[Rijeka] - Construction Update (ENGLISH)

[ivan_ri]

Intelligent apartments in centre of Rijeka

superator.hr

[ivan_ri]

Perched on a hill overlooking the harbour area and keeping watch over the hinterland is the fortress Trsat, which has stood guard over the city since Illyrian times. Trsat is the site of the first settlement of Rijeka, inhabited since prehistoric times. It’s one of the best known symbols of the city.
You may also notice from a distance the elegant spire of a white church. Trsat is a complex comprising the fortress and church, a Franciscan monastery, a smaller church, a sports hall and exhibition centre (where many concerts are held), landscaped park gardens and a charming huddle of houses. It’s a serene place to linger over a coffee, and the ecclesiastical heart of Rijeka. The church, St Mary of Trsat, has been a shrine to the Virgin Mary and a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of years. The story goes that when, at the end of the 13th century, the Crusaders were taking Mary’s house from Nazareth to Loretto, where they would set it up as a pilgrim shrine, they stopped and rested at Trsat. A church was then built on the site by the Frankopans (who played a large role in the entire development of Trsat), and also became a place of pilgrimage. The church contains a great number of renowned religious paintings and a 14th century icon of Our Lady, reputed to be miraculous. It was presented to Croatian pilgrims in Loretto, and is venerated to this day. For more on the church and its sacral art collection see below. The fort has had many facelifts over the centuries, notably by local influential families, the Frankopans of Krk, the Captains of Bakar and the Hapsburgs. The last and most romantic alterations were made by Irish-born Count Laval Nugent, a commander of the Austro-Hungarian empire, who eventually made his home here and established a museum. Sadly, the museum no longer exists. There are attractive underground spaces (one of which once housed prison cells) which are now used as exhibition spaces, and apparently a secret passageway leads to the Rječina river. The Grecian style Nugent family mausoleum is also now a gallery space. The fort is well worth visiting for its architectural beauty and the stunning views over Rijeka and the Kvarner Gulf. It’s part of a chain of defences across the mountains that protected the Roman Empire from barbarian invasion.
You can reach Trsat using the 16th century stairs of Captain Petar Kružić – the traditional route for pilgrims. Before you start complaining, pilgrims often climb them on their knees as a mark of devotion. But if it’s hot or you’re feeling parky, you can also reach Trsat by road from the east of the centre, or take bus 1 or 1a.


Inaugurated Pastoral Episcopate Centre "The Hall of Pope John Paul II"
Rijeka, 6 June 2008
Pastoral centre "The Hall of Pope John Paul II" has been inaugurated within the sanctuary of Trsat on the occasion of the celebration of the 5th anniversary of John Paul II's visit to Rijeka. The hall, which construction was also supported by the City of Rijeka, was sanctified by Josip Bozanić, archbishop of Zagreb and cardinal, and the inauguration of the hall was attended by numerous citizens.

On the occasion of his visit, the late pope sanctified the foundation stone of the future pastoral centre which afterwards was laid in the location of a former industrial building. At this place the hall has been constructed, where a large room with 300 seats occupies the prominent position. Besides the room, the building includes a pastoral library, and rooms for the work of the Franciscan Profane Order and rooms for a choir and a smaller room called "The dais of Pope John Paul II".

The inauguration of the pastoral centre and the solemn mass represented the central celebration of the Days of John Paul II at Trsat. The pastoral centre was sanctified by cardinal Bozanić in the presence of archbishop of Rijeka and metropolitan, Ivan Devčić and apostolic nuncio to the Republic of Croatia, Mario Roberto Cassari. Sanctifying the hall, cardinal Bozanić pointed out that the construction of the hall was in remembrance of John Paul II's visit to Rijeka, whereby committing us that the evangelic spirit be felt in the space of the new pastoral centre and Christ's truth and the mystery of his love be promoted.

Further to bishops, the last night's inauguration was attended by many sponsors who have assisted in its construction.

