Slovenia's Maribor restores symbol of friendship with Greenwich

Slovenia's second-largest city, Maribor, has restored its iconic red telephone box, a long-standing symbol of friendship with its twin town of Greenwich.

Greenwich, an outer borough of London, twinned with Maribor in 1967, becoming its first sister city, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

The connection is so deep that part of the city's Pobrežje district is colloquially known as Grinič, which is also the official name of the kindergarten unit there.

A distinctive London red phone booth had stood as a landmark in the area for many years, but at some point, it was removed after being damaged by vandals. Greenwich gifted a new red kiosk to Maribor in 2015, and it was put up in a small park nearby.

However, this one met an even worse fate, being vandalised to its foundations. Municipal services were forced to move it into storage three years ago.

At the initiative of local residents, the phone booth has now been restored to its former glory and returned to its place in the park.

"I would like this telephone box, which has been restored by the people of Maribor and serves as a symbol of friendship, to remain as it is," Mayor Saša Arsenovič said at the unveiling ceremony, which was also attended by kids from the Grinič unit.

Ranko Šmigoc, director of the public company Marprom, described the box's previous condition as very sad. It took the company's workshops about a month and half to restore it at the cost of €3,000.

The box has also been fitted with a security camera, a reflector and, in partnership with Telekom Slovenije, with a working telephone.

The bond between the two cities remains mutual - in 2017, to mark the 50th anniversary of the partnership, a Maribor Park was officially opened in the Woolwich area of Greenwich.

Photo: Andreja Seršen Dobaj/STA