). The Danube River Basin

2800-406: The condition of the object is shameful, describing cracked walls, sagging roofs, parapets made of reeds, etc. They also said that there is not one old, valuable item in the house and suggested that the venue should be restored and "brought to its epoch". The pre-adaptation works were done by architect Milan Antić. Reconstruction in earnest began in 1957, headed by Bogdanović. He completely reshaped

2880-498: The construction of his summerhouse to be transferred to Belgrade, so that First Town Hospital can be built. It is not clear whether this was concerning the leftovers of the materials remaining after the construction was finished, or that he planned to build a larger edifice but stopped it at this point. The park which was formed around the summerhouse by 1878, was the first park in Smederevo. When Queen Natalie wanted to entertain

2960-525: The country was liberated. It was described that only "empty rooms and 100 years old linden trees" remained. The Orešković family kept the villa open for visitors. During World War II , Germans set their local command in the building. They took with them some of the furniture and valuable artifacts. After the World War II, villa became the state property as it was confiscated from the Orešković family. It

3040-471: The distance to the Black Sea by 400 km (250 mi); the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal is about 171 km (106 mi), finished in 1992, linking the North Sea to the Black Sea. A Danube-Aegean canal has been proposed. Danube River cruise for sightseeing is popular, especially between Passau , Germany, to Budapest , Hungary. In 2010–12, shipping companies, especially from Ukraine, claimed that their vessels suffered from "regular pirate attacks " on

3120-420: The fashionable Obrenović summer residence was created". In 1964 an annex, which serves as a kitchen, was added to the back side of the building. It is a ground floor object with 5 French windows with wooden lids on each longer wall and with a square, polygonal spike-like pyramid on top. The renovation of the building's foundation and of the façade was done in 1982. In 1996/97 the furniture was restored. Tito and

3200-478: The first lady Jovanka Broz stayed in the villa in 1970 with the leadership of the Serbian branch of the Communist party ( Dragoslav Marković , Marko Nikezić , Latinka Perović ), on the occasion of Tito being declared an honorary citizen of Smederevo. Tito and Jovanka stayed in the villa for the last time in 1977. Other high state officials who often visited the villa were Stane Dolanc and Dragoslav Marković. In

3280-704: The gorge) by the Iron Gate II Hydroelectric Power Station . On 13 April 2006, a record peak discharge at Iron Gate Dam reached 15,400 m /s (540,000 cu ft/s). There are three artificial waterways built on the Danube: the Danube-Tisa-Danube Canal (DTD) in the Banat and Bačka regions ( Vojvodina , northern province of Serbia); the 64 km (40 mi) Danube-Black Sea Canal , between Cernavodă and Constanța (Romania) finished in 1984, shortens

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3360-533: The hero Achilles was buried (to this day, one of the mouths of the Danube is called Chilia). Old Romanian folk songs recount a white monastery on a white island with nine priests. Between the late 14th and late 19th centuries, the Ottoman Empire competed first with the Kingdom of Serbia , Second Bulgarian Empire , Kingdom of Hungary , Principality of Wallachia , Principality of Moldavia and later with

3440-423: The highest flow, an average of 8,500 L/s (300 cu ft/s), north of Lake Constance —thus feeding the Rhine. The European Water Divide applies only for those waters that pass beyond this point, and only during the days of the year when the Danube carries enough water to survive the sinkholes in the Donauversickerung. Since such large volumes of underground water erode much of the surrounding limestone, it

3520-494: The house. The royal couple spent so much time in the villa that it appeared as if the court moved out of Belgrade. After king and queen divorced in 1888, the summerhouse was left aside for a while and was again in the bad shape. Natalie was banished from Serbia so Milan, who abdicated in the meantime, remained the owner of the estate but transferred it to his only child, still minor King Alexander . In 1895 Alexander invited his mother back to Serbia and she began organizing parties in

3600-669: The interior includes: Ground floor First floor Left section is organized as a royal suite, which consists of the Study Room , Salon, lobby and a dorm. Right section is adapted into the apartments. Danube The Danube ( / ˈ d æ n . j uː b / DAN -yoob ; see also other names ) is the second-longest river in Europe , after the Volga in Russia . It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe , from

3680-409: The late 1950s there were concerns regarding the bad shape of the object and threat of the mass wasting as it is located on the terrain prone to it. The first idea was to tear the object completely down and build a new, firmer one. This idea was abandoned and instead architect Bogdan Bogdanović and painters Predrag Milosavljević and Miodrag B. Protić were to inspect the building. They reported that

