Sunday, October 22, 2023

Vukovar, Croatia: Vukovar Memorial Cemetary

A large cemetery is often a difficult place to visit, particular one featuring wartime casualities. This one has a particularly sad story to tell.

During the Homeland War in Vukovar, many local citizens were killed and simply left on the ground. The bodies were eventually shipped out of town, and placed in a mass grave. In 1998, the government decided to try to do something about that.

It wasn't easy. First, the area had to be checked for mines, which were plentiful. Then the large forest in the area had to be cleared. Finally, it was time to exhume 938 bodies from that grave and try to identify them.

In 2000, a statue was placed in a central location of the area. The sculpture is something of a "reverse cross" - it's made out of air rather than material. See it? An eternal flame burns within it. It is surrounded by 938 crosses, placed in neat, landscaped rows. 

One interesting part of a visit is seeing the candles that are left behind by visitors. No one is allowed to leave anything with an open flame, so the candles are placed within plastic cylinders with small holes on the side. They can burn that way, even in rain, but shouldn't cause more problems. 

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