[ivan_ri]

Originally Posted by P.C.Dolabella

[IMG]http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn49/xyz_poz/Rijeka%20z
/Trsat047.jpg[/IMG]

Originally Posted by P.C.Dolabella

Originally Posted by P.C.Dolabella

Originally Posted by P.C.Dolabella

Originally Posted by P.C.Dolabella

more pictures of Trsat sanctuary over here ---> link_1 link_2

[ivan_ri]

New cwntral building of main city cemetery on Drenova. The project was created by Dinko Kovacic

[ivan_ri]

nacional.hr

Exclusive: Džamonja to build the Rijeka Mosque
'The Rijeka Mosque to resemble a giant sculpture'

After Nacional revealed that the winning submission for the Rijeka Islamic Center was a plagiarism, the competition was nullified, and after much consideration, it has been decided that the Rijeka Mosque will be built on the concept of sculptor Dušan Džamonja

The Mosque in Rijeka is to be built according to the idea of sculptor Dušan Džamonja. With this project, Džamonja will present his great love for architecture and will be presented as the designer. To date, he has hidden this curiosity from the public, and as such, only his closest friends are aware that he has actually been dealing with architectural design for years, and has designed museums, galleries and mosques. In addition to his many sculptures, drawings and sketches, Džamonja today has a collection of over 60 architectural designs which he has modeled. The public will soon be able to see for itself just how interesting they are at an upcoming exhibition in the Museum of Architecture to be held in February. To make things even more interesting, the Rijeka Islamic Center will be the first after the Zagreb center to be built in Croatia.

Best Design Rejected

'I don't feel guilty about winning this project instead of young architects accused of plagiarism'The decision made to build the center on Džamonja’s model ends the rather unpleasant story which began at the beginning of last year, when it was discovered that the winning design for the center was in fact an act of plagiarism. However, Džamonja’s project almost was not realized. The decision to accept his project was mostly on hold because the people of Rijeka were dissatisfied with the location of the center. In truth, the background behind the story was a case of racial intolerance, as it turned out the people of Rijeka did not want a mosque anywhere in their town. Despite this, there are already rumors that the construction of the Rijeka mosque will be a great attraction.

Considering that sculptor Dušan Džamonja has been working well with Rijeka for years, they invited him to make a submission on the Rijeka Islamic Center. Džamonja accepted the invitation with delight, and he selected architects Vučinović and Vlahović from the architectural design company ‘SDB’, who had made the architectural-urban project. Džamonja stressed that they had created an excellent internal design to the project, creating a pleasant ambient to the complex. “We took Džamonja’s model sculpture of the mosque and began thinking about a prayer, education and housing areas,” said the architect who in his 30 year career has already realized some 300 projects, from the Maksimir Tennis Center and many urban and family homes and villas to the interior and housing center in Sveta Nedjelja, and the underground parking garage on Langov Trg which is currently undergoing construction.

However, their project design for the Rijeka Islamic Center was not submitted on time, it was not entered into the official competition. That is, Džamonja and team sent in their proposal on the final day of the competition, believing that the post-mark on the package would be valid, as in the case with the majority of competitions. However, that was not the case, despite the fact that the Regulations of the Croatian Architects’ Association permit such a possibility. The organizers of the competition already sent the proposals to the panel the following day, and as such could not consider projects sent by mail. As the architects said, their proposal was returned to them unopened, and they were more than disappointed. When it was revealed that the winning project was plagiarized, they showed their project to the decision makers in the Islamic Community in Zagreb and to the City of Rijeka. Their proposal was met there with general delight. “But they were all angry that our submission for the competition was late!” said the architects.

Islamic Specificities

The new Islamic Center will be erected on the slopes of Gornji Zamet, in the western section of the city and will have a spectacular view of the Kvarner Bay. The mosque with its minaret will be positioned on elevated ground as the central sculpture. In harmony with Džamonja’s idea of integrating architecture into the landscape, it will look simply like a massive sculpture.

Of course, the interior of the mosque will strictly conform to religious standards. The exterior will be composed of stone and yellowish ‘desert’ sand, while the interior vault will be covered with gold mosaic. The floor will be black granite covered in oriental carpets in lively colors. The minaret will rise to the north, will also have a sculptural form and will be 17 meters in height. Beneath the mosque, on the lower floor, one side of which will be underground, the Islamic Center will be constructed, with several facilities, including café, restaurant, butcher shop, conference hall, preschool and religious school. In the back, northern section, to be underground, will be the garage and other businesses. The Islamic Center will cover a total of 3572 square meters.

