The Avala Tower () is a tall telecommunications tower located on Mount Avala, in Belgrade, Serbia. The original tower was finished in 1965, but was destroyed on 29 April 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. The tower's reconstruction commenced on 21 December 2006 and it was officially opened on 21 April 2010.

History

Origin

The tower was designed by architects Uglješa Bogunović and Slobodan Janjić, and engineer Milan Krstić. Contractor was the "Rad" construction company. Construction started on 14 October 1961 and was completed four years later, in 1965. The tower weighed . Between and , there was an enclosed observation deck, entered at and reached via two quick elevators. It was the only tower in the world to have an equilateral triangle as its cross section, and one of very few towers not perched directly into the ground, but standing on its legs. The legs formed a tripod, the symbol of Serbian tripod chair (tronožac).

An agreement regarding its construction was signed by Dušan Basara, director of the construction sector of the Ratko Mitrović Company – which was in charge of the construction of the tower – and general director of RTS, Aleksandar Tijanić. Many fund-raising events have been held for the collection of funds so a new tower can be constructed. One of the first was a match between Serbian grand slam-winning tennis players Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. All the proceeds went to the Avala Tower fund. Ceca Ražnatović (a Serbian folk singer) held a concert on 15 June 2006, with all the proceeds going to the Avala Tower fund. RTS ran commercials for donations to rebuild the tower. According to a December 2006 report, when it was announced that the construction of a new Avala Tower would commence that same month, over €1 million was collected through fund-raising and donations.

Clearing of the site began on 21 June 2005. Over one million tons of rubble was removed. Seismic survey followed and the construction works started on 21 December 2006.

The rebuilt tower was opened on 21 April 2010 and with , it is higher than the demolished one. Materials used include 5,880 tons of concrete and 500 tons of reinforcement bars. By August 2017, 105 cement prints of the people who helped the reconstruction were displayed, including those of tennis players Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic and a new lift, for the parents with children and the disabled, have been constructed.

thumb|Tower at night

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File:Old Avala TV Tower.jpg|The original Avala Tower, destroyed in 1999

File:Avalski toranj igradnja jul 2 2008.JPG|New tower under construction, 2008

File:Avala Tower Construction 3.JPG|Tower construction in 2009

</gallery>

Radio and TV frequencies

FM radio:

  • 95.3&nbsp;MHz – Radio Belgrade 1
  • 97.6&nbsp;MHz – Radio Belgrade 2/3
  • 98.5&nbsp;MHz – Hit FM
  • 101.4&nbsp;MHz – Karolina
  • 104.0&nbsp;MHz – Radio Belgrade 202

DVB-T2 digital television:

  • UHF channel 22 – MUX 1 (national):
  • RTS 1
  • RTS 2
  • RTS3
  • RTV Pink
  • B92
  • Prva Srpska Televizija
  • Happy TV
  • UHF channel 28 – MUX 2:
  • regional and local TV stations, including Studio B
  • UHF channel 45 – MUX 3:
  • pay TV services

See also

  • List of tallest buildings in Serbia
  • Architecture of Belgrade
  • List of towers
  • List of masts These are also often used as for TV broadcasts.

References

  • Beobuild Archive : Rebuilding phases and photos of Avala Tower
  • New tower fireworks dedication
  • Avala Tower Fans Association
  • Avala Tower at skyscraperpage.com