3760-482: The latter was further borrowed into Romanian as a regionalism ( Turlă ). The Thraco- Phrygian name was Matoas , "the bringer of luck". The Middle Mongolian name for the Danube was transliterated as Tho-na in 1829 by Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat . The modern languages spoken in the Danube basin all use names derived from the Latin name Danubius : Danube is an Old European river name derived from

3840-489: The many cities on the river are four national capitals: Vienna , Bratislava , Budapest , and Belgrade . Its drainage basin amounts to 817,000 km (315,000 sq mi) and extends into nine more countries. The Danube's longest headstream Breg rises in Furtwangen im Schwarzwald , while the river carries its name from its source confluence in the palace park in Donaueschingen onwards. Since ancient times,

3920-478: The most minute detail. Austrian traveler Felix Philipp Kanitz , who visited the venue and described it as a "Swiss villa", depicted Natalie as a "tall lady, which had both the love of and the sense for comfortable". Later in 1897, opposing his son's relationship with her widowed lady in waiting Draga Mašin , Natalie left Serbia for good. King Alexander and Queen Draga often spent time in Plavinac, even more than

4000-414: The name to the building. From 1827 to 1829, Prince Miloš Obrenović purchased the 37 hectares (91 acres) lot from a local Ottoman sipahi . The lots already had a planted vineyard, orchard, meadows, a house and steam bath . In 1831 the prince planted his own vineyards on the estate as the entire Smederevo area is well known for its grapes. The first object built was a wine cellar for the wine produced by

4080-409: The northern barbarian Thracian and Illyrian tribes by advancing from Macedonia as far as the Danube in 336 BCE. Under the Romans, the Danube formed the border of the Empire with the tribes to the north almost from its source to its mouth. At the same time, it was a route for the transport of troops and the supply of settlements downstream. From 37 CE to the reign of the Emperor Valentinian I (364–375)

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4160-409: The object, giving it the overall Classicistic look it has today. All wooden decoration was removed. The ground floor was enhanced with the locally quarried brown stones while the plateau in front of the entrance was paved with the granite slabs. Small but monumental entry with the gable was especially made prominent. Above every ground flood window a metallic ornament was placed which completely separated

4240-430: The old Belgrade families (Rajačić, Drobnjak, Kumanudi, Rakić). In front of the entrance, the fountain was placed with the bronze sculpture Leda and the Swan , work of painter Olja Ivanjicki . The park was also rearranged while the rose garden was planted behind the building. It was finished in 1961, for the First Summit of the Non-Aligned countries which was held in Belgrade, as planned. Protić later wrote: "In two years,

4320-412: The previous royal couple. As they grew more and more unpopular, this was a way to hide their private lives and the remove themselves from the capital city. As they mostly came via the Danube, the town of Smederevo decided to expand the port and the build a promenade and a park along the bank. During their stay in the house, parties, balls and feast were held almost every day. They began their relationship in

4400-435: The prince's vineyards which Miloš exported into Europe. The cellar and the neighboring konak , with one room and a kitchen, were built in 1833. In 1836 Prince Miloš sent 500 seedlings of the best Smederevo varieties of grapes to be planted around the objects as a garden. Captain Jovanča Spasić was appointed by Prince Miloš to take care of the estate. In this period, the estate had an economic, wine producing function, rather than

4480-465: The river has been part of a trans-European waterway from Rotterdam on the North Sea to Sulina on the Black Sea, a distance of 3,500 km (2,200 mi). In 1994 the Danube was declared one of ten Pan-European transport corridors , routes in Central and Eastern Europe that required major investment over the following ten to fifteen years. The amount of goods transported on the Danube increased to about 100 million tons in 1987. In 1999, transport on

4560-481: The river was made difficult by the NATO bombing of three bridges in Serbia during the Kosovo War . Clearance of the resulting debris was completed in 2002, and a temporary pontoon bridge that hampered navigation was removed in 2005. At the Iron Gate , the Danube flows through a gorge that forms part of the boundary between Serbia and Romania; it contains the Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station dam, followed at about 60 km (37 mi) downstream (outside

