I explored the Petrova Gora Spomenik in Croatia (OC)

This is a so called "Spomenik" in the Petrova Gora mountains in Croatia. Especially during the 70s and 80s these grotesque appearing constructions were created in Yugoslavia as monuments and reminders for certain battles and events.

The area near the parking spaces is the old visitor center. It was used to greet the guests and provide information on the main building.

Since the neglect of the complex started shortly after the collapse of Yugoslavia in the early 90s, anything remotely of interest has been stolen from the buildings.

Thus the rooms are mostly empty ...

... but the bathtub is still very much intact! Who doesn't dream of a romantic bath in this unique place ... maybe some candles, a few rose petals, by nightfall. No?

Evil Lair Under Construction

From the visitor center you have to step up a quite impressive staircase to reach the main building.

On the way there you are going to pass a plaque with a dedication on a small square. The original purpose of the monument was to be a reminder of a communist-lead uprising against a forceful relocation of Serbs in the region ordered by the facist government in 1941/42.

According to the great resource "Spomenik Database" it roughly translates to: "In the foundation of the freedom won is the peak of Petrova Gora, always our mother mountain." (Source: http://www.spomenikdatabase.org/petrova-gora )

From there a long, once illuminated, concrete way connects the plaque with the main entrance.

The structure of the monument gets more overhanging at the top. Thus it's growing optically while it is being approached. With every step it seems more massive.

Standing right in front of it reveals the real dimensions of the monument. It is 12 stories tall, overall 37m.

Quite special is the sound. First of all it's really windy because the monument is built on top of the highest mountain in the region.

Secondly the panels on the skeleton cause a spacy-wobbly sound when being moved by the wind, giving the whole thing an even more extraterrestrial sci-fi feeling.

But, as to be clearly seen, the wind also strips the monument of the panels, one by one. The upper panel to be seen here was already very loose and will be one of the next to break away.

That is one of the reasons why you really need to watch out when you explore the place, especially on the outside. The small panel seen next to the center of the image was also very loose and hanging right above the main entrance. Watch your head!

The back side of the building ... the fact that half of the building has already lost the shiny stainless steel panels and is showing the steel skeleton underneath makes its appeance even more bizarre than it was designed to be.

Let's get inside ... shall we? The main entrance is secured with several heavy locks. An alternative is this side entrance through the basement.

On the other hand you might wanna reconsider this option because the lower level is flooded with water and inhabited by bats and god knows what else. At least there are moving sounds in addition to the wind.

Luckily we discovered a litte hole in the barrier on the ground level, just enough to slip through without ripping anything. As to be seen the ground level is relatively clean.

The insides are mostly build of ferroconcrete and thus are rather stable, even after almost 30 years of abandonment. Yet there are holes in floor, missing staircases and badly secured shafts. You gotta really be careful exploring this thing.

This is the elevator shaft ... you could stumble into that and fall like 30m without any problems.

The internal architecture is really quite elaborated. Especially the many staircases connecting the floors are designed to fit into the building in a very elegant and smooth way.

This is the view of the center staircase from almost the top level of the building. The curved, almost playful style inside is a nice contracst to the cold and clear exterior.

I am guessing this is a socialist piece of art work, one of the very few things of interest, which haven't been removed from the site.

The original lighting concept featured a lot of light domes made from plastic glas. As far as I saw it, all of them were either smashed or destroyed by natural influences.

The whole place widely features graffiti, some political, some recreational ... Unfortunately none of the were mentionable from an artistic point of view.

One of the two elevators, parked on the upper floor. I wonder how long it is still going to hold up there ... it looked like it would fall down its shaft as soon as somebody sets foot in there.

Hey ... two jackets, I wonder how they got there. Possible former army clothing?

Oh, there is about a hundered of them rotting in a huge pile, just one corner over.

Other things being piled up in the corner by people and propably also the wind are building materials, mainly insulation, and garbage.

Well at least you're going to have an awesome view after waking up there ...

Those two fuses were about the only thing which was not ripped out of the building, except for some generators and stuff for the telephone pole on the roof. Although I heard them buzzing from several upper-level rooms in the very core of the building, I was not able to see them since those doors were the only locked ones.

Other fuses, metals, cables and anything which might be used elsewhere is removed by late 2017 as far as I can tell (and propably even already by a lot sooner).

While climbing up the floors, the view gets more and more panoramic and beautiful and the contrast to the decaying monstrosity it is seen from gets bigger.

This is the space between two floors. I am guessing it was used for maintenance.

The upper levels are not connected by the central staircase anymore, but rather by several smaller sets of staircases.

The last one with a concrete floor get relatively narrow.

The last two levels below the top and the roof itself are connected by rusty metal spiral staircases, which don't seem too trustworthy anymore. Although they supported me after checking every stair individually before stepping on it, they won't last another 40 years - that's for sure.

This graffito was one of the more creative ones but still nothing special.

Since a few years ago, the top of the monument is used as a location for several antennas and telecommunication equipment. A move that has angered local groups seeking to preserve the monument for its original cause.

Although there seemed to be energy for it and they were the best maintained objects around, I kinda doubt the antennas are fully functional since there are hanging loose cable from them and the general condition is far from pristine.

Altough the top is still rather well secured with a pretty solid banister, it is still considerably dangerous since the wind is ruthless. It was really just a gentle breeze that day and it still noticeably shook me around. I'm supposing it might surely blow you down there on a stormy day.

Yet the view is really rewarding and surely is the most impressive in the region. This is roughly north.

The view in roughly eastern direction. Somewhere to the right, about 10 km from there, lies the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed the view!