Vukovar, Croatia

Not all tourist stops are beauty, culture, and elegant history. There is the darker side of human history and not all of it far in the past. Such was our reminder of this during our stop at the Croatian town of Vukovar, once a prosperous city of 40,000 nestled along the banks of the Danube River. In 1991, Croatia declared independence from Serbia-dominated Yugoslavia. Serbia reacted by attacking Vukovar (and much else of Croatia that the Serbian leadership wanted to remain in control of). For 100 days, the Croatians of Vukovar held out. 90% of the city was destroyed, much of the population fled, and at least 5,000 sent to concentration camps in Serbia. Many never returned. In their rage over the stiff resistance, the Serbians murdered most of the surviving defenders. Over 1000 missing solders and civilians are still unaccounted for. The Croatians regained control of Vukovar in 1997 after the Dayton agreements ended the conflict.

Of course, in that war and the Bosnian war that followed, war crimes were committed by all parties. Yet the destruction of Vukovar stands out as a reminder of the worst of it all.

The city’s water tower is kept as a symbol of the war. While much has been replaced or repaired, many buildings retain evidence of the damage.

The main town square, where the Vuka flows into the Danube. I love the near perfect reflection of the end of the far building in the windows of the adjacent one.

We traveled to the St. Phillip and Jacob Church, where we viewed a movie on the war. This church is part of the Franciscan Friars commune. All the church but one apse has been restored to its baroque decor. The wooden image of Christ is a surviving artifact from the pre-war church.

Since then, much of Vukovar has been rebuilt and renovated. The population is back up to 27,000. Most of the major industry left and has not yet returned, so unemployment is high. Still, the town continues to recover and, while likely never forget its recent past (that is not man’s nature and particularly not that of the people of the Balkans) the city is working to improve its future.

Once released from the group, Peggy, Frances and I walked through a bit more of the city, making it as far as the Elizabeth Manor Museum and the park across the street.

We spent only the morning in Vukovar and reboarded the Amadeus Nova to travel down stream to Novi Sad, Serbia. We’ll arrive mid-afternoon. This will be our first visit to this country.