Right in the middle of nowhere, around 100 km eastern from Zagreb, you can stumble upon one of the great modernistic monuments of former Yugoslavia, made to honor the victims of World War II. The village Podgarić lies at the base of Moslavačka Gora, a small mountain range in the central Croatia. If you go hiking there you'll find ruins of medieval city called Garić Grad.
Garić Grad
An ancient ruins that very few people are familiar with in Croatia, are remains of the medieval city Garić Grad, among Medvedgrad in Zagreb, the oldest of medieval cities in continental Croatia. It was build by the governor Stjepan Šubić in 1256 and only two centuries after, in 1544 the city was conquered and destroyed by the Ottoman Empire. Since the mid 1500's until now, this old, forgotten ruins stand as an excursion site for few people who have heard about it. It's lot more probable that you'll meet a wild boar or a mouflon, as there were numerous hoof prints in the snow all over the place. A lot of legends regarding the city still live in history books of the region.
reconstruction:
Abandoned monument by Dušan Džamonja, Podgarić
The main star of the area for sure is the monument, long lost and forgotten in the middle of nowhere. This one was made by the famous academic sculptor Dušan Đamonja in 1965 in the small village Podgarić, a partisan fort in the "National Liberation War".
The design
According to Wikipedia, this monument is one of the examples of an abstract plastic, representing wings of freedom and victory. Wings are made from horizontally placed rib-like arks, two on one side and three on the other side. The body is connected to the floor by quadratic base, symbolizing penetration into space and energy drainage from the Earth. Honeycomb like central emblem made of light aluminum symbolizes life, or in broader perspective, the victory of life over death.
