Vukovar
Discover the stillness of life
vukovar
Vukovar – one word, one name, one town, but thousands of stories.
Time is a relative concept. What is a long time for human beings is merely a grain of salt in the historic development of this town. The development of Vukovar has a very rich and momentuous history.
The historic development of the town had a crucial influence on the formation of its present function and physiognomy, building on the traces of the Vucedol culture and the period of classical antiquity, which comes from Middle Ages. That is when the rudiment of the present town was created, starting with the feudal castle and later the Turkish fortress at the location of what is now the Franciscan church and grammar school situated on the highest spot in the town.
Vukovar is a true treasury of cultural heritage. If one wishes to learn more about the past of this region, one must take a long step back into the past, around 5000 years back, as this is how far back the history of this settlement reaches.
Vukovar and its surroundings are an almost inexhaustible reservoir of cultural heritage. From the intricate Vukovar Municipal Museum in the palace of the counts Eltz over the archaeological site Vucedol and the Vucedol Culture Museum up to the historic baroque core and the ecclesiastical architecture. Vukovar has always been a part of the European cultural background.
Vukovar will always be the irreplaceable carriers of the spiritual restoration of the common people through all times, and especially following the return to Vukovar after the Homeland War.
The dark side of Vukovar is a mosaic of memories, weaved of threads, which together make the touching, shattering and life-changing genuine tales about Vukovar.
One can begin the voyage through the destinations which make the dark side of Vukovar with
a visit to the hospital, where the memorial and commemoration site – The Vukovar Hospital
1991 is situated. From there it is easy to go to the Memorial Cemetery Ovcara, the Cross at
the mouth of the Vuka and all the way up to the Trpinja road.
When we were there, we were left speechless for a while, stunned by the magnitude of feelings as we became aware of the reality of the horrendous year 1991. Suddenly we felt as if we were in another dimension and we see it all as it used to be, in all their humbleness and simplicity. Then it strikes that at that very spot, in what was then a hangar, Croatians spent the last hours of their lives.
In this cemetery is where they left their unfulfilled dreams. 261 of them. This is the spot where they left for the stars.
On the road from Ovcara to Vukovar, the Memorial Cemetery of the Homeland War is located. It is the biggest mass grave in Europe after the WWII.
As a crown, yet a crown of thorns, to all these harrowing events, a memorial institution opened in the centre of Vukovar, where the Vuka flows into the Danube, a monument was built for all those who gave their lives for the free and independent Croatian state.
On the spot that used to offer only a view view of the wide, mighty river, a white cross is now standing as a symbol, a reminder and a warning. The words “He who dies honestly, lives forever” are carved in stone in the oldest Croatian script, the Glagolitic script. And they do live within us, and we live with them every day.