Why visit: Spectacular panoramic views, top landmark, architecture
Also known as: Avalski toranj, Toranj na Avali, The lighthouse of Belgrade
The Avala TV tower is a telecommunication and observation tower located at mount Avala in the southern suburbs of Belgrade. With a height of 205 meters it is currently the tallest tower in Belgrade, Serbia and the Balkans. On a sunny day the views stretch up to 100 kilometers offering breathtaking panoramas of the city, the surrounding hills, towns, roads and rivers, as well as to the Pannonian plain in the north.
The Avala Tower was a symbol of pride and a famous landmark, not only of Belgrade and Serbia, but of the former Yugoslavia too.
History
The tower was designed by architects Uglješa Bogdanović and Slobodan Janjić, and engineer Milan Krstić. Construction started on 14 October 1961 and was completed four years later in 1965. The tower weighed 4,000 tons. 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. It is one of the small number of towers to be constructed in that manner.
Destruction and reconstruction
The Avala Tower was destroyed on 29 April 1999 in the NATO bombings. The tower was one of the last buildings to be destroyed before the end of the NATO operation. A special bomb was used to destroy the tower. The blast was one of the loudest explosions heard throughout Belgrade during the bombings.
In 2004, Serbian Radio Television commenced a series of fund-raising events in order to collect money to construct the building once again at the same place where it stood before destruction. In 2005, clearing of the site where the tower was destroyed began and on 21 December 2006 the construction of a new Avala Tower commenced. Initially, completion of the new tower was expected in August 2008, but construction works were severely delayed. The opening date was pushed back to 29 April 2009, the tenth anniversary of its destruction. Radio Television Serbia reported on 23 October 2009 that the tower had been completed.
Website (360 degree photos): AvalskiToranj.rs
