This spomenik is a memorial to honor the Partisans who died fighting the Axis forces during the occupation of Serbia during World War II. Its scale dwarfs most other spomeniks, reaching high above its hilltop location with five 30-meter fins. But beyond the scale of this monument, there are several amazing elements that are a testament to the effort put into remembering the dead.
Firstly, it's the freestanding structure of each of the five fins. At first glance, as you see it in the distance or as you walk the path up to the top of the hill, it seems like the fins originate from a central core. But as you pass beneath or around the structure, the true elegance of the shape reveals itself to you—the center is hollow. Likely a nod to the empty space left by the hundreds of soldiers lost in combat.
Secondly, there has been real attention and artistry applied to the concrete formwork. In the detail photos below, you can see that the formwork lines originate from this missing central core on the sides of the monument. These align, almost perfectly, with the thin inside and thicker outside form lines that make up the main four surfaces of each of the five fins. Truly a detail to admire.
If you can only visit one spomenik in all of Yugoslavia, this one would have to be very high on my recommendation list.
