Youth Work Brigades in Nova Gorica
Monument to the Brigadiers
The decision to build a new town was also an ideological project aimed at creating a new society. This is why youth work brigades from all over Yugoslavia began construction work. The first brigades arrived on 3 December 1947, and the last departed in November 1948. A total of 25 brigades, comprising nearly 5,200 young people, participated in the construction of the new town.
However, the brigadiers did not construct buildings themselves but carried out preparatory work. The construction of the central Magistrala (present-day Kidričeva) road, the realignment of the nearby Koren stream, which had flooded, meandered, and changed its course several times, and the building of the essential road connection over Rafut Hill south to Šempeter were all part of the project. The border cut through all other nearby road connections.
Once the terrain had been prepared, the Primorje General Construction Company took over the construction of buildings and the bulk of the work. In 2008, a monument designed by sculptor Zmago Posega (1959–2009) was erected in honour of the brigadiers.
The ideological function of youth work brigades in constructing a new socialist society can be compared to the Erasmus student exchange programme today, as it aims to form a common European identity. Both initiatives aim to bring people from different backgrounds together and demonstrate that coexistence is possible. While youth brigades physically built a new society at that time, the foundation for success today is primarily lifelong education.
Avtor: Blaž Kosovel
Kraj: Nova Gorica