[SLO] 3. Poglavje: Jeseniški kolodvor
In 1870, the first railway tracks were laid in Jesenice as part of the Rudolf Railway that connected Ljubljana and Tarvisio. This is when the Gorenjska region opened the door to the world. The station building was originally located on two other locations south of the tracks. The station only had four railway tracks. After the construction of the Bohinj railway, a larger station building was constructed on the site of today’s station. It opened on the Emperor’s birthday, on 18 August 1905.
The arrival of the railway in Jesenice significantly changed the city’s appearance. Stanko Hladnik recalls:
“With the construction of the new station, the most beautiful meadows, gardens and fields were destroyed. There was a large pond near the station building, and from the Mesar house onwards towards Romavh (today Prežihov Voranc Primary School), there was the most beautiful Jesenice field with several hayracks and cart tracks.”
During the Allied bombing on 1 March 1945, the Jesenice railway station building was severely damaged, which is why in 1955 the present building was built according to the plans of architect Stanislav Rohrman. A local resident Mitja Volčič remembers:
“The railway station was a very important institution for Jesenice as it was a lively intersection. The old building was successfully bombed by the Allies towards the end of the war, after which the new government decided that upon entering the country, foreigners must immediately be astounded by the achievements of socialism. And indeed, a beautiful and functional marble building was built, always full of passengers heading in all four directions. This rumble and roar also attracted locals. The biggest crowd, supposedly as many as three thousand, gathered in the spring of 1957, when a train from Belgrade brought back new national ice hockey champions. A large inscription on the wagon said: “WE WON!” In short, if you had nowhere to go, you made your way to the station where you certainly found some company. If not elsewhere, then in the restaurant.”
