Historical Monuments from the Future

These incredible monuments were designed and constructed in the 60s and 70s by the then Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito to commemorate sites where World War II battles took place and where concentration camps once stood.

Designed to show the confidence and strength of the then Socialist Republic they still today have an amazing impact on the historical landscape they sit on. Not to mention a fine legacy for architects Bogdan Bogdanović and Gradimir Medaković and sculptors some of whom are Dušan Džamonja, Vojin Bakić, Miodrag Živković, Jordan and Iskra Grabul.

All the way through the 80s these monuments drew crowds of visitors, millions per year and each one provided information and education on Yugoslavia and the history of the land. In the 1990s the Republic dissolved and these structures were completely abandonded and with that the meaning behind them.

The series of photographs were taken by Belgian photographer Jan Kempenaers for a series called Spomenik: The End of History. In 2006 Jan went on a three year oddessy through what is now Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina armed with a 31 year old map and a camera. And aren’t we all lucky he did.

Thank you Mano for finding this and thank you Crack Two for sharing it.