Water plant on Djetinja
The water plant on the river Djetinja is situated at the bottom of the Užice Old Town, it was made in 1900 and is one of the symbols of the town of Užice. It was the first electrical plant made according to Tesla’s principles of an alternating current in Serbia, just one year after the first of its kind was built on the river Niagara in America.
And how did it all start? When did the first idea to use power of the water of Djetinja to make electricity appear in Užice?
According to the registered data from XIX century, everything started when the bakers, who paid a lot of money for the steam mill in Čačak, decided to make their own steam mill. They asked for the advice from their fellow man Stevan Cadjevic the first engineer among people of Užice who worked at that time in the Ministry of Civil Engineering of Kingdom of Serbia.
The answer was very interesting. “No way to build a steam mill! You have no coal, and the steam machines are bound to break down very often. You should build a mill that is using the water turbine. For the turbine you have the water from Djetinja, even more than you would need!” The bakers of Užice estimated that to build that kind of industrial mill would cost them a fortune, that it perhaps would not be payable and decided to delay the whole thing for some time. Lots of water ran through the Djetinja River before its power started to be used for industrial purposes. The deed was attributed to the textile workers of Užice.
In the year of 1891 there was opened, or, as it is said in the records, there was established the State Wavering School. Then the idea to build the factory for wavering was born. On the national meeting held on 14th November in 1897, the Joint stock Company was founded, which decided to build the wavering factory. The rules and regulations were accepted for the Stock Company, and from the Ministry of Commerce, according to the existing laws for supporting crafts and workshops they even got some benefits, the first shares were issued and the building of the factory could have started.
To provide cheap and safe flow of energy, the shareholders decided to use waterpower of Djetinja for the machines in the factory. As a representative of the Ministry of National Commerce, the reputable professor of The Grand School and the pioneer of electrification in Serbia, Djordje Stanojevic, visited Užice in 1898.He visited canyon of Djetinja and the place they supposed to build the factory and he found out that there is enough water in the river bed of Djetinja to provide power for the turbines to make electrical currency, and then which would not only be used for the wavering machines but also for the city electrification, so then they decided to build the water plant.
The cornerstone was placed by the King Aleksandar Obrenovic himself on 15th of May (it was the 3rd may in Julian Calendar) 1899. According to the custom in those days, the godfather should place the cornerstone of the house. By placing a cornerstone for the water plant, the King Aleksandar has become its godfather. The project for building the water plant on Djetinja was made by engineer Acim Stevovic, who was originally from Mokra Gora (at that time he was employed at railways workshop in Niš). Djordje Stanojevic chose the equipment that would provide application of Tesla’s principles in the work of the water plant and the transfer of electric current. Taking into account how heavy the equipment was which should have been brought from Vienna to Užice, there were six oxen-drawn wagon used to do that. Up to that time, no one had seen such a thing in Serbia.
The works on the adjustment of the equipment in the water plant and the major part of the electrification network in the town have finished at the end of July 1900. The water plant had its pompous opening on 2nd of august, on the Holy Elias Day, one the same date when His Majesty the King was born. The citizen have enjoyed in “the sea of lights in which whole town was bathing”.
For its Hundredth Annual, the water plant has been renovated and on the day of Holy Elias in 2000 it was repaired to work again. The old machines by Siemens can make electricity again. In this beautiful building now there is the Technical Museum.
Location: City beach, Phone: 031 521 360 In charge: JP EPS nmuzice.org.rs
nmuzejuzice@ptt.rs