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N I K O L A T E S L A I N B E L G R A D E I N 1

This year celebrates the anniversary of the birth of a man who illuminated the planet.A dinner ticket in the Historical Archive of Belgrade is a reminder of his 1892 visit toBelgrade. On the 150 th anniversary of his birth, this small homage is another recollectionof his short visit. The research conducted by Branislav Stojiljkovi, published in the cata-logue for an exhibition entitled Nikola Tesla in Belgrade in 1892, was helpful in recon-

structing the complete events during Teslas stay in the Serbian capital.

THE MAN WHO ILLUMINATED THE PLANET or

ELECTRICITY OF THE HEART

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N ikola Tesla was born into a respectedSerbian family in 1856, in the village of Smiljane, in the province of Lika, in what

was then Austro-Hungary (today the Republic of Croatia).

This young Serbian genius soared into eternityfrom the tiny Smiljane via Paris and London and onto the United States.

He attended schools in his native Smiljane, Gospi,Karlovac, Graz and Prague. He was first employed in

Maribor (Slovenia), followed by Budapest, Paris andStrasbourg. In 1884, Tesla left Europe for America.Although he arrived to America with just four centsin his pocket, working for two years as a commonlabourer in order to survive, somehow he managedto find investors to support the realisation of hisoriginal invention, the alternating current electricpower system.

His dream of taming the Niagra Falls came to pass.In 1895 he began work on the first generating systemusing AC circuits to transport energy for the NiagaraFalls Power Plant, and the following year the powerplant was constructed, inaugurating the first high-fre-quency alternating current that transported energy toBuffalo. The rest is history, and not just for him. Someattribute his work to Marconi or Edison, but expertsknow who Nikola Tesla is.

Tesla achieved international fame and respect inscientific circles with his discovery of the principleof the rotating magnetic field and its applicationin new models of electric power engines witha polyphase alternating current system. For hiswork and achievements in the field of the highfrequency current systems, Tesla was invited toEurope to introduce British and French scientiststo his research. Following exceptionally success-

ful lectures in London and Paris, he traveled toGospi to his mothers deathbed, an experiencethat deeply affected him. Following his mothersdeath, Tesla fell ill.

When he recuperated Tesla visited Zagreb withhis uncle and delivered a lecture at the Town Hall.He also had a meeting with Serbian students.In Budapest, Tesla received a delegation fromBelgrade comprised of Gymnasium professors andrepresentatives of the Association of Engineers.

They invited him to visit Belgrade and Tesla accept-ed their invitation with pleasure, saying that itwould be his greatest happiness to visit the cradle

of my ancestors, the Kingdom of Serbia. thecapital of the Serbs who invite me which is to mea great honor. Nothing in the world or in my lifecould ever surpass this show of respect. I am happyto be a Serb and Ill be always be proud of it.

For Belgrade and Belgraders, Teslas visit was anunforgettable event that was covered by all thecapitals newspapers. Preparations for the welcomeceremony began immediately upon the return of the delegation that went to Budapest.

SERB AND NOTHING ELSEOn the evening of May 30th, the Railway Station

in Belgrade was decorated with flowers, flagsand the emblems of numerous associations.Belgraders gathered in droves to welcome a dearguest. Among them was the president of BelgradeMunicipality, Milovan Marinkovi, gymnasium pro-fessors and other educational institutions, repre-sentatives of the Royal Court, engineers, studentsand other youth, and the University Choir Obili,all of whom contributed to the ceremony.

The newspapers described Tesla as follows: Mr.Tesla is a handsome, dark-haired man, with a smallmoustach, tall with a fine figure, cheerful, andhe looks younger than his years; he is also a verypleasant and likeable person and his gentle smileimmediately beckons one to like him.

On the second day of his Belgrade visit, Teslavisited the Royal Palace in the company of Ministerof Education and Church Issues Andra Nikoli, (theformer palace now serves as the Belgrade CityAssembly) where he was received by a youngKing Aleksandar Obrenovi I. The Regency deco-rated Tesla with the Medal of St. Sava of the SecondOrder.

