LoginJoin us
Register
Forgot Password
Add to Collection

Mausoleum to the Partisan Fighter on Gorica

Podgorica, Montenegro
6197b803-c20c-4fe2-95cb-7ed46d7b798d.jpg
1 of 8

The Mausoleum to the Partisan Fighter on the Gorica hill is the final resting place for two revolutionaries and sixty-six national heroes of the People's Liberation War (Montenegrin NOR), but also a central memorial site dedicated to all the World War II victims from the territory of Montenegro, according to the inscriptions from the interior of the mausoleum. South-facing and axially placed, the mausoleum connects to the orthogonal matrix of the central city zone (Nova varos) or Njegoseva Street. It was visible from the city center right after the construction. The opening ceremony took place on July 13, 1957, on the Day of the Uprising of Montenegro.

The dominant classicist "canopy-house" with minimalistic ornamental elements in the upper zone of the mausoleum reflects a distinct architectural approach to the design of the entire memorial complex. Undoubtedly, Vojislav Dokic deserves credit for that invaluable contribution. The special value of this architectural idea lies in the burial depth of the mausoleum and the access stairs to the monument. Along with two flights of side stairs, the main staircase leads to the mausoleum and the upper plateau, which is a sheltered, roof-covered place for the central granite plaque with the inscription "In honor of the Partisan- Fighter". The interior of the mausoleum is covered with red stone slabs with inscriptions including the names of the victims and anti-fascist information ("From 1941 to 1945, 6780 fighters and leaders from Montenegro died in the People's Liberation War"; "7479 Montenegrin sons and daughters were killed by fascist occupiers and domestic traitors "; the inscription on the central slab says "They loved freedom more than life").

The whole complex is built in white, semi-carved stone that can be found in the vicinity of Podgorica (Spuz). The special artistic value of the monument lies in its two memorial statues of "partisan fighters" ~ 3 m high (male caryatids), which are located on the lower plateau, on both left and right sides of the mausoleum. Created by the famous Montenegrin sculptor Drago Durovic, these sculptures are also made of white stone, which makes the whole complex monolithic, monumental, and characteristic of socialist realism. The mausoleum has remained a symbol of Podgorica (Titograd) ever since its construction.

Source: Slavica Stamatovic Vuckovic, "Spomenici Drugog svjetskog rata u Crnoj Gori" (NVO Expeditio, 2020).

Go to article
bostjan, November 20th, 2021
Go to article