Monument to the Serbian and Albanian Partisans

The Monument to the Serbian and Albanian Partisans (also known as the Monument to the Partisans and Miners and the Monement to the Heroes of the National Liberation War) honors the Albanian and Serbian partisans from Kosovo and Metohija who died in World War II in Yugoslavia from 1941–1945. Erected in 1973, the monument is on a promontory named Miner’s Hill,[1] located above Mitrovica, Kosovