Memorial to the defenders of the Homeland War

Why it is worth your time

The monument to the defenders of the Homeland War stands in the Vodice harbour and is one of those monuments that do not ask for attention but earn it by their silence: a stone ring with the carved names of townspeople who fell in the war of the nineties, set in a place from which the sea they fought for is seen. During the war Vodice lay behind the front line toward Sibenik and Zadar, took in refugees and sent its own people to the line, so the list of names is long for a town of this size.

The monument is simple and without pathos, with a ring symbolising the community and an emptiness at the centre that speaks for itself. It stands along the waterfront promenade, so people pass it daily; residents leave flowers and candles here on anniversaries. For the visitor it is enough to pause a minute and read the names: that is the most direct way to understand that this quiet summer resort was part of a war map thirty years ago.

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