Mirogoj cemetery

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Main entrance to the Mirogoj cemetery
Arcades in the Mirogoj cemetery

The Mirogoj Cemetery is the central cemetery of the Croatian capital Zagreb . With an area of ​​almost 72.4 hectares , it is the largest cemetery in Croatia . Due to its design as a park , its buildings and the many graves of well-known personalities, it is one of the sights of the city.

Works by numerous famous sculptors and artists can be seen in the Mirogoj cemetery . B. by Antun Augustinčić , Dušan Džamonja , Robert Frangeš Mihanović , Ivo Kerdić , Frano Kršinić , Ivan Meštrović , Edo Murtić , Vanja Radauš , Ivan Rendić , Jozo Turkalj and Rudolf Valdec .

history

The Mirogoj cemetery was established in 1876 on the property of the linguist Ljudevit Gaj . Until then there were a total of ten smaller cemeteries in Zagreb, all of which have now been replaced by the Mirogoj cemetery. The first burial in the cemetery took place on November 1, 1876.

The architect Hermann Bollé designed the main building. The construction of the arcades , domes and the church in the entrance portal began in 1879. The construction work was not completed until 1929.

On August 19, 1991 the Yugoslav military intelligence service Kontraobaveštajna služba carried out two bomb attacks on the cemetery under the code name Operation Labrador in order to create a picture of a pro- fascist state in Croatia in the international media . There was only property damage but no personal injury.

An earthquake on March 22, 2020 caused damage to cemetery buildings and graves.

location

View of the avenue of urns

The cemetery was laid out as a park on one of the foothills of Zagreb's local mountain, Medvednica . It is therefore significantly higher than the city center of Zagreb, but only a few minutes' drive away.

Denominations

Within this cemetery all religions are spatially equal. There are graves of people of Jewish , Roman Catholic , Orthodox and Muslim faith.

Memorials

Memorial to the victims of the Bleiburg massacre and the Way of the Cross (1994)

At the Mirogoj cemetery there is a German military cemetery, which was established in 1996 and where over 2,000 German soldiers who died in the Second World War are buried.

There are also the following memorials:

  • Memorial to the victims of the First World War (1919)
  • Monument to the Yugoslav folk heroes
  • Monument to the Croatian National Guard (1993)
  • Memorial to the victims of the Bleiburg massacre and the Way of the Cross (1994)
  • Monument "Voice of the Croatian Victim - Wall of Pain" (for the Croatian victims of the Croatian War )

Buried personalities

Alley in the Mirogoj cemetery

See also

literature

  • Željka Čorak: Zagreb. Mirogoj Cemetery. Bollé's masterpiece. The Pantheon of Croatian History . In: Mauro Felicori, Annalisa Zanotti (Ed.): Cemeteries of Europe. A Historical Heritage to Appreciate and Restore . Comune di Bologna, Bologna 2004, pp. 177-182 .

Web links

Commons : Mirogoj Cemetery  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. List of works by well-known sculptors in the Mirogoj cemetery. Retrieved December 30, 2014 .
  2. Judith Armatta: Twilight of Impunity: The War Crimes Trial of Slobodan Milosevic , S. 149 ( Google Books ).
  3. PHOTO: POGLEDAJTE KAKO MIROGOJ IZGLEDA NAKON JAKIH POTRESA Oštećene poznate arkade, kapelica, uništeni čak i grobovi. In: jutarnji.hr . March 22, 2020, accessed on March 24, 2020 (Croatian).

Coordinates: 45 ° 50 ′ 8.5 ″  N , 15 ° 59 ′ 4 ″  E