February the 3rd, 2026 – There’s a tiny Croatian village in the heart of Lika that would otherwise be entirely nondescript, had it not given the world the genius that was Nikola Tesla.
As Putni kofer/Lana Mindoljevic writes, there are places across the small expanse of Croatia that have become globally famous and beloved. Plitvice Lakes is one such location, as are the Dubrovnik walls, then we’ve got the popular Blue Cave on Biševo. For nature lovers, there’s the remarkable Velebit mountain range and the Premužić Trail. Some will only visit these places once, while others make regular trips. One location that gets nowhere near the fame of the likes of the Dalmatian coast or Istria’s dreamy hilltop towns is Smiljan. This is a tiny Croatian village nestled in the mountains of Lika where the one and only Nikola Tesla was born back in 1856.
The tiny Croatian village of Smiljan is located in a rugged, wild-looking and very mountainous area, surrounded by green hills in the very heart of Lika. It’s a mere 6 kilometres away from Gospić. According to the latest census from back in 2021, less than 400 people remain resident in this overlooked and underfunded area of almost 20 square kilometres. If we’re being exact, there are (or were in 2021), just 392 people left there. Back during the 19th century, that number was far, far greater. The maximum number of residents in Smiljan was reached in 1869, when it had as many as 2,065 inhabitants. Among them was the great Nikola Tesla and his family.
In this part of Croatia, tradition is still very well preserved and deeply valued, people live in harmony with nature, and an authentic and rural spirit is present at every turn throughout rural Lika. In the middle of this rural idyll is a museum that celebrates the life and genius of Nikola Tesla, a man unlike any other before or since.
In its current form, the Nikola Tesla Memorial Centre was officially opened on July the 10th, 2006, on the 150th anniversary of Tesla’s birth (and my own birthday, might I add). It was done as the cherry on top of the hard work poured into the renovation of his birthplace and the construction of newer buildings dedicated to his unusual life and incredible work. The museum complex spans over 13,000 square metres, where culture, science, tourism and education harmoniously intertwine.
The centrepiece of the museum is the renovated birthplace of Tesla, located right next to the Orthodox Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul from 1765. The birthplace houses a permanent exhibition that depicts Tesla’s life through paintings, texts and audiovisual content. Models of his many inventions, some of which changed the world forever, are exhibited in the attic of the house. There, you’ll find an induction motor, a Tesla turbine, a Tesla coil, a rotating magnetic field and more. It’s incredible to think that all of this was designed in ancient times, when absolutely none of the technology we’ve ever known was even close to existing.
There are also fascinating presentations at Tesla’s test station, which was inspired by his experiments in the wireless transmission of electrical energy, a phenomenon that was and remains revolutionary. In a darkened room, you’ll see “lightning” flash around the central device, and you can at least try to begin to understand in layman’s terms just how wireless energy transmission actually happens. How Nikola Tesla thought of this such a long time ago and made it happen remains far beyond the scope of most minds.
This impressive museum complex also has a multimedia hall in which you can watch a documentary about Tesla, his life and inventions, as well as a souvenir shop, a place for refreshments and a children’s playground. The entire centre provides a fascinating insight into the life and work of a genius, in the very place in the heart of Croatia where he entered this world and began his incredible life.