The new Islamic Center in Rijeka was designed in harmony with the symbols of the Islamic community and religion. As the architects admitted, they were required to learn more about Islam and Islamic construction for this challenging project in order to better present its specificities. “In the external section, in the dome sections, the figure of the half moon is present, as a unique Islamic symbol, and the internal vaults create the atmosphere of the heavenly vault and ultimate space,” added Džamonja. The element of water, a popular one, is always discrete in Islam will be strongly emphasized here: between the two southern domes will be a pool with a glass wall, such that the light will penetrate through the water, lighting the office space below.

In addition, the special construction of the shell combined with light will create a somewhat mystical atmosphere. When asked about the winning design, which was discovered to be plagiarism, Džamonja declared that nothing could defend plagiarism, particularly since the young architects used the same solution as the designers from Rotterdam. “They wanted to take an already constructed shopping center, turn it into a mosque and offer it to Rijeka, which is unprofessional,” he states, added that he does not feel any guilt for the fact that the City of Rijeka and the Islam Community in the end decided for his project. “They agreed that it was a shame that the project was not received on time, as it would have certainly won the competition.”

Džamonja became interested in architecture when he was studying at the Academy of Fine Arts. “While listening to the lectures on design by Neven Šegvić, I grew to love architecture, which was always so exciting to me,” he said. “We soon realized that we had many common interests and we became friends. He was a fantastic teacher and mentor: when he saw that I had a good idea, he would help me to realize it in space. We always discussed everything, though he never intervened in my ideas. Through our discussions, I realized that I could not separate architecture from my sculptural concepts. In the end, that is what helped me to create some sort of synthesis between sculpture and architecture. But unlike architects, I transform sculpture into architecture, while they turn architecture into sculpture, which is a real trend today,” said Džamonja.

Harmony with Nature

In explaining his views on architecture, Džamonja admits that architecture must respect programs, though that can also be achieved through reverse order. “First I resolve the spatial problem, for I believe that architecture should never be aggressive and it should fit in with its surroundings,” Džamonja explained, adding that the most sensitive part is designing the volume. “If that can be successfully resolved, then the interior is a lesser problem. Regardless of whether it is science or art, in creation the most interesting part is the imagination, which is more important than experience or inspiration. With the help of imagination, unexpected solutions can be found.”

To the question of what his vision of architecture is, Džamonja responded that he found a very interesting book in a Munich bookstore on the architecture of German bunkers. He instantly bought it, knowing that inside he would find fantastic testimony on how the structure must be integrated into the landscape. The bunker is perhaps the best example as it must be completely hidden. He added that his greatest affinity is for American architect Louis Cahn, who leaves his objects as sculptures, harmonized with the landscape.

60 projects

“For my creations, the model is characteristic,” said Džamonja. “I make all my architectural project models very precisely out of plaster, which is completely unusual. First I model the project in clay, adding to it, modifying it, and once it is defined, I model it in plaster. Of all the great architects I know, they all still make models. However, at the Zagreb Faculty of Architecture, there is not even a class on model making, which is a great shame.”

Sculptor Dušan Džamonja claims that he has some 60 architectural projects behind him. “My documentary museum on Kozari was realized, and I dug it into the ground, making it almost invisible in order to maximally blend it into the landscape. I also made a memorial to the victims at Dachau, where I turned one of my sculptures, 60 meters high, into a cathedral, opening up the internal space, turning it into a chapel with a thin trace of light penetrating from the spine of the sculpture.”

At an upcoming exhibition at the Museum of Architecture, Džamonja’s architectural project models will be on display. In the early phases, he made models for memorial structures, representative buildings, museums and hospitals. There are also the models of massive mosques in Bagdad and Oran, as well as the project of his home, studio, gallery and sculpture park in Vrsar which was 30 years in the making. He will also display his solution to the Sarajevo Square in front of the parliament, which was constructed in granite.

At the exhibition, Džamonja will also present a model for an unusual and futuristic skyscraper he created in 1985. The project even made it as far as one of the top American building companies, which assessed that the floor plan would mean a loss of about 25% of space due to its specific form and, as such, it was not as profitable.

We will also see a number of idea projects for the Džamonja Gallery in Zagreb which he has been dreaming of for years. These are projects for galleries on Jurjevska Street, on Tuškanac, along the Sava River and on Kačičeva Street, across from the Faculty of Architecture.

Džamonja’s Donation

For the past 30 years, Džamonja has been willing to donate his works to the City of Zagreb, but this has not been realized yet. In 1986, the City Council passed the plans to build the Džamonja Gallery on Kačičeva Street. The blueprints were made, the money found. The plan was for joint contribution: the City would give the space, and Džamonja his work and sculptures. But nothing!

