Nova Gorica | |||||
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| General information | |||||
| Location | Europe Square 5000Nova Gorica  Slovenia | ||||
| Coordinates | 45°57′18″N13°38′07″E / 45.95500°N 13.63528°E /45.95500; 13.63528 | ||||
| Owned by | Slovenske železnice | ||||
| Operated by | Slovenske železnice | ||||
| Line | Jesenice–Trieste | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | 23 July 1906 (1906-07-23) | ||||
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Nova Gorica railway station (Slovene:Železniška postaja Nova Gorica;Italian:Stazione di Nova Gorica) serves thetown andmunicipality ofNova Gorica, in theSlovenian Littoral region ofSlovenia, and is also accessible from the town ofGorizia,Italy.
The station forms part of theBohinj Railway, betweenJesenice, Slovenia, andTrieste, Italy. Due to its geographical position, it has undergone several changes of nationality and name.
From its opening in 1906 until 1919, the station was located within theAustrian Empire, and was namedGörz Staatsbahnhof (English:Gorizia station of the State Railways). In 1919, as part of border changes followingWorld War I, it was annexed by theKingdom of Italy, and renamedStazione di Gorizia Nord. In 1923, the station was renamed again, this time asStazione di Gorizia Montesanto.
In 1947, control of the station passed to theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, with the station being located within theSocialist Republic of Slovenia, and renamedŽelezniška postaja Nova Gorica. Slovenia became independent in 1991, but on that occasion the station was not renamed. The station is currently owned and operated bySlovenske železnice (SZ).
The main station building faces theTransalpina Square (Italian:Piazza della Transalpina,Slovene:Trg Evrope), which has formed part of the border between Nova Gorica and Gorizia since 1947.
The station was opened on 23 July 1906 (1906-07-23), upon the inauguration of the Jesenice–Trieste (or Bohinj Railway) section of the network of railway lines known as theTransalpine Railway [de;it] (German:Neue Alpenbahnen;Italian:Ferrovia Transalpina).[1] At that time, the station served Gorizia (German:Görz), which was then within theAustrian Empire.
The Transalpine Railway network was built at the beginning of the twentieth century by theAustro-Hungarian Empire, to improve the links between its interior and thePort of Trieste, by connecting the city ofČeské Budějovice, in the present dayCzech Republic, with the city of Trieste, then also in the Austrian Empire. The management of the network and itsrolling stock was initially entrusted to theImperial Royal Austrian State Railways.
The station was originally namedGörz Staatsbahnhof (English:Gorizia station of the State Railways), to distinguish it from Gorizia's main station,Görz Südbahnhof (English:Gorizia South station), which formed part of theUdine-Trieste railway and was managed by theAustrian Southern Railway, a private company. The two stations were joined by a connecting line that partially used the existing railway line between Gorizia andAjdovščina (German:Haidenschaft,Italian:Aidussina).
DuringWorld War I, given its proximity to the war front, the station's passenger building was severely damaged.
In 1918, upon the reallocation of the territories of theJulian March to the Kingdom of Italy, control of the Bohinj Railway betweenPodbrdo and Trieste became the responsibility of theFerrovie dello Stato (FS). Under the management of the FS, the main task was the rebuilding of the passenger building according to the original plans. Additionally, the station's name was changed twice, initially toStazione di Gorizia Nord (English:Gorizia North), and in 1923 toStazione di Gorizia Montesanto (English:Gorizia Holy Mountain).
With the entry of Italy intoWorld War II in 1940 and especially during theinvasion of Yugoslavia in 1941, the station played an important role in the transport of men and resources directed to the front or back from it. In 1943, the railway premises were occupied by the Germans.
From 1943 to 1945 the station was operated by theDeutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft. It was a strategic point in the transport ofJews and partisans to concentration camps, includingAuschwitz,Mauthausen,Theresienstadt andRisiera di San Sabba. The partisans were captured Slavs usually sent to theIsland of Rab or Risiera di San Sabba.
Under theParis Peace Treaties, 1947, the eastern territories of theprovince of Gorizia went to Yugoslavia, as did the eastern districts of Gorizia and the railway line between the Bohinj Railway at Podrbrdo andVilla Opicina.
The management of the station then passed toYugoslav Railways, under itsLjubljana division. The square in front of the passenger building was divided between the two states by the so-calledWall of Gorizia. On thepediment of the passenger building, which faced directly towards Italy, was placed a red star, symbol of socialism.
Yugoslav Railways renamed the stationŽelezniška postaja Nova Gorica to indicate that a new municipality would be built in the eastern districts of Gorizia, and also rebuilt the line between Gorizia and Montesanto Prvačina. The station's connection with Udine and Trieste was cut at the border near the Gorizia San Marco railway station (Slovene:Železniška postaja Vrtojba), which was placed between the two railway administrations and was located in Yugoslav territory.
In 1960, the connection with theGorizia Centrale railway station was reopened, and a passenger service began operations using FS rolling stock.
With Slovenian independence in 1991, the station and railway line passed toSlovenian Railways. In December 1991, the communist red star on the station pediment was modified to represent a Christmas star. Soon afterward, it was removed.Transalpina Square was divided between Italy and the new state of Slovenia.
In 2004, when Slovenia joined theEuropean Union, all border markers on the square were removed, and the Wall of Gorizia that had divided it in two was demolished. In 2007, when Slovenia entered theSchengen area, the last formal customs controls were eliminated and the square was reunited.
In addition to the passenger building, the station is equipped with a locomotive shed, a turntable and a State Border Museum.[2]
