Monument to the Revolution of the people of Moslavina

The Monument to the Revolution of the People of Moslavina in Podgarić is one of the most striking sculptures of socialist Yugoslavia, created by the Croatian sculptor Dušan Džamonja. It stands in the village of Podgarić in the municipality of Berek, central Croatia, and draws architecture fans, photographers and anyone curious about twentieth-century history.

What is it?

It is a concrete sculpture roughly 10 metres high and 20 metres wide, completed in 1967. Instead of a realistic soldier figure, the artist arranged abstract, massive volumes meant to convey the dynamics of moving crowds. Art writers describe the forms as stylised wings of freedom and victory, with a base that ties the whole structure to the ground. From a distance it looks like a huge, outstretched bird or a wave breaking over the fields.

Who does it commemorate?

The monument honours the insurgents and partisans of the Moslavina region who rose up against the Ustaše regime during the Second World War. The area around Podgarić was an important partisan base in those years, and in 1942 a partisan hospital known as "Stara Konspiracija" was set up nearby. On the approach to the monument is an ossuary holding the remains of fallen and deceased fighters; sources give figures from about 900 to about 1,000 people.

Who made it?

The sculptor was Dušan Džamonja (1928–2009), one of Yugoslavia's leading sculptors. According to Croatian Wikipedia he received the commission in 1965. The Spomenik Database also names the architect Vladimir Veličković as a co-designer.

Why visit?

• It belongs to the group of so-called spomeniks, monumental abstract memorials that have gained international fame in recent years.
• The open space around it lets you walk around the sculpture and watch its silhouette change.
• The setting is quiet and rural, at the foot of the Moslavačka gora hills.
• It is a natural stop for anyone tracing modernist architecture and the heritage of former Yugoslavia.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the monument? In the village of Podgarić, municipality of Berek, Croatia. The coordinates are roughly 45.641 N, 16.778 E.

When was it built? It was completed in 1967.

How big is it? About 10 metres high and about 20 metres wide.

Is it a memorial site? Yes. It commemorates the participants and victims of the uprising in the Moslavina region, and an ossuary with buried fighters lies beside it.

How much time should I plan? The sculpture is an open-air site, so a short visit is usually enough. Good weather and daylight help, as they show off the texture of the concrete.

Podgarić pairs well with other stops in Moslavina, an area with a strong partisan history. The monument impresses above all through its scale and simplicity: raw concrete, bold shapes and a wide sky over the fields make a scene that is hard to mistake for anywhere else in Europe.