“I proposed that in that space we could make a gallery in which my sculptures, drawings and sketches could be displayed, in addition to two studios – one for me and one for architecture and sculpting students and young artists. The idea was that this gallery would form the foundation for a future Museum of Modern Art, which Zagreb today still does not have,” said the sculptor.

“There is a damned atmosphere in Zagreb, in which even the best of intentions and will cannot defeat suspicions and doubts. Such projects must be done decisively, and we are not decisive. As the governments changed, so did our projects fall through and I fear that my gallery and my donation will again not be realized with this government. I don’t think the problem is money, because if these institutions are well organized, they can come up with the resources on their own. I no longer believe that my donation will find the right space in Zagreb,” concluded Džamonja.

A sculptor’s experience in architecture: ‘I transform sculpture into architecture, while they turn architecture into sculpture,” said Džamonja

Over the years, Dušan Džamonja has designed memorial centers, religious buildings in Bagdad and Oran, and a skyscraper for Chicago one hundred stories tall. His most recent works include a hospital in Amman.

balkaninsight.com

Islamic Centre & Mosque for Croatian City
01 September 2008 Zagreb _ The council, or Majlis, of the Muslim community in Croatia’s city of Rijeka has received the necessary documentation to start building an Islamic centre and mosque, reports a local daily.

According to Rijeka daily Novi list, the Majlis will have to wait another six months to get the rest of the documents, but the start of the construction is expected next spring.

According to Mirsad Srebrenikovic, the lawyer for the Majlis, if everything goes as planned, the Islamic centre in Rijeka should be open to Muslims in 2011.

It is estimated there are some 10,000 Muslims living in and around Rijeka, which sits on the shores of the northern Adriatic and is home to 150,000 people.

This will be the third mosque in Croatia, after those in Zagreb and in Gunja.

The architect will be Croatia’s well-renowned Dusan Djamonja, who envisaged the centre as a 3000 square metre complex, including a 30 metre high minaret and a 1000 square metre prayer area.

The Vjesnik daily reported that the cost of the centre is estimated at €5 million.

The bulk of the money is expected to come from the local, but also European and international Muslim communities.

The imam of Rijeka Hajrudin Mujkanovic told Vjesnik last year that donors from Saudi Arabia have already visited the construction site of the future Islamic centre in Rijeka.

According to the latest census from 2001, there are 57,000 Muslims in Croatia, most of them living in Zagreb (around 16,000), while another 20,000 live in the areas of Rijeka and the Istrian peninsula.

[mic of Orion]

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...2&postcount=33
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...8&postcount=34

Originally Posted by ivan_ri

ma to he supper, ali malo slow, kaj oni drkaju tam, imas ove idioti u Banovi Dvor, pa kaj jr tom Sanadaru, on neki idiot, to morz ici brzo, i 15 billion cubic meters je nikaj, 50 najmanje, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech R. Austria, Slovakia, Eastern Germany, Switzerland, to so massive markets za hrvatsku, pa LNG moze exportitrat pola hrvatki izvoz, pa kaj ovaj sanadar takav idiot, ne moze vidi beyond his stupid nose. Sorry, ja sam malo angry kak to sve ide glupo...

[ivan_ri]

Originally Posted by mic of Orion

ma to he supper, ali malo slow, kaj oni drkaju tam, imas ove idioti u Banovi Dvor, pa kaj jr tom Sanadaru, on neki idiot, to morz ici brzo, i 15 billion cubic meters je nikaj, 50 najmanje, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech R. Austria, Slovakia, Eastern Germany, Switzerland, to so massive markets za hrvatsku, pa LNG moze exportitrat pola hrvatki izvoz, pa kaj ovaj sanadar takav idiot, ne moze vidi beyond his stupid nose. Sorry, ja sam malo angry kak to sve ide glupo...

ma nesto muljaju s tim terminalom. sve mi se cini da zele sto prije izgraditi ovoga na Krku pa da onda uvaljaju hrvatskom konzorciju da gradi jos jedan u Plominu...

[ivan_ri]

Rujevica

Rujevica sports centre was suppused to be main object of Mediterranian games 2013, which Rijeka bid for. Main object in this centre would be new city stadium with capacity of 20.000 seats. The other important object woult be new city sports hall with capacity of 5.000 seats. This round hall was planned to be by stadium's southern side. Unfortunately Rijeka didn't win the organization of the games, so this landmark structures are not going to be built in near future.

