Dotrščina Memorial Park: a forest of remembrance in Zagreb
Dotrščina Memorial Park (Spomen-park Dotrščina) is a protected forest park of about 2 km² in the north-east of Zagreb, between Maksimir park and the slopes of Medvednica. It is a place of remembrance for people killed here in the Second World War, and it is known for the abstract monuments of the sculptor Vojin Bakić. It is a quiet, sober visit that suits those interested in Yugoslav-era memorial art.
Among the trees on the edge of Zagreb stands a memorial that deliberately says nothing: an abstract steel crystal that does not tell visitors what happened here, and a valley of graves covered in ivy.
The history of Dotrščina Memorial Park
Dotrščina is a forested area of about 2 km² in the north-east of Zagreb, north of Maksimir park and south of Medvednica. During the Second World War, from May 1941, the Ustasha brought prisoners here and killed them. The victims were usually thrown into common pits, so there is no record of where individuals were buried. A research project carried out up to the mid-1980s identified around 7,000 people executed here, among them some 2,000 members of the Communist Party and its youth league. A historian has pointed out that the work was never completed and that no number can be stated with certainty.
Most of the victims are thought to have been Croats, many executed after summary judgements or in reprisal for the Partisan uprising, along with Serbs, Jews and Roma. Unlike most victims of the Ustasha regime, who were sent to distant camps, the executions in the forests of Dotrščina and Rakov potok were generally announced publicly in Zagreb. Among the better-known intellectuals killed here were Božidar Adžija, Otokar Keršovani, Ognjen Prica, Viktor Rosenzweig, Zvonimir Richtmann, Ivo Kuhn, Simo Crnogorac and the writer August Cesarec.
Relatives and other groups began putting up gravestones in the forest from about 1959. In 1963 the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the City of Zagreb signed a contract with the sculptor Vojin Bakić, the landscape architect Josip Seissel, Silvana Seissel and Angela Ratković for the design of the park, including the Valley of Graves and the old entrance area. The arrangement was completed in 1968, when Bakić's monument to all the victims was erected on the plateau at the entrance from Svetošimunska road. The park was officially called the Memorial Cemetery and Park of the Revolution.
The central monument is a crystalline form of stainless steel, reduced to a minimum of surfaces and lines, so that light and shadow shift as the viewer moves. In the Valley of Graves, one of the execution grounds, Bakić placed six or seven smaller crystalline sculptures; the ground and slopes are covered with ivy, and marble plaques carry verses by Ivan Goran Kovačić and Jure Kaštelan. Further monuments by other artists were added in later decades. Plans for more memorials and a museum were halted after the political and economic changes of 1990, and on 9 May 2023 a replica of a plaque from 1968, removed in the early 1990s, was unveiled at the entrance.
Facts about Dotrščina Memorial Park
- The park was officially named the Memorial Cemetery and Park of the Revolution.
- The main monument is a crystalline form of stainless steel, roughly four metres wide and two metres high, and its look changes with the angle of view and the light.
- Bakić's monument is described as an abstract dedication to all those shot here, with no narrative or ideology attached.
- The whole Valley of Graves and its slopes were planted with ivy so that, in the designers' words, the victims would be more at peace.
- Marble plaques along the road through the valley carry verses by the poets Ivan Goran Kovačić and Jure Kaštelan.
- A replica of a plaque first placed in 1968 and removed in the early 1990s was unveiled on 9 May 2023.
Tours near Dotrščina Memorial Park
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting Dotrščina Memorial Park
- Dotrščina is a place of remembrance in a forest, so quiet and respectful behaviour is appropriate.
- Start at the main monument on the plateau by the entrance from Svetošimunska road, then follow the path down to the Valley of Graves.
- In the valley you can see Bakić's smaller crystalline sculptures marking mass graves, with ivy on the slopes and marble plaques with verses along the route.
- Other monuments were added over the years by different artists, among them Branko Ružić's bronze monument of 1981 with a stylised prison from which birds fly out.
- The park lies not far from Mirogoj Cemetery and the Tomb of the People's Heroes, which makes a coherent day of memorial sites in Zagreb. Check the current access arrangements before you go.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Dotrščina Memorial Park is
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Photos of Dotrščina Memorial Park
Questions
What is Dotrščina Memorial Park?
It is a protected forest park of about 2 km² in north-east Zagreb, laid out as a memorial to people executed here in the Second World War. The arrangement was completed in 1968.
Who designed Dotrščina Memorial Park?
The sculptor Vojin Bakić worked with the landscape architect Josip Seissel, Silvana Seissel and Angela Ratković, following a contract signed in 1963.
How many people were killed at Dotrščina?
Research up to the mid-1980s identified around 7,000 victims, but a historian notes that the work was never completed, so no exact number can be given.
What is the Valley of Graves at Dotrščina?
It is one of the execution sites in the park, marked by six or seven crystalline steel sculptures by Bakić, ivy-covered slopes and marble plaques with poetry.
Where is Dotrščina Memorial Park?
It is in the north-east of Zagreb, north of Maksimir park and south of Mount Medvednica. The main monument stands at the entrance from Svetošimunska road.
Is Dotrščina worth a visit in Zagreb?
It suits visitors interested in modern history and Yugoslav-era memorial art, and it offers a quiet walk in woodland away from the city centre.
Also nearby
Tomb of the People's Heroes, Zagreb
Zagreb · Yugoslav-era memorial tomb at Mirogoj cemetery
3 km away
Mirogoj Cemetery
Zagreb · arcades, domes and the 'Croatian Pantheon'
3.5 km away
Stone Gate
Zagreb · last medieval gate and a candlelit shrine to Mary
5 km away
Lotrščak Tower
Zagreb · medieval tower, thieves' bell and daily noon cannon
5.5 km away