Sights in Mostar - Croatia and Slovenia - page 672

If you head up Kralja Petra Krešimira IV from the Rondo, after two long blocks on
the left you'll see an abandoned, derelict park leading to a gigantic Partisan Cemetery
and Monument . This socialist-style monument spreads all the way up the hill. It oozes
with symbolism trumpeting the pivotal WWII Battle of the Neretva, when Tito and his
Partisan Army turned the tables on Nazi forces (just 30 miles north of here—see here ) . It
was designed by Bogdan Bogdanovi ć , who created many such monuments and memorials
throughout Yugoslavia, and dedicated by Tito himself in 1965. From the terrace at the
top, which is scattered with symbolic gravestones for those who gave their lives to free
Yugoslavia from the Nazis, small streams once trickled down to the large enclosure at the
bottom, ultimately flowing beneath a stylized broken bridge representing the Bridge at the
Neretva. Today the monument is overgrown and ignored—a tragic symbol of post-Tito eth-
nic discord. Local Croats—who have little nostalgia for the Yugoslav period, which they
now view as a time of oppression—seem to intentionally neglect the place. This formerly
hallowed ground is a mess of broken concrete and a popular place for drunken benders,
garbage dumping, and drug deals (be careful if you decide to explore, and avoid it after
dark). A pensive stroll here comes with a poignant reflection on how one generation's
honored war dead can become the next generation's unwanted burden.