[mic of Orion]

Originally Posted by ivan_ri

ma nesto muljaju s tim terminalom. sve mi se cini da zele sto prije izgraditi ovoga na Krku pa da onda uvaljaju hrvatskom konzorciju da gradi jos jedan u Plominu...

kaj sad 2 ????


ma neka naprave 1 massive 120 billion cubic meters of gas. To bu bilo dosta za
Hrvatsku, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia & Czech R.

[ivan_ri]

Originally Posted by mic of Orion

kaj sad 2 ????


ma neka naprave 1 massive 120 billion cubic meters of gas. To bu bilo dosta za
Hrvatsku, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia & Czech R.

ma nisu 2 niti u planu, samo nekako me sve vuce na tu souciju. mozda je i njima tako nesto palo na pamet...

[ivan_ri]

In july 2006 city of Rijeka decided to build 470 apartments within national project of afordable apartments, also called POS. Rijeka's POS project is planned for period from 2006 to 2010. some phases of the project are finished. It is POS residential area in Rujevica which is consisted of 4 buildings built in two phases. Phase one of Rujevica project, with 124 apartments in 2 buildings, was finished in summer of 2007. Phase two, with also 124 aparments in 2 buildings, was finished recently (summer 2008). Fallowing construction areas are Škurinje (Škurinjsko Plase) and Drenova.


POS Rujevica phase one



POS Rujevica phase two

[ivan_ri]

Earlier this month there was an anouncment that next phase of Rijeka POS project is going to be refered to Zoka Skorup, an architect from Rijeka who lives in Chicago and works in Zoka Zola Architecture+Urban Design.

[ivan_ri]

25.07.2008

Inaugurated new swimming pools at Kantrida
Rijeka, 25 July 2008.
In a splendid spectacle, the new Swimming Pool Complex at Kantrida, constructed to become the place where citizens and sportsmen will gather, a place for companionship, top-notch sports, entertainment and recreation, has been inaugurated. Citizens, whose number almost doubled the number that the stand seats could accommodate, were able see for themselves that Rijeka has at its disposal the most beautiful swimming-pool on the Mediterranean.

As announced on the occasion of the initiation of works, the mayor of the City of Rijeka, Vojko Obersnel marked the opening of the Swimming Pool Complex with a dive into the new Olympic swimming pool, and he was joined by the Croatian sports veteran, Zdravko Ćiro Kovačić, the Olympic swimmer Marko Strahija and three young sports persons, swimmer Lorena Ercegović, water-polo player Arih Toni and synchro-swimmer Zora Bujan. To join them in the pool on that occasion were other children, young hopes of the Sports Association Viktoria – Primorje 08.

Afterwards the lights were off, and numerous visitors could observe a specific characteristic of the new Olympic swimming pool – a sliding roof. This was followed by the first public appearance of the members of the Synchronised Swimming Club Primorje Aqua Maris under the open sky in the new swimming pool.
Visitors could see for themselves that everything was ready for the 12th European Swimming (25m) Championship that will be held in December. The new sports facilities which "birth" was celebrated by huge fireworks is also a gift for the 100th anniversary of the Sports Association Viktoria – Primorje 08, which is celebrated exactly this year.

Mayor Obersnel pointed out that the Swimming Pool Complex at Kantrida would provide top quality conditions for preparation for top-notch results, to swimmers and water-polo players who have brought medals to Rijeka or to those who are yet to win them at world and European championships.
"The new swimming-pools at Kantrida will be the place of recreation for all those who are not professional sportsmen, and also a place were people will gather – a place that will change the way of life in town," said Obersnel, giving thanks to all those who have helped in developing these great sports facilities that the citizens of Rijeka can take pride in.

He addressed his special thanks to citizens who, apart from a number of institutional investors, had helped the construction of the new swimming-pools by buying municipal bonds. Namely 235 million Kuna worth pools were built from municipal bond funds.

When the construction of the new Swimming Pool Complex at Kantrida is finalised, the citizens of Rijeka and sportsmen will have available five separate swimming pools (big Olympic-size swimming pool, the old Olympic-size swimming pool that will be reconstructed, a swimming pool for training, a swimming pool intended for non-swimmers, and a diving pool which construction is yet to follow.