4640-426: The river. The Danube Delta ( Romanian : Delta Dunării pronounced [ˈdelta ˈdunərij] ; Ukrainian : Дельта Дунаю , romanized :  Del'ta Dunayu ) is the largest river delta in the European Union . The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine (Odesa Oblast). The approximate surface

4720-443: The river. Members include representatives from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and Serbia; it meets regularly twice a year. It also convenes groups of experts to consider items provided for in the commission's working plans. The commission dates to the Paris Conferences of 1856 and 1921, which established for the first time an international regime to safeguard free navigation on

4800-491: The same word means "river". The Finnish word for Danube is Tonava , which is most likely derived from the name of the river in German , Donau . Its Sámi name Deatnu means "Great River". It is possible that dānu in Scythian as in Avestan was a generic word for "river": Dnieper and Dniestr , from Danapris and Danastius , are presumed to continue Scythian * dānu apara "far river" and * dānu nazdya- "near river", respectively. In Latin,

4880-427: The sixth-to-third millennium BCE Vinča culture (Vinča, Serbia), are sited along the Danube. The third millennium BCE Vučedol culture (from the Vučedol site near Vukovar , Croatia ) is famous for its ceramics. Darius the Great , king of Persia , crossed the river in the late 6th century BCE to invade European Scythia and to subdue the Scythians . Alexander the Great defeated the Triballian king Syrmus and

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4960-415: The suffix -ouwe "wetland". Romanian differs from other surrounding languages in designating the river with a feminine term, Dunărea ( IPA: [ˈdunəre̯a] ). This form was not inherited from Latin, although Romanian is a Romance language. To explain the loss of the Latin name, scholars who suppose that Romanian developed near the large river propose that the Romanian name descends from

5040-490: The total area of the Danube Delta reaches 5,165 km (1,994 sq mi). The Danube Delta is also the best-preserved river delta in Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (since 1991) and a Ramsar Site . Its lakes and marshes support 45 freshwater fish species. Its wetlands support vast flocks of migratory birds of over 300 species, including the endangered pygmy cormorant ( Phalacrocorax pygmaeus ). These are threatened by rival canalization and drainage schemes such as

5120-430: The venue again. Now a queen mother, Natalie hired architect Jovan Ilkić in 1897 to upgrade and expand the building into the proper royal summer residence, which she intended to turn into the summer court for her son. Ilkić added two side avant-corps and decorated the edifice with ornaments in the style of the Swiss villas. Natalie was personally involved in the adaptation, style, setting, park arrangements and interiors, to

5200-641: The very first courts for tennis and cricket in Serbia were built next to the villa. Queen ordered the creation of the walking paths through the park and the forest on the hill above the villa. The declaration of Serbia into the kingdom in 1882 was announced here. It served as a venue for the royal parties and gatherings of the cultural and artistic elite. Among the visitors in this and later periods were poets and writers Milan Rakić , Laza Kostić , Branislav Nušić , Stevan Sremac , Simo Matavulj and Milovan Glišić , and painter Paja Jovanović . The writing desk where Rakić wrote his poems, his bed and library are still in

5280-435: The villa in 1895, as Draga used to be Queen Natalie's lady in waiting . They spent their honeymoon here and organized celebration of their first anniversary with a reception for 400 guests. From here Queen Draga dispatched a false news about her pregnancy and here she secluded herself when the scandal broke out. The villa also continued to be used for public and state affairs so some of the constitutions were declared here and it

5360-403: The villa in 2016. The villa was forbidden for the civilians for decades so it was nicknamed the "forbidden city" by the inhabitants of Smederevo. On 16 May 2015, during the Long Night of Museums , it was open for public for the first time. Since 2016 it has been open for organized visits with guides, from May to October. In 2016-17 the main entry stairwell was reconstructed and the new façade

5440-457: The visual of the front façade and the side wings as the lintels of the side windows remained intact. The floor of the great salon was paved with black and white marble in the chessboard pattern while the fireplace and the mirror frame were made from the white Venčac marble. The interior was arranged by Milosavljević and Protić. The furniture and artifacts for the interior of the villa were purchased on auctions all over Europe or were bought off from

5520-440: The wine production. In 1909 they installed the hail cannons , among the first in Serbia. During World War I the house was heavily damaged in the 1914 Battle of Smederevo fought between the Serbian Army and invading Austro-Hungarian Army. It was later further damaged in the frequent German bombardments in 1915. After the occupation, it was adapted into the military infirmary . The building was almost completely looted by 1918 when

