Partisan #Memorial Cemetery in #Mostar:
This #spomenik complex at Mostar commemorates the 810 named fallen World War II #fighters from Mostar whose bodies are interred in the cemetery here; each of the fighters were members of the #Partisan National Liberation Army and died fighting against the Axis Ustaše and German occupiers. Because of the importance and significance of Mostar as an anti-fascist stronghold and seat of resistance, the Mostar municipality and Yugoslav government felt a monument befitting to those soldier's sacrifices would be appropriate for the city. Additionally, the creation force behind the cemetery came during a time when Yugoslav veterans groups were opposing the burial of Partisan soldiers in religious cemeteries, a move that they felt went against the ideals of communist revolutionary fighters. In 1959, the Mostar politician Džemal Bijedić petitioned famed #Serbian designer Bogdan Bogdanović to create this memorial complex […] Through this project, Bogdanović hoped to create much more than just a #sculpture or memorial -- he wanted to create an entire #necropolis complex, akin to the ancient ruins found in the Middle East or at classical Etruscan sites. Work on the complex began in 1960. Massive amounts of material were used and removed in the construction to fill in and sculpt the hillside, while huge chucks of the hillside were blasted away to make room for the monument's terraced features. The stone carving for the site was done by skilled masons from the #Croatian island of Korcula, who used over 12,000 pieces of carved limestone. In addition, during construction, the bodies of the hundreds of fallen WWII Partisan fighters were interred in the staircases leading up to the top of the monument. (SOURCE: @spomenikdatabase)
This #spomenik complex at Mostar commemorates the 810 named fallen World War II #fighters from Mostar whose bodies are interred in the cemetery here; each of the fighters were members of the #Partisan National Liberation Army and died fighting against the Axis Ustaše and German occupiers. Because of the importance and significance of Mostar as an anti-fascist stronghold and seat of resistance, the Mostar municipality and Yugoslav government felt a monument befitting to those soldier's sacrifices would be appropriate for the city. Additionally, the creation force behind the cemetery came during a time when Yugoslav veterans groups were opposing the burial of Partisan soldiers in religious cemeteries, a move that they felt went against the ideals of communist revolutionary fighters. In 1959, the Mostar politician Džemal Bijedić petitioned famed #Serbian designer Bogdan Bogdanović to create this memorial complex […] Through this project, Bogdanović hoped to create much more than just a #sculpture or memorial -- he wanted to create an entire #necropolis complex, akin to the ancient ruins found in the Middle East or at classical Etruscan sites. Work on the complex began in 1960. Massive amounts of material were used and removed in the construction to fill in and sculpt the hillside, while huge chucks of the hillside were blasted away to make room for the monument's terraced features. The stone carving for the site was done by skilled masons from the #Croatian island of Korcula, who used over 12,000 pieces of carved limestone. In addition, during construction, the bodies of the hundreds of fallen WWII Partisan fighters were interred in the staircases leading up to the top of the monument. (SOURCE: @spomenikdatabase)