In a trembling voice, Tesla thanked everyone for thewarm welcome he received and recounted interestingevents from the early days of his work. He ended hisspeech by saying, I have some ideas I hope to realise,

and when I do, the world will have to acknowledgethem. For me it will be the greatest happiness becauseit will be the work of a Serb. Leaving Belgrade he said,The time will come when we will be able to breakfastin New York and have dinner in Belgrade. I will not liveto see it

The railway station in Belgrade, 19th century

Invitation to a Belgrade dinner

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Tesla visited the Gymnasium (today the RectorsOffice of Belgrade University) in the afternoon andwas welcomed by the rector and teaching staff.He later visited the National Museum, located inthe same building it occupies today, and severalcabinets. At 4 p.m. he was warmly welcomed bystudents in the Gymnasium Hall who greeted himexclaiming: Live, Live and Welcome. Tesla was so

touched that for a minute he couldnt utter a word,and then, with obvious emotion, he addressed thestudents saying, The happiness that I feel atthis moment I cannot express, but I am happy tohave had the opportunity to express before you,my dear brothers, my greatest joy, as I was and Iremain only a Serb and nothing else. It happens,gentlemen, being far from ones homeland andcarried away by work, as I have been, one cansometimes forget ones name, nationality and hisnative land. This has never happened to me andI hope it never will or can happen, gentlemen.

Although I dont live here with you, still I can con-tribute more to the altar of the Serbian idea, I amengaged in other work and in another way I spreadthe fame of the Serbian people and in another wayI work and try as much as much as I can to be usefulto my people and my dear brothers. Brothersand friends! Thank you for all this attention and forthe medal. I see in you young Serbians that you willdo your utmost to realise the task of all Serbians.You are the future of Serbia. I have always asyou can see and hear remained a Serb, thoughI have lived across the sea, where I am engaged inresearch. This is what you should also be engagedin, and by your knowledge and work, you willcontribute to the fame of Serbs worldwide. Teslasaddress was frequently interrupted by exclama-tions, Live Tesla!

That afternoon a concert was organised in Teslashonor at Kalemegdan. In addition to the DanubeRegiment Band conducted by Davorin Jenko, theUniversity Choir Obili also performed, conductedby Josif Marinkovi, with a program that includedcompositions by Mokranjac, Josif Marinkovi andDavorin Jenko. After the concert, Tesla took a strollthrough Kalemegdan where he was greeted bymany Belgraders who came to see him.

THE MOST BEAUTIFULMOMENTS OF MY LIFE

The invitations to a banquet organised in NikolaTeslas honour invited guests to associate and tohave a dinner at 9 p.m. in the garden restaurantof Weifert Brewery in honour of our dear guestMr. Nikola Tesla, the famous Serbian electric engi-

neer and scientist. The invitation notes that thea la carte dinner is at ones own expense. Thisimpressive banquet gathered more than a hundredguests, including ministers, professors, representa-tives of various associations, and distinguishedcitizens. Toasts were given in honour of the greatguest. Poet Jovan Jovanovi Zmaj welcomed Teslawith a poem. The local legend was so excited Zmajthat he read his own verses for the first time inhis life. Zmaj was so excited that he could hardlyread the poem to its end and Tesla stood up and,with tears in his eyes, kissed the poets hand. Many

guests shed a tear while watching this movingscene and one journalist wrote : I have never seenmore noble tears in the human eye.

In a trembling voice, Tesla thanked everyone forthe warm welcome and recounted some interest-ing stories from the beginning of his work. Heended his story by saying, I have some ideas thatI hope to realise, and when I do, the world willacknowledge them and for me it will be the great-est happiness, as it will be the work of a Serb.

Nikola Tesla left Belgrade on June 3rd, by expresstrain bound for Budapest. Although it was early inthe morning, Belgraders came en masse to see himoff and to wish him a good journey.

Before leaving, Tesla promised to come againnext year to the Serbian capital and to deliver lec-tures about electricity, but he never again visitedBelgrade.

Impressions from Belgrade were deeply etchedin Teslas mind. He was happy with this visit andwhen he continued his journey to Paris, he said to journalists: The moments I spent in Belgrade wereindeed the most beautiful in my life

JOVANKA VESELINOVI

photographs:NIKOLA TESLA MUSEUM

Welcome to Nikola Tesla, a poemby Jovan Jovanovi Zmaj writtenfor Tesla's visit to Belgrade

I dont know what it is, if its of the essenceOr just a thoughtBut as soon as we heard you were comingInstantly we got electrified.

