The research of the memorial and museum heritage dedicated to World War II in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the framework of the WWII MonumentSEE project, Assessment of post-World War II monuments in South-East Europe, in order to develop a new regional tourism product I cultural route was carried out in February, April and May 2019 on over 20 monument sites dedicated to the National Liberation Movement (NOP), in museums, libraries and through Internet portals and sites of governmental and non-governmental institutions dealing with WWII monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region.
The monuments and museums dedicated to NOP in Bosnia and Herzegovina that have been studied are: the Vraca Memorial Park in Sarajevo, the Monument and Memorial Ossuary on Dzindino Hill in Vogos’ca near Sarajevo, the Memorial Complex of the Battle for the Wounded on the Neretva in Jablanica, the Partisan Memorial Cemetery in Mostar, the “Valley of the Heroes” Memorial Complex at Tjentis’te, the Monument to the Fallen Partisan Detachment from Zenica, the Smrike Necropolis for the Victims of Fascism in Novi Travnik, the Museum of the Second AVNOJ” Session in Jajce, the Sus’njar Memorial Complex in Sanski Most, the Monument to the Revolution on Mrakovica (Kozara, Prijedor), the Complex of Monuments to the Fallen Krajina Soldiers at Sehitluci in Banja Luka, the Garavica Memorial Park to the Victims of Fascist Terror, the Korcanica Memorial Complex on GrmecMt., the Monument on Makljen and several smaller monuments dedicated to the National Liberation War in Sarajevo, Mostar and Banja Luka.
Out of a total of 14 monuments covered by this research, only 7 are protected as national monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In addition to assessment visits and mapping of the monuments, collection of detailed information on their authors, type and year of construction and basic historical facts around them, as well as the creation of a database of photographic and textual documentation, this research also disclosed the current state of preservation of NOP monuments and museums in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It varies in relation to the micro-location of the monument, its association with existing tourism offers and infrastructure, as well as a number of political and historical motives and circumstances. The research has provided a direct insight into the current state of NOP monuments and museums in Bosnia and Herzegovina from various aspects: maintenance, protection, physical preservation, the modality of use, organization and management, tourism offers, importance in the narrower and broader community, etc.
The purpose of the research was to create tourist routes covering different topics with a common thread — the NationalLiberation Movement on the territories of the Former Yugoslav republics. The proposed tourist routes have been selected on the basis of common factors, such as same author, the same status of the monument, same type of complex, same purpose of construction/dedication to a particular person or event, as well as opportunities for sports, recreational, cultural and entertainment activities. The suggested tourist routes are described in tables, text, photos, reports and maps.
The research included assessment visits to the most important monument sites of the National Liberation Movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, photographing, interviews with key individuals in charge of NOP monuments, and the creation of tables and descriptions according to the previously established criteria that were the same for all monuments. As such, the research showed that almost all monuments are easily accessible and safe to visit, located in remote locations yet in the vicinity of main roads and that they all hold potential for tourist route development and inclusion in tourist offers. The interest for these potential tourist routes is the greatest among foreign guests and tourists but is on the rise among the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its neighbouring countries.
After the research, a workshop was organized to present the results of the process of making “Assessment of monuments created after the Second World War, in order to develop a new regional tourist product / cultural route in Southeast Europe.” Research and assessments of monumental heritage after the Second World War were conducted by researchers in 6 countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo *, Montenegro, Serbia and Northern Macedonia. In addition to individual research, a two-day workshop organized in May 2019 in Podgorica also presented a REGIONAL assessment for the development of a new regional tourism product: cultural routes of monuments dedicated to World War II in Southeast Europe.
You can see the results of the project here:
WWII-MonumentSEE