5600-431: The world. Ordered from the source to the mouth they are: The Danube is navigable by ocean ships from the Black Sea to Brăila in Romania (the maritime river sector), and further on by river ships to Kelheim , Bavaria , Germany; smaller craft can navigate further upstream to Ulm , Württemberg , Germany. About 60 of its tributaries are also navigable. Since the completion of the German Rhine–Main–Danube Canal in 1992,

5680-450: Was Skopje in Ottoman Macedonia during the turbulent time of the Macedonian Struggle where Serbs, Turks , schismatic Exarchists and their Komitaji , Greek Andart cheta groups, and Albanian Kachaks all vied for supremacy. His sister Ljubica was married to Milan Grol ; and his wife Milica was the daughter of Ljubomir Kovačević , a distinguished Serbian historian and politician. He died prematurely in 1938 in Zagreb after

5760-551: Was a Serbian poet-diplomat and academic. He focused on dodecasyllable and hendecasyllable verse, which allowed him to achieve beautiful rhythm and rhyme in his poems. He was quite a perfectionist and therefore only published three collections of poems (1903, 1912, 1924). He wrote largely about death and non-existence, keeping the tone sceptical and ironic. Some of his most well-known poems are An Honest Song (Iskrena pesma), A Desperate Song (Očajna pesma), Jefimija , Simonida and At Gazi-Mestan (Na Gazi-Mestanu). He

5840-596: Was a member of the Serbian Royal Academy (1934). Rakić was born on 18 September 1876 in Belgrade to father Mita and mother Ana (née Milićević). His father, educated abroad, was Serbia's Minister of Finance (1888) and his mother was the daughter of Serbian writer Milan Milićević . He finished elementary school (grade school) and high school (gymnasium) in Belgrade . He completed law school in Paris. It

5920-492: Was at first used by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, before becoming a representative object for the state protocol. President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito visited the venue for the first time in 1953. Tito preferred to visit via Danube, on his yacht "Krajina". Tito often spent time in the villa with his foreign guests, starting with Ahmed Sukarno in 1956. By this time, the venue was already renamed to "Zlatni Breg". By

6000-442: Was done on the entire object. Today, the entire complex - park, vineyards, villa - is officially declared a "representative house for the use of state authorities" and is described by the reporters as "one of the most representative owned by the state". It is surrounded by 30 ha (74 acres) of parks and vineyards. The villa includes the summer salon, winter salon, green salon, dining room, library and royal dorm. The arrangement of

6080-431: Was in Paris that he, like Jovan Dučić , came under the influence of French Symbolist poets. They both had learned to admire French culture and had dreamed of a better world after the war. After returning to Belgrade from Paris he became a diplomat (also like Dučić) for the Serbian (and later Yugoslav ) government and remained in that job until nearly his death, representing the country abroad. His first diplomatic posting

6160-775: Was known to the ancient Greeks as the Istros ( Ἴστρος ) from a root possibly also encountered in the ancient name of the Dniester ( Danaster in Latin, Tiras in Greek) and akin to Iranic turos 'swift' and Sanskrit iṣiras ( इषिरस् ) 'swift', from the PIE * isro- , * sreu 'to flow'. In the Middle Ages, the Greek Tiras was borrowed into Italian as Tyrlo and into Turkic languages as Tyrla ;

6240-532: Was much larger than today's Danube, can still be seen in (now waterless) canyons in today's landscape of the Swabian Alb . After the Upper Rhine valley had been eroded, most waters from the Alps changed their direction and began feeding the Rhine. Today's upper Danube is thus an underfit stream . Since the Swabian Alb is largely shaped of porous limestone , and since the Rhine's level is much lower than

6320-548: Was nicknamed salon . Additionally, Prince Mihailo planted 2,000 vines of the French varieties and, as an avid equestrian, arranged the horse tracks around the house. The name of the architect is unknown, but he was probably from Vienna as the house was built in the Mitteleuropean architectural style. The central part of the front façade is flanked by the entrance with the vestibule and double stairs. The entire house

6400-399: Was often a meeting place of the government ministers. Historians cite the house as one of the locations where the 1903 overthrow of the royal couple was planned. During this time, the villa had the most vibrant life. King often used villa for his official businesses - holding ministerial sessions, signing appointments and royal decrees, and, in time, receiving foreign envoys. Delegation from

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