As a tree stands, so stands SerbiaA mother to every leaf a sonThe freshest leaf shimmersAnd off it flies into the distance.

Belgrade is happy todayTo meet a Serbian heroOpening its heartBefore a Serb, an idol.

A fresh leaf will understandEvery vein of its treeElectricity will connect us(The electricity of our heart)Without wires or cables

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To keep the memory of theman who is said by many tohave devised the 20 th century,a number of institutions inBelgrade were named afterhim. With a museum and amonument, Belgrade hasrepaid its debt to Tesla, it hasnamed a boulevard after him,whereas Tesla spent only oneday in Belgrade, from where

he was, according to tradition,seen off warmly.

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This year the whole world is marking the150th anniversary of Nikola Teslas birth(1856-1943). Official academies, appropri-

ate events, new and reconstructed monuments,films, songs, and the opening of museums and insti-tutions carrying his name. According to announce-ments from the Serbian government, Teslas jubileewill be marked in Serbia with a series of culturaland artistic programmes, educational and scientificevents, the calling of a competition by the NikolaTesla Foundation for awarding a prize to domesticexperts and reconstruction of the church of theHoly Apostles Peter and Paul in Smiljan, where hewas baptised. Tesla will get another monument inBelgrade, the work of Drinka Radovanovi, whereas

a fountain constructed according to a patent of therenowned scientist will be put up in front of themuseum that keeps legacies of Tesla accessibleto all of us. In the middle of October, the SerbianAcademy of Arts and Sciences will organise a sci-entific event dedicated to Tesla and his work. Anexhibition at the Matica Srpska Gallery in Novi Sadhas been scheduled for November, with exhibitsand photos from Teslas life of work. A number of publications and monographs on Tesla are planned,and there will also be a large number of exhibitions.The Museum of Nikola Teslawill organise an exhibi-tion titled 150 Years from the Birth of Tesla Lifeand Work, which will be presented in Belgrade aswell as in Zagreb, Rijeka, Osijek, Karlovac, Perth,Athens, Vienna and Vancouver. Central celebra-tions of Teslas jubilee across the world have beenannounced for July 10, the day when Tesla wasborn one and a half centuries ago.

There are several institutions in Belgrade todaythat carry the name of the famous scientist. Theyare: the Belgrade airport, the thermal energy plantin Obrenovac, the Institute of Technical Engineering,the Secondary School of Technical Engineering, anda folklore group... Tesla has his own boulevard inthe Serbian capital, a monument in front of the

building of technical faculties, and the museumwhere all his personal belongings are kept, includ-ing the urn with his ashes.

A THEATRE PLAY

As an introduction to the year of Teslas jubi-lee, Madlenianum opera and theatre chose MiloCrnjanskis playTeslaas its first play on the theatresnew stage in late May 2005. The play chrono-logically covers nearly one year of Teslas life inthe United States. This psychological and historicaldrama has been one of the most attended theatreshows on the Belgrade theatre scene.

AIRPORT

On the occasion of marking the 150th

anniversaryof Teslas birth, it was decided to name the Belgradeairport after him as of January this year. The airportin Belgrade has been in use since 1962 and airtransport experts claim that the airports location isideal in relation to other airports in the surround-

ings, as it has no navigation limits and is on thecrossroads of the biggest air routes.

THERMAL ENERGY PLANT

On March 7 this year, the thermal plant inObrenovac marked its 36th anniversary and threedecades since it was named after Nikola Tesla. TheNikola Tesla Athermal plant was built in 1970 and isthe biggest thermal plant in Serbia. It produces 60percent of the electric power in the country.NikolaTesla Bthermal plant is the strongest support of the Serbian power energy system. Rail tracks werebuilt at the same time with the energy plant, whichare considered not only among the most burdenedin Europe, but in the world as well. They transport

coal, materials, spare parts and chemicals neces-sary for the plants operations. Guided tours and amultimedia presentation of the thermal plant areorganised so that tourists are able to the see theprocess of electric energy production.

INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL

ENGINEERING

The Institute of Electrical Engineeringhas carriedthe name of Nikola Tesla since its founding in1936. It is made up of four departments: the powersystems department, automation and controldepartment, electric power facilities department,department of electrical measurements as well as atesting and calibration laboratory. From 1950 until1959, unique exhibits were created in this institute,which now are on permanent exhibition at theNikola Tesla Museum Teslas transformer, the firstengine, Colombos egg, and many more.

SECONDARY SCHOOL OF

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

The Nikola Tesla Secondary School of ElectricalEngineering is situated in the city centre and isbetter known by Belgraders as justTesla. The schooloffers educational programmes for electricians of

T H E N A M E O F N I K O L A T E S L A I N B E L G R

FOLLOWING THE TRAIL OF LIGHT

The Electrotechnical school Nikola Tesla

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computers, electronics, telecommunications, ener-gy, radio and video, and for process controlling. Theschool celebrates its 60th anniversary next year.

MUSEUM The whole personal legacy as well as Teslas ashes

are kept in the museum with bearing the greatscientists name and is located in the centre of Belgrade. The Museum of Nikola Teslawas foundedin 1952, following a decision of the Yugoslav gov-ernment. It is located in a residential villa builtin 1927, the work of renowned Serbian architectDragia Braovan, whose building is also known toBelgraders Genis villa. The museum was openedto the public on October 20, 1955 and holds veryvaluable collections: over 160,000 original docu-ments, nearly 2,000 books and magazines, around1,200 historical and technical exhibits and 1,500photographs and photo plates of original techni-cal items, instruments and devices as well as over1,000 plans and drawings left behind by Tesla. Thisinstitution is considered to be not only unique in

our country, but in the world as well. As an institu-tion preserving the largest collection of documentson the life and work of Nikola Tesla, the museumplays an important role in providing information in

the fields of history, inventions and patent rights aswell as for environmental protection projects andstudies of so-called pollution-free energy sources.

BOULEVARD

Positioned side by side with the flow of theDanube River and the Danube quay, Nikola TeslaBoulevard connects New Belgrade and Zemun.Apart from being an important traffic artery of the city, many business offices and institutions arelocated there.

MONUMENT

The monument of Nikola Tesla, the work of sculp-tor Fran Krini, stands in front of the building of technical faculties the Faculty of Architecture,the Faculty of Civil Engineering and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. It was erected in 1957 for

Teslas 100th birth anniversary, and Tesla receivedan identical monument in 1976 in the UnitedStates at the Niagara national park in New YorkState.

At the initiative of the Croatian Ministry of Culture, the Belgrade monument was copied andwill be placed in Gospi in July this year, whereTeslas monument was demolished during the 1991war in Croatia. Apart from Gospi, Tesla shouldreceive a monument in his birthplace Smiljan, in adifferent model to the one in Belgrade. To mark the jubilee, a monument to Tesla was recently erectedin Zagreb as well, and according to the press, theZagreb City Council apologised to the scientistposthumously for failing to recognise his genius.Zagrebs city officials met on May 24 this year in aspecial session, exactly 114 years after Nikola Teslasuggested to the then Zagreb mayor to introduceelectric power lighting of city streets. The mayorturned down the proposal then, and the city onlygot electricity 15 years later.

JELENA TASI

photographs:BRANKO JOVANOVI

TESLAS POSTHUMOUS PATH

The son of an Orthodox priest, Nikola Tesla died on Orthodox Christmas, on January 7, 1943 and was buried according to Orthodox rite, but hisremains were cremated several months later in New York and the ashes were temporarily placed in a local cemetery. His ashes were thentransferred to Belgrade in 1957, and since thenhave been kept in the Museum of Nikola Teslain an urn placed in a golden ball on a stone ped-estal. The Serbian governments committee for marking the anniversary of Nikola Teslas birthannounced it will initiate the burying of Teslasremains, with the Serbian Orthodox Church sug- gesting that Tesla should be buried near the Saint Sava Temple in Vraar.

DAVID BOWIE AS TESLA

World music stars White Stripes and Kraftwerk dedicated one song to Nikola Tesla in the end of 2005 and early this year they held concertsin Serbia, when they also visited the NikolaTesla museum in Belgrade. Teslas jubilee will be

marked on film as well. The director of the cult movie Memento. Christopher Nolan, is workingon a movie titled The Prestige, with Tesla being played by David Bowie.

Interesting elements from the Nikola Tesla Museum

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