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“Under the City”, Užice Tesla loved science more than any- thing, and bringing his light revolution to humankind. And Serbia received part of that splendour, just five years after the construction of his hydroe- lectric power plant on the Niagara Riv- er in the U.S. That came in the form of the hydroelectric power plant “Un- der the City” on the River Đetinja in Užice, which was built according to Te- sla’s principles of polyphase currents that were also applied for the purpos- es of his Niagara power plant. “In 1897, a joint-stock company was found- ed in Užice with the aim of building a weaving workshop, the needs of which prompted the start of the construc- tion of this hydroelectric power plant in 1899. Professor Đorđe Stanojević, a lecturer at the then Great School in Belgrade, proposed that shareholders utilise the hydro potential of the Đetin- ja and use the electricity generated to power mechanical looms at the weav- ing mill,” explains Zagorka Milićević, curator and documentary maker at the National Museum in Užice. Stanojević was a friend of Tesla, but al- so an envoy for the Ministry of Nation- al Economy. The power plant’s founda- tion stone was laid by King Aleksandar I Obrenović. Gauge equipment was de- livered from Vienna on carts that were drawn by six pairs of oxen, which had never previously been seen in Serbia.

2005. godine u Smiljanu je otvoren Memorijalni kompleks „Nikola Tesla“ The Nikola Tesla Memorial Complex was opened in Smiljan in 2005

Vučje, Leskovac I drugi su srpski gradovi kasnije pože- leli to čudo tehnike, pa je Stanojević po istom principu 1903. izgradio malu hidroelektranu u Vučju kod Leskovca, na reci Vučjanci. Elektrana je zahvata- la vodu iz kanala spojenog sa rekom i delimično uklesanog u nepristupačne litice. Vučje je 2005. uvršćeno u svet- sku baštinu tehnike, koju čini još sve- ga šezdesetak objekata. Niš, Ivanjica, Zaječar Usledila je izgradnja MHE „Sveta Pet- ka“ na reci Nišavi, zaslužna što su Niš- lije dobile struju 1908. godine. U naro- du je bila poznata kao „vila sa Nišave“, jer samo su natprirodne sile takvo ču- do mogle proizvesti. Zatim je doš- lo do podizanja „Moravice“ kod Ivanji- ce, puštene u rad 1911. Stanojević je i dalje širio Tesline ideje napravivši i Hi- droelektranu „Gamzigrad“ na Crnom Timoku, nedaleko od Zaječara. I ovo postrojenje radi i danas, zaviseći kao i sva druga slična – od vodostaja. Detinjstvo u Smiljanu Nikola Tesla rođen je 10. jula 1856. u Smiljanu, u Lici, kao četvrto od petoro dece Milutina, pravoslavnog svešte- nika, i majke Georgine. Kršten je mi- mo običaja, prevremeno, jer su rodi- telji verovali da neće preživeti, budući da je od rođenja bio slab i bolešljiv. Sklonost ka istraživanju nasledio je od majke, mada su roditelji smatrali da je Nikola manje inteligentan od svog brata Daneta, koji je poginuo pri pa- du sa konja. U Smiljanu je 2005. otvoren Memo- rijalni kompleks „Nikola Tesla“, koji se sastoji od istorijskih objekata – Tesli- ne rodne kuće i Crkve svetih aposto- la Petra i Pavla.

„Pod gradom“, Užice Tesla je više od svega voleo nauku, donoseći čovečanstvu svetlosnu revoluciju. I Srbija je dobila deo tog sjaja, svega pet godina nakon izgradnje hidroelektrane na reci Nijagari u SAD. Bila je to HE „Pod gradom“ na reci Đetinji u Užicu, koja je napravljena po Teslinim principima polifaznih struja, koji su primenjeni i na hidro- elektrani na Nijagari u SAD. – Godine 1897. u Užicu je osnovano akcionarsko društvo sa ciljem da izgradi tkačku radionicu, za čije potrebe je 1899. godine počela izgradnja ove hidroelek- trane. Profesor Đorđe Stanojević, predavač na Visokoj školi u Beogradu, predlo- žio je akcionarima da iskoriste vodeni potencijal reke Đetinje i da dobijenom elek- tričnom energijom pokrenu mehaničke razboje u tkačnici – objašnjava Zagorka Milićević, kustos dokumentarista Narodnog muzeja Užice. Stanojević je bio Teslin prijatelj, ali i izaslanik Ministarstva narodne privrede. Ka- men temeljac za hidroelektranu položio je Aleksandar Obrenović. Gabaritna oprema dopremljena je iz Beča kolima koja je vuklo šest pari volova, što Srbija ni- kad ranije nije videla. Ova hidroelektrana radi i danas i zaštićena je kao nepokret- no kulturno dobro – spomenik kulture od velikog značaja.

This hydroelectric power plant still op- erates today and is protected as an immovable cultural resource – repre- senting a cultural monument of great importance. Vučje, Leskovac Other Serbian cities subsequently de- sired this technological wonder, which led to Stanojević building a small hy- droelectric power plant based on the same principle in 1903, in the town of Vučje near Leskovac, on the river Vuč- janka. The power plant utilised water from a canal that was connected to the river and partially carved out of in- accessible cliffs. Vučje was included on the world technical heritage list in 2005, which only includes around 60 buildings in total. Niš, Ivanjica, Zaječar Next came the construction of the Saint Petka small hydro power plant on the river Nišava, thanks to which residents of Niš received electricity in 1908. It was referred to affectionate- ly among locals as the “fairy from the Nišava”, because such a miracle could only be attributed to supernatural forc-

es. Then there was the construction of the Moravica small hydro power plant near Ivanjica, which became opera- tional in 1911. Stanojević spread Tesla’s ideas even further, constructing the Gamzigrad hydroelectric plant on the Crni Timok near Zaječar. This plant also continues to function to this day, de- pending – like all other similar plants – on the water level. Childhood in Smiljan Nikola Tesla was born on 10 th July 1856, in the village of Smiljan in the Lika re- gion, as the fourth of five children of Milutin, an Orthodox priest, and Geor- gina. He was christened earlier than was customary, as he’d been weak and sickly from birth and his parents believed he wouldn’t survive. He inher- ited his proclivity for exploration from his mother, though Nikola’s parents thought he was less intelligent than his brother Dane, who died following a rid- ing accident. The Nikola Tesla Memori- al Complex opened in Smiljan in 2005 and comprises historical buildings: the house where Tesla was born, as well as the Church of the Holy Apostles Pe- ter and Paul.

HE „Pod gradom“ na reci Đetinji u Užicu napravljena je po Teslinim principima polifaznih struja Power plant “Under the City” on the River Đetinja in Užice, which was built according to Tesla’s principles of polyphase currents

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