Within the new project a garage has been built with 148 parking places, a fitness centre, a tourist info desk and a restaurant.

The works that still remain are the reconstruction of the old swimming pool, which will be attempted to be completed until the beginning of the European Swimming Championship and the construction of a diving pool, which completion is projected by the end of the first quarter of 2009.

In autumn, the new swimming pools will host the International Swimming Meeting, while in December, the 12th European Championship in 25m swimming pools will take place there. It is one of the biggest sports events of the year and the first big swimming competition after the Olympic Games in Peking, and one of the biggest sports competitions in the history of Rijeka.

[ivan_ri]

16.07.2008

Forming an international women's team crew for the America's Cup
Rijeka, 16 July 2008
A partnership agreement has been signed between the Sailing Club of Rijeka SCOR and the consortium Fuxia Challenge within the project for the establishment of an international women's team crew that will take part in the next America's Cup, the largest sailing competition in the world. Thus, for the first time Croatia will have its representative at the America’s Cup, where Rijeka and its sports tradition will be promoted.

In order to choose a sailing club partner, Fuxia Challenge published an advertisement last year, sending an invitation to about one hundred clubs around the world, among which exactly SCOR was chosen. Thus, the sailing club of Rijeka will be an exclusive partner in the international project that gathers completely women's team crews, that will include the biggest names in the international women's sailing, among which are Croatian women sailors as well. Under the flag of SCOR and Croatia they would participate in the America’s Cup in 2011.

The Cooperation Agreement was signed by Marcel Vulpis, president of Fuxia Challenge and Neven Baran, president of the Sailing Club of Rijeka. The hosts of the signing were Vojko Obersnel, mayor of Rijeka, and the head of the Department responsible for sports within the City Government, Veljko Karabaić, the signing was also attended by the Italian consul in Rijeka, Fulvio Rustico, the representatives of Fuxia Challenge, Massimiliano Magnante e Walter Mei, and the representatives of SCOR.

This achievement of the Sailing Club of Rijeka is owing to its various sailing activities up to now, in particular owing to the organisation of excellent regattas, and its members' activities whose experience encompasses even the Olympic Games and the America’s Cup itself. Just to mention that in the forthcoming Olympic Games Rijeka will be represented by five sailors.

President of Fuxia Challenge, Marcel Vulpis said that this Agreement is just the beginning of the cooperation that joins the Italian creativity and the tradition that Rijeka has in sailing. According to Vupis, Fuxia Challenge is an innovative marketing project, aimed at gathering sponsors focussed primarily on the female public by promoting women's sailing. The inclusion of the best Croatian women sailors in the team made of the best international women sailors will have a great significance for the promotion of Rijeka and Croatia.

Addressing a word of thanks to the representatives of the brand Fuxia Challenge for having chosen the Sailing Club of Rijeka as its exclusive partner, mayor Obersnel said that the idea itself of forming a women's sailing team – rather uncommon in the sailing world of men – represents a victory, regardless of the crew's final placement. The Italian consul Rustico joined in wishing a good luck to this unique women's team crew.

Some of the most successful international women sailors have announced their participation in the project Fuxia Challenge, such as American Dawn Riley, French Clair Leroy and Greek Sofia Bekatorou.

The way to the America’s Cup will start by forming a women's match sailing team since women's match sailing will become an Olympic discipline of the Games that will be held in London in 2012. Fuxia Challenge with its sponsors will be actively included in the Women International Match Race Association (WIMRA) through which it will profile a number of women throughout the world, including the Croatian team as well, forming the Fuxia Challenge America’s Cup team among the best of them.

[ivan_ri]

18.07.2008

Initiated the construction of the Astronomy Centre - Planetarium
Rijeka, 18 July 2008
The construction of the Astronomy Centre – Planetarium has started on the St Cross's hill, which is expected to be finished by the end of December. Within reconstruction, further to the existing observatory, the premises of the Planetarium will be built. The new centre will be of great educational, scientific and tourist importance for Rijeka and its wider outskirts.

The investor of the works worth HRK 12.5 million is Rijeka sport, a company owned by the City of Rijeka, and works are to be performed by the building company Krk. By constructing the Astronomy Centre, Rijeka will be among rare towns with an observatory and planetarium located in one building. Visitors and users of the centre will be enabled to experience almost at the same time a simulated image in the new planetarium, and the actual telescopic picture of the universe in the existing observatory.

