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Croatia is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla

Above: Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) at the age of 38.

Opening Ceremony on July 10, 2006.
Nikola Tesla Memorial Center and his birth house in Smiljan, Lika, Croatia

Croatian Government proclaimed the year 2006, "Nikola Tesla Year"

Tesla said: " I am equally proud of my Serbian origin and my Croatian fatherland."

Recently, the Croatian government declared year 2006, in which we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Tesla's birth, to be Nikola Tesla year. They also started with the reconstruction of Tesla's village, the church, his house and the brook he used to play in as a child, where he came upon his first scientific ideas. In the initial phase of the project they will invest $5 million to transform the village of Smiljan into a shrine of Nikola Tesla, with a museum and a theme park.

The opening of Tesla's reconstructed village of Smiljan, Lika, Croatia on July 10, 2006 was celebrated in the presence thousands of Tesla's admirers from many countries around the globe and the presence of the Croatian government.  Croatian President Stipe Mesic and Serbian President Boris Tadic were present at the celebration.

We thank the internet portal Grada Gospic and Mr. Juraj Kovacevic for photos of the ceremony at Nikola Tesla Memorial Center on July 10, 2006.  We also thank Petar Stojanovic, founder of Tesla Society of Switzerland.

For all the photos of the event please visit www.gospic.hr/grafika/AlbumNT/index2.html

Above: Western Union Telegram, from Nikola Tesla, to Croatian Leader Dr. Vlatko Macek on May 25, 1936.  The Telegraph reads:

To Dr. Vlatko Macek, Zagreb Croatia
Thank you very much on your congratulation and kindness.
I am equally proud of my Serbian origin and my Croatian fatherland. 
Long live all Yugoslavians.
-Nikola Tesla

Tesla Memorial Society of New York is grateful to Milka Kajganić, journalist, publicist and human rights activist, for these extremely important and historical documents (Western Union above and photos below).

Above: Erected commemorative table by Tesla's house in Smiljan, Lika, Croatia.

The commemorative table reads:
"In this house, Nikola Tesla, was born in 1856, where he got the first understandings about the secrets of nature.  As a scientist, he gave his discoveries of science to humanity as a gift of his ingenious mind."

Above: Opening ceremony of the Nikola Tesla Memorial Center, July 10, 2006.  The background shows Tesla's birth house (left) and the Serbian Orthodox Church (right) where his father Milutin Tesla was a priest.

Above: Opening ceremony of Nikola Tesla Memorial Center in Smiljan, Lika, Croatia, on July 10, 2006.

Above: Tesla's house and a Tesla Monument in front of his birth house.

Above:  Sign of the Nikola Tesla Theme Park which was beautifully renovated by the Croatian government.

Above: Tesla's birth house (left) and the Serbian Orthodox Church (right) where his father Milutin Tesla was a priest.

Above: Tesla's birth house (left) and the Serbian Orthodox Church (right) where his father Milutin Tesla was a priest.

Above: Another view of Tesla's birth house (left) and the  Serbian Orthodox Church (right) where his father Milutin Tesla was a priest.

Above: The brook close to Tesla's house where Tesla use to play as a child, where he came upon his first scientific ideas.

Above: Replication of Tesla's remote controlled boat in the brook close to Tesla's house.

Above: Opening ceremony of the Nikola Tesla Memorial Center, July 10, 2006.  The background shows Tesla's birth house (left) and the Serbian Orthodox Church (right) where his father Milutin Tesla was a priest.

Above: Interior of Nikola Tesla's home in Lika, Croatia.

Above: Opening ceremony of Nikola Tesla Memorial Center in Smiljan, Lika, Croatia, on July 10, 2006. Entrance of the renovated Serbian Orthodox Church where Tesla's father Milutin Tesla was a priest.

Above: Opening ceremony of Nikola Tesla Memorial Center in Smiljan, Lika, Croatia, on July 10, 2006.

Above: Tesla's birth house and a Tesla Monument in front of it.  On the right side is Petar Stojanovic, founder of the Tesla Society of Switzerland.

Above: Opening ceremony of Nikola Tesla Memorial Center in Smiljan, Lika, Croatia, on July 10, 2006.

Above: Opening ceremony of Nikola Tesla Memorial Center in Smiljan, Lika, Croatia, on July 10, 2006.  Milka Kajganić, journalist, publicist and human rights activist,  is standing in the center with a blue dress.  Petar Stojanovic on the far right.

Above:  Opening ceremony of Nikola Tesla Memorial Center in Smiljan, Lika, Croatia, on July 10, 2006.  (From left to right) Croatian Premier Ivo Sanader, President of Croatian Parliament Vladimir Sheks, Croatian President Stipe Mesic and Serbian President Boris Tadic.

