25 Abandoned Yugoslavia Monuments that look like they're from the Future

[scalziand]

25 Abandoned Yugoslavia Monuments that look like they're from the Future
CRACK TWO ON FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2011

These structures were commissioned by former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito in the 1960s and 70s to commemorate sites where WWII battles took place (like Tjentište, Kozara and Kadinjača), or where concentration camps stood (like Jasenovac and Niš). They were designed by different sculptors (Dušan Džamonja, Vojin Bakić, Miodrag Živković, Jordan and Iskra Grabul, to name a few) and architects (Bogdan Bogdanović, Gradimir Medaković...), conveying powerful visual impact to show the confidence and strength of the Socialist Republic. In the 1980s, these monuments attracted millions of visitors per year, especially young pioneers for their "patriotic education." After the Republic dissolved in early 1990s, they were completely abandoned, and their symbolic meanings were forever lost.

From 2006 to 2009, Kempenaers toured around the ex-Yugoslavia region (now Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.) with the help of a 1975 map of memorials, bringing before our eyes a series of melancholy yet striking images. His photos raise a question: can these former monuments continue to exist as pure sculptures? On one hand, their physical dilapidated condition and institutional neglect reflect a more general social historical fracturing. And on the other hand, they are still of stunning beauty without any symbolic significances.


Podgarić


Petrova Gora


Kosmaj


Tjentište


Kruševo


Kozara


Grmeč


Ilirska Bistrica


Jasenovac


Sanski Most


Niš


Košute


Korenica


Knin


Makljen


Tjentište


Kolašin


Kadinjača


Mitrovica


Brezovica


Kamenska


Ostra


Sisak


Nikšić


Sinj


Zenica

[JManc]

i think they should be left as is but maybe with some structural tweaks and reinforcements so they don't collapse as a few have already but the discoloration, overgrown weeds and graffiti make these even more interesting

[vid]

These have been making the rounds on-line a lot lately. Have they just been discovered or something?

[Troubadour]

So THAT's where Woody Allen filmed "Sleeper"!

[Aleks]

wow, some of those are beautiful! shame that they're in bad shape and they look like they're in isolated areas.

[SD_Phil]

Most of them don't look abandoned, the grounds are maintained on most. That being said, neat monuments that typify the era. Thanks for sharing!

[Alpha]

Some of these monuments are buildings. What was or is in these buildings?

[Austinlee]

Wow, these are very, very unique. Some however are only slightly more horrific to look at then the men getting blown to pieces that the monuments represent.

Thanks for posting these fascinating items though.