11 years ago during the three month NATO bombing agression of Serbia the Mount Avala Tower was stupidly destroyed.
I write "stupidly" because Radio Television Serbia broadcasting did not suffer as it was relying on a network of local TV stations which were obliged to relay its program throughout the whole of Serbia. A special bomb was used to destroy the tower. The blast was one of the loudest explosions heard throughout Belgrade during the NATO bombardment.
All of the effort of the creators of this unique structure, which took five years to build (it was completed in 1965 with 4,000 tonnes of armored concrete and a 25-tonne 60-metre antenna) disappeared in just a few minutes. I made a post about the old tower here.
I followed on Beobuild how the re-construction was going on, and now after 3 years of works (but planning started in 2005) the tower is finished. The works were done by the workers of Ratko Mitrovic Dedinje Construction Firm (no, not my relative!).
Apart from the panoramic view and the restaurant covering 100 square metres at a height of 120 metres, there will be an additional 1,000 square metres of usable space for business and cultural activities at the foot of the tower.
last works on the panorama-restaurant
on top of the tower (pictures from beobuild)
The reconstruction was suported by many artists, journalists and students, seeing it as a couragious act, in a continually economically challenged country like Serbia, but the symbolic act of raising such a tower was also the wish to show how pointless the NATO destruction was.
The view from the tower
(you see over Belgrade and over half of Sumadija)
But what was the reason for bombing Serbia (Yugoslavia) and why that focus on TV stations and antennas?
I'd like to share some interesting texts about it:
I'd like to share some interesting texts about it:
David Vs. Goliath: NATO Agression Against Serbia
by de-construct.net
picture 2 terrible... nice blog
ReplyDeletemany serbs still point to the evils of NATO for the agressions, when the fact is, that NATO waited far too long to intervene and stop the bloodshed. For everyone but the serbs, this is fact. But many serbs keep living this martyrium. Why? Why not move on? What good comes from this? Please stop this nationalist bullshit. We do not want war again. Kind regards from Denmark.
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