Above: Serbian President Boris Tadic speaking at the opening ceremony of the Nikola Tesla Memorial Center. 
President Tadic said "My background is from Lika, Croatia, my grandmother was from the village of Raduca, below the Velebit Mountain".

Above: Serbian President Boris Tadic speaking at the opening ceremony of the Nikola Tesla Memorial Center. 

Above: Petar Stojanovic, founder Tesla Society of Switzerland in the newly erected laboratory of Tesla electricity in Smiljan.

Above: Delegation of Serbs from Switzerland visiting the grave of Tesla's brother Dane who died at the age of twelve in a horse accident.

Above: Holy Liturgy for Tesla in the church of Tesla's father, where most of the Serbian Orthodox clergy from Croatia were present.

Above: Opening ceremony of Nikola Tesla Memorial Center in Smiljan, Lika, Croatia, on July 10, 2006.  Delegates of the ceremony. 

Above: Ratko Gajica and Dr. Vojislav Stanimirovic, Serbian representatives of the Parliament of Croatia present at the Holy Liturgy.

Above: Catholic Bishop from Senj-Lika region, with his clergy, attending the Holy Liturgy in Tesla's father Church in Smiljan, Lika, Croatia.

For more pictures visit: http://www.teslasociety.ch/info/smiljan06/ (Click here)

Above: Nikola Tesla Bust, work of Ivan Mestrovic.

Above: Croatian Newspaper about the celebration of the 150th birthday of Nikola Tesla.

Click here for the Tesla Society of Switzerland Website which brings more photos of the Nikola Tesla Memorial Center in Smiljan, Lika Croatia

Nikola Tesla's Family

Above: Tesla's father Rev. Milutin Tesla, a Serbian Orthodox Priest.  Tesla's mother Duka Mandic, was never photographed.

Above: (from left) Nikola Tesla's sisters: Milka, Angelina and Marica Tesla.

Above (left): Pajo Mandic, brother of Nikola's mother.  Above (right): Josif Tesla, brother of Nikola's father. 

Above: Graves of Nikola Tesla's parents, Duka Tesla and Milutin Tesla.  Cemetery in Lika, Croatia.  This photo was taken by Milka Kajganić, journalist, publicist and human rights activist.

Above: Graves of Nikola Tesla's parents, Duka Tesla and Milutin Tesla.  Cemetery in Lika, Croatia.  This photo was taken by Rade Dragojevic, journalist.

"Military Frontier" of Austro-Hungarian Border against Turkish invasion

At the time of Tesla's birth in 1856, Tesla's birthplace in Smiljan, Lika was a part of the Austro-Hungarian "Military Frontier", as a defense border area against Turkish invasions which tried to invade Western Europe.  It was built at by the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy at the south-east border of the empire which extended thousand of miles from the Adriatic Coast and Lika Region to Voyvodina - the northern part of Serbia.  The "Military Frontier" was inhabited mostly by Serbian populations, Serbs defended the Christian Europe against the Ottoman Turks.  For their bravery in wars against the Turks, the Serbs were given land by the Austrian Empress.  The "Military Frontier" was abolished in 1881.

Text below taken from the International Symposium Nikola Tesla, happening on October 18-20, 2006.

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) significantly influenced technological development with his polyphase system inventions. The system is in cornerstone of modern electrical energy production, long-distance transmission, and use of electrical currents. Beside inventing the induction motor, he invented the Tesla coil - a high frequency transformer, which is an essential part of all contemporary high frequency devices. Tesla also pioneered research into other effects produced by his currents, such as the possibility of induction heating, ozone production, and effects on the human organism. His inventions have been crucial to the development of many of today’s technologies including the radio, radar, television, motors of all kinds, and computers. He is also credited with predicting the emerging energy problem as early as 1900. After death of Nikola Tesla in 1943, all his belongings have been inherited by his nephew and transferred to Belgrade where in 1955 the Nikola Tesla Museum has been opened. His ashes are also in the Museum. After his death, the name „Tesla“ was given to the unit of magnetic induction.

The Nikola Tesla Archive in Belgrade (Serbia and Montenegro) constitutes a unique collection of over 160,000 pages of the patents documentations, scientific correspondence, scientific papers, manuscripts, technical drawings, scientific measuring data, personal documents, and legal papers as well as over 1,000 original photographs of Tesla’s experiments and inventions, all of which are indispensable to the study of the history of electrification. Nikola Tesla’s Archive in Belgrade joins Memory of the World register.

Above (left): Nikola Tesla's father Milutin, the priest of Serbian Orthodox Church.  (Right) Tesla at age 23.