Sci-Fi Yugoslavian Monuments

Sci-Fi Yugoslavian Monuments :

Long before the former Yugoslavia descended into war and conflict, it was actually home to some of the most progressive names in European Architecture. Dotted around its landscapes were various sculptures and structures which had been commissioned by the government of the day.

Many of them appear as if they've been copied from any number of science fiction novels and films, such is their unique design. They proved wildly popular in their heyday, with thousands of tourists flocking to see these otherworldly buildings right through the 1980s.

The inevitable collapse of communism ushered in a brutal era of ongoing violence, distrust and disunity. Together those elements conspired to break the country apart and in the midst of it all, these iconic landmarks become forgotten, left to look on in dismay at the fall of a once united nation.

Some 26 years later, Belgium photographer Jan Kempenaers (who studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent & has a PhD in visual arts) ventured out into the bleak countryside to photograph these architectural wonders.

To his surprise, despite any lack of maintenance, they appeared in good condition, untainted by vandalism or destroyed by war. They had remained largely unscathed, jutting out of the earth and tower above the chaos that had previously surrounded them.

1. Monument to Kosmaj partizans, Mountain Kosmaj, near Belgrade, Serbia, 1982.

2. Monument of Revolution, Podgarić, Croatia, 1967.

3. Monument "Typhus", Korenica, Croatia, 1959

4. Monument "Stone Flower", in the Jasenovac concentration camp, Croatia, 1966

5. Monument to killed patriots, Trebjesa, Niksic, Montenegro

6. Monument in Memorial Centre Šušnjar, near Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1971

7, 14, Monument in Memorial complex "Valley of heroes", Tjentište, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1971

8. Monument to fallen fighters, Kolašin, Montenegro, 1949

9. Partisan Detachment monument, Ostra, Čačak, Serbia, 1969

10. Monument to the uprising of the people of Kordun and Banija, Petrova Gora, Croatia, 1981

11. Monument to killed partizans during liberation of Knin, Croatia, destroyed 1995

12. Monument dedicated to fallen Slovenian soldiers, Iliriska Bistrica, Slovenia, 1965

13. First monument in Kadinjača Memorial, Mountain Kadinjača, near Užice, Serbia, 1952-1979

14. Tjentiste War Memorial for "Operation Fall Schwarz", Bosnia, 1970s

15. Monument "Makedonium", Kruševo, Macedonia, 1974