Vukovar, Croatia

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Vukovar, Croatia

This little city of about 40,000 is right on the Danube. On the other side is Serbia. This location has not always proved to be advantageous to the citizens of Vukovar. During the most recent Balkan war the Serbian army and Slobadon Milosovic, the Serbian leader, took a dim view of Croatia’s move toward independence. The Serbs tried to capture Vukovar but managed only to almost completely destroy it by lobbing artillery across the river until 90%!o(MISSING)f the city was leveled.

We saw the first evidence of the war as we were pulling into the port facilities. There is a tall brick and concrete water tower on the edge of the port which is riddled with holes. I am told that the present government wants to leave it as it stands today as a reminder of the struggle and the strong will of the people to resist the Serbs. The tower, though no longer useable because it is full of holes, stayed standing despite the best efforts of the Serbs.

The rest of Vukovar didn’t fare so well. The business and cultural center of the city along the river bank was leveled, including a beautiful castle that once contained a famous museum of Croatian history and art. All this happened a little over 20 years ago but rebuilding has come a long way. The castle has been rebuilt to look exactly like the original. The Croatians have even managed to recover most of the original museum contents that had been carted away to Belgrade by the Serbs. On the lawn in front of the castle overlooking the Danube is the blackened trunk of a huge tree that was burned during the siege. It has been left as a reminder that the castle burned for six days after the attack.

During our walk around the city we saw buildings riddled with bullet holes and empty lots where buildings once stood. But also we saw many modern new buildings; glass and steel has replaced the brick and stone of the past. These folks are clearly trying very hard to rebuild even though the economy here, as in much of the Balkans, is struggling. Unemployment is near 30%. But as the locals will say, life goes on and it is best not to focus on the past. The Vukovars were in the midst of a big celebration when we arrived. There was a large crowd of people gathered in a park on the waterfront with lots of native dances and singing going on. We were greeted warmly. Our little group found a nice outdoor café overlooking the river in the late afternoon and sampled some of the local beer. The waiter asked us to please return someday, which I would like to do.

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Photos

Vukovar, Croatia
Native dancers at celebration

Vukovar
bullet riddled building damaged during attack by the Serbs in the 1990s

Vukovar
Der Kleine Prinz at Vukovar on the Danube

Vukovar
friends having a beer on the Vukovar waterfront