Troubled Times

 

After an overnight cruise, we landed in a new city and a new country – Vukovar Croatia, located on the eastern side of Croatia. In 1990, when Yugoslavia started to break up, the Croatians wanted their independence. The Serbians wanted Croatia to remain as part of Yugoslavia. Starting in August 1991, the Serbs started a full out attack on Vukovar which turned into an 87-day siege. 

Vukovar was defended by around 1,800 lightly armed soldiers of the Croatian National Guard (ZNG) and civilian volunteers, against as many as 36,000 JNA soldiers and Serb paramilitaries equipped with heavy armour and artillery. During the battle, shells and rockets were fired into the town at a rate of up to 12,000 a day. At the time, it was the fiercest and most protracted battle seen in Europe since 1945, and Vukovar was the first major European town to be entirely destroyed since the Second World War. (Wiki)

The water tower is one of the most famous symbols of Vukovar
and the suffering of the city and the country during the Croatian War of Independence. 
It was hit more than 600 times during the siege.

After Vukovar fell, there were 300 prisoners of war and civilians in a Croatian hospital who were taken to a farm outside of Vukovar where they were beaten, eventually shot and buried in a mass grave. There is now a memorial on the site that we visited. It was a very moving memorial, rather like the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. All Croatian school children are required to take a field trip to visit the memorial and remember what happened. Needless to say, there is not much love between the Croatians and the Serbs. 

I also want to say that I had only a dim glimmer that any of this was happening in Eastern Europe – I just wasn't paying attention. I was very saddened by this stop.

We also visited Eltz Manor, a manor house that was built in the 18^th century. It was heavily damaged by the Croatian War of Independence, but after restoration, it is now houses the Vukovar City Museum.

In the attic they had probably fifty different national costumes

A 3D painting on the side of a building

This bird was also a symbol of the city.  You could buy small versions of it in the gift shops.