Brighten Your Day

14 Abandoned World War II Monuments That Look Like They're From The Future

October 27, 2015

To commemorate sites where WWII battles took place, former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito in the 1960s and 70s had monuments built. The massive structures were designed by different sculptors (Dušan Džamonja, Vojin Bakić, Miodrag Živković, Jordan and Iskra Grabul, to name a few) conveying powerful visual impact to show the confidence and strength of the Socialist Republic.

via reddit

In the 1980s, these monuments attracted millions of visitors per year. But after the Republic dissolved in the early 1990s, they were completely abandoned, and their symbolic meanings were forever lost.

From 2006 to 2009, photographer Jan Kempenaers toured the ex-Yugoslavia region (now Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.) with the help of a 1975 map of memorials, bringing before our eyes this series of melancholy yet striking images...

Podgarić

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Tjentište

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Kosmaj

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Kruševo

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Kozara

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Ilirska Bistrica

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Jasenovac

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Niš

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Knin

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Kadinjača

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Mitrovica

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Zenica

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Sisak

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

Nikšić

Credit: Jan Kempenaers

(h/t) Cracked 2. Photos by: Jan Kempenaers