36 | ForeigntouristswhocometotheSerbian capital almost never miss out on a visit to the Nikola Tesla Museum. O cial data indicates that the must tour locations in Belgrade are St. Sava Temple,KalemegdanFortressandthebuildingthatpreserves the legacyof thescientist whose discoveries changed theworld. It alsoisn’toverlookedbydomestictourists,with around150,000peoplepassingthroughthe Museumannually.Whilewalkingthroughthe fascinating world of this genius from Smiljan,wediscoveredthingsthatevenwedidn’t knowaboutTesla.Didyouknowthathetook extra care of the clothes he wore, choosing only thosemade from the nest materials? “AllofNikolaTesla’ssuitshadanauthentic labeldetailingtheirproductionontheback. Helikedtowearglovesbecausehewasafraid of bacteria and viruses. He took care of his diet, eatingtwiceaday, andwalkeda lotbecausehethought itwasproductiveforwork. Andheworkedconstantlyandcreatedsomethingneweveryday.Hedirectedallhisenergy towardsuncovering thenew. If itweren’t forTesla, therewouldbenothing,”saysTesla MuseumDirector Ivona Jevtić. Analytical tothelevelofgenius,astickler fordetailsandaperfectionist. Inthemuseum you can see a crocodile skin bag and shoes withlacesthatarestillmoderntoday,because Tesla was beyond time, and everything related to him is timeless.We could easily imagine him in the suit exhibited in theMuseum, with leather gloves and a watch. As the director told us, theTeslaMuseumisconstantly introducingnewelements, so there’s now one employee of this institution who bears a striking resemble to Tesla, andwho sometimes dons the greatman’s suit and introduces himself to visitors. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to meet him, but we didgetTesla topersonally introduceus tothe special part of the Museumwhere the virtual tour, introduced in 2016, is conducted.We donned glasses and stepped into virtual reality. There we were welcomed by signposts – some leading to the personal life of Nikola Tesla, others directing us along the road to his inventions. This museum, which is a unique institutionofscienceandcultureinSerbiaandworldwide,hasaround160,000originaldocuments, over2,000booksandmagazines,1,200historical-technical exhibits, more than 1,500 photographs and glass photo plates, over 1,000 designplansandsketches...Attractingtheattention of visitors in particular are the“baby” transformerof120thousandvoltsandthe500 thousandvolttransformerusedfortotransmit electricitywirelessly.Atthemomentoftheelectric discharge of the large transformer in the Museum, lightningstrikeslikethatwhichstruck in1856“announcingTesla’sbirth”. Sciencelovers will surely be interested in the fact that the“baby”transformer can also be touched. Everyinventionisproofofhowmuchthis scientist contributed to the development of electrical and mechanical engineering, by - amongother things - inventing an induction motorandaremote-controlledboat.Humanity was left indebted to him with inventions that includethetransmissionanduseofalternating current, wireless communication, remote controls... His inventions provided the basisformodernpowersystems, themost importantpartofeverycountry’s infrastructure, and themodi cations tohis transformers are usedinresearchlaboratories forphysics, laser technology, X-rays etc. “I rmlybelieve intheLawofCompensation. Genuine awards are always proportionate to the work undertaken and the sacri ce involved. This is one of the reasons why I’m sure that, of all my inventions, the high-voltagetransmitterwillprovethemost important andmostvaluablefor futuregenerations,”said Tesla, andwemet thosefuturegenerationsat themuseum. Curious to ndoutwhoTeslawas, young peoplecomefromaroundtheworld.Through the original lm of Branimir Jovanović (with subtitles in11 languages), theyare rst familiarisedwith details fromthe life andworks of this scientist, and then, like us, they carefully visit thecornerof thishousethathasbecome one of the symbols of Belgrade. In conversationwith them, we discovered that some are amazed by Tesla, while there are also those whodon’tknowmuchaboutthisscientistfrom Smiljan.Aftervisitingthismuseum, that’scertainly changed. Ever more excursions from all over Serbia are coming to theTeslaMuseum, which is particularly pleasing for Jevtić, because in that way children get a chance to learn about Tesla and to become interested in science. It is better to learn about Tesla by understanding his words: “Our bodies areof a similar buildandare exposedtothesameexternal in uences.The resultofthat issimilarreactionsandaharmony of thegeneral activities uponwhichall of our social andother rules and laws arebased.We are automatons that completely control the forces of the environment... Our movements andother actions serve topreserve lives, and although it seems that we are completely independent of one another, we are linked by invisible connections...” Also on display in theMuseum is a copy of aportrait ofNikolaTesla, the“BluePortrait”, whichisthe1916workofHungarianaristocrat Vilma Lwo -Parlaghy. The scientist agreed to pose for his lady friend under one condition: that blue glass be placed on the windows to simulate thenorthern lights (the lights of the nightskythatusuallyappear inpolar regions). A signi cant place in themuseum is occupiedby photographs of NikolaTesla’s family– fatherMilutin, aSerbianOrthodoxpriest, motherGeorgina,brotherDaneandsistersMilka,AngelinaandMarica,withwhom–wewere toldat theMuseum–heoftencorresponded and sent money. “Tesla likedtodrinkgoodwineandwaited for the wine sent to himby UncleTribvun Mandić,” notes another lesser known detail fromhis biography. Direktorka muzeja Ivona Jevtić Museum director Ivona Jevtić VAZDA OSTAJEM SAMO SRBIN Mnogo se polemiše o poreklu Nikole Tesle, ali evo šta je on sam o tome rekao u govoru koji je održao prilikom posete Velikoj školi u Beogradu 1892, a koji je objavljen u časopisu Branik… „Svoju radost, koju ja ovoga trenutka osećam, ja ne umem da vam iskažem, ali se radujem što mogu ovom prilikom da pred vama, mila braćo, izrazim svagda svoje najmilije zadovoljstvo da sam bio i da vazda ostajem samo Srbin i ništa više... ... Ako ima kakve slave i zasluge za čovečanstvo da se pripiše mome imenu, to ta počast više pripada srpskom imenu, srpskom narodu, iz čije sam sredine ja ponikao…“ I ALWAYS REMAIN ONLY A SERB There is a lot of controversy about the origin of NikolaTesla, but here’s what he himself said about that in a speech that he gave during a visit to the Great School in Belgrade in 1892, whichwas published in the journal“Branik”... “My joy, which I feel at thismoment, is something I’mnot capable of expressing to you, but I am joyful that on this occasion, in front of you, my dear brothers, I can express always withmy dearest satisfaction that I have been andwill always remain only a Serb and nothingmore... ...And if there is any glory andmerit for humanity, to be attributed tomy name, that honour belongsmore to the Serbian name, to the Serbian people fromwhosemidst I emerged...”
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