The building of the observatory was constructed in 1941, as a military fortress with four prominent towers. Presently the telescope is located in the north-west tower protected by a sliding dome, within the fortress, in 2001 the first astronomical observatory in Rijeka was set up. The reconstruction of the building predicts to remove the eastern part of the existing building, and afterwards an additional construction of the new part - planetarium.

In the planetarium's premises simulated pictures of the universe will be shown by state-of-the-art digital technology. The capacity of the hall is 55 seating places on special chairs with vertical axis so that the projection of the sky and astronomical bodies on the ceiling dome of the diameter of 8 metres can be observed in the most quality manner. Also, based on digital projectors and specific computer installation, the transmission of the actual image from the universe will be possible that is visible from the observatory telescope which will be particularly useful for monitoring single attractive astronomical occurrences like the eclipse of the Sun, the eclipse of the Moon, following meteoric rains or a transit of single astronomical bodies.

[ivan_ri]

30.04.2008

The exhibition "Rijeka after 3 May 1945" at the City Museum
Rijeka, 30 April 2008
The City Museum, in cooperation with the Association of Anti-Fascist Fighters and Anti-Fascists of the city of Rijeka, has staged the photographic exhibition titled "Rijeka after 3 May 1945". The exhibition features the photographs of ruins and massive material devastation that Rijeka suffered during the Second World War.

This documentary exhibition represents photographs of Rijeka which were taken immediately after the liberation on 3 May 1945. Rijeka and Sušak suffered massive damage during the Second World War. The exhibition shows damage that was done to the Industrial zone and to some city districts during the Allied bombing and the battle of Rijeka. After the withdrawal across the Rječina, German troops tore down all the bridges between Rijeka and Sušak, demolished factories and almost completely destroyed the facilities of the ports of Rijeka and Sušak.

Upon the liberation of the city, the citizens of Sušak and Rijeka organized the removal of the ruins and the reconstruction of factories and city districts. Soon followed the reconstruction works on the ports of Rijeka and Sušak as well as the construction of the bridges across the Rječina while on 7 May 1945 the Paper Factory was put into operation.

Mayor Vojko Obersnel, who opened the exhibition, pointed out that the show realistically represents the conditions in which a new Rijeka was being created. "These types of shows are contributions to the effort put into the study and research of the history of Rijeka since the pictures of the war-devastated city say a thousand words" said Obersnel.

The show is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It closes on 31 September.

[ivan_ri]

This manifestation is more than just a music festival, it stands as an example of the revitalization of the ex Paper Mill facilities, which until recently were totally unknown to the majority of the citizens. In the future, the facilities will be renovated and they will become seat of the Youth Cultural Center. The process of the revitalization was presented at numerous European congresses of architecture as well as in Venice in 2006 in front of the architecture elite.

[ivan_ri]

Rijeka - Zagreb Motorway, A6 (European Route E65) links Rijeka to Zagreb and further to the motorway networks of Central and Western Europe and beyond.

Rijeka is Croatia's main Adriatic port with economic strategic significance for the Republic of Croatia and for the neighbouring countries and the region as a whole.

Completion of the motorway from Rijeka, the main Croatian port to its capital city Zagreb is a key component of the Traffic Strategy of the Republic of Croatia, as well as the uniting of road infrastructure in the Rijeka basin. Upgrading of the Rijeka Bypass to full profile plays a big role in development of the Rijeka Port, and toursim.

Rijeka - Zagreb motorway is a significant element and a part of the future Adriatic-Ionic Motorway.

This motorway is finaly comleted in all of it's length., but it will not be in full usage for another 45 days because of renovation of north pavement on newly opened sections.

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New Train line from Hungary via Zagreb to Rijeka
The works on the new train line from Botovo in Hungary to Croatia, via Zagreb , Karlovac and Rijeka are due to start in the autumn of this year. The completion of the new train line is expected within next 4 years. Once finished, the new train line will replace the old, slow one that was built in 1873. It will be much faster track that will enable trains to run up to 200 km / hour. When this is achieved, passengers will reach Rijeka by train from Zagreb within 1 hour. This is much faster in comparison with current timetable of 3hrs and 45 minutes.

At the map, the red line shows the old train line, while light blue line, linking Karlovac and Rijeka is the new part that is due to be built.



THE construction and modernisation of a key east-west railway across Croatia is set to start this year after Croatian Railways (HZ) published a tender for the Kuna 15 billion ($US 2.69 billion) project.

The long-planned project involves upgrading the existing 148km line from Botovo on the Hungarian border to Zagreb and Karlovac, while a completely new 121km line will be constructed between Karlovac and the Adriatic port of Rijeka.

The Kuna 8 billion new alignment from Karlovac to Rijeka will replace the existing sinuous and mostly single-track line, which HZ says is a major impediment to growth of port capacity at Rijeka. The new line will reduce the length of the Botovo-Rijeka route from 330km to 269km. The line is expected to halve the current Botovo-Rijeka freight transit time of 10 hours and will increase freight capacity from 5 million to 25 million tonnes per year.

The line will also have a dramatic effect on passenger traffic, slashing journey times on the Zagreb-Rijeka section from 3h 45m to around one hour.

The entire project will be financed from the state budget. Construction will start later this year and the line is due for completion by 2014.

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Croatia constructing Zagreb-Rijeka Adriatic express line

New, ultramodern rail links in Croatia will make both passenger and freight transport more attractive whilst at the same time providing a boost to the economy.

Completely new Zagreb-Rijeka line
The lynchpin will be the planned railway line on the outdated route between the capital Zagreb and Rijeka, Croatia's largest port, on the Northern Adriatic coast. The project is part of an extensive modernization of Pan-European railway corridor 5b, which leads through Croatian territory. The European Union will co-finance this infrastructure project. Renovation work will start at Botovo railway junction on the border between Croatia and Hungary, and be continued all the way to Rijeka. To begin with, the existing line from Botovo via Zagreb to Karlovac will be brought up to date, and a completely new railway line will be constructed from Karlovac to Rijeka.

Total cost of two billion euros
The total cost of this project is estimated to be around two billion euros. The Croatian budget has earmarked some 50 million euros for this purpose in 2007 in a move intended to ensure a rapid start to construction work.

Two hours off journey time
Tihomir Plesa of the Croatian Transport Institute explained the background of this ambitious project in an interview with wieninternational. According to Plesa, the Zagreb-Rijeka rail link was built under the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and commissioned in the year 1873. Today it is outdated, and trains therefore have to travel rather slowly through the Gorski Kotar mountains. The latest plans foresee an entirely new route that will bypass the Gorski Kotar mountain range to the South, reducing the length of the line between Zagreb and Rijeka from 228 km to 165 km, according to Tihomir Plesa. This will have the enormous advantage of cutting the journey time by at least 2 hours, from the present slow 3.5 hour journey to a fast 1.5 hour one.

New high-speed trains
In the future passenger trains will be able to travel at speeds of up to 200 km/h on the new line, explained traffic expert Plesa. Goods trains will be run at speeds of up to 120 km/h. The new routing of the railway line to the South of the Gorski Kotar mountains will necessitate the construction of a total of 42.5 km of tunnels and 12.2 km of bridges, according to Plesa.

Boost to rail transport
With a transport capacity of around 5 million tonnes, the outdated railway link between Zagreb and Rijeka is now no longer capable of handling the growing demand for goods transport via the port of Rijeka. The port handled some 15 million tonnes of freight in the year 2006, and the trend is still rising. The harbour is booming, and is planning its own major investments so as to ensure that it retains its leading position in the Northern Adriatic. The goal is above all to expand goods traffic on a modernized railway system to 12 million tonnes initially and later to 45 million tonnes a year.

More attractive passenger services
Passenger services between Zagreb and Rijeka are currently not operated to capacity, and are considered rather unattractive by travellers. The main reason: the journey is about 1.5 hours shorter by car.

First trains in 2012
According to the Croatian Government's official plans, the first trains are scheduled to run on the new route as early as the end of 2012. However, traffic expert Tihomir Plesa considers a time frame between 2015 and 2020 to be more realistic.

Upswing for rail traffic between Vienna and Rijeka
From Vienna's point of view, the modernization plans for Croatian railways will have a twofold benefit. On the one hand, goods transport from the Danube region will become significantly more attractive than it used to be, and goods will be delivered to Rijeka harbour centre with less environmental impact for distribution from there by sea. On the other, the appeal of rail travel will increase compared to the car for holidaymakers travelling to Croatia from the greater Vienna area. This in turn will reduce the chronic traffic jams on roads to the Adriatic.


Three Pan-European transport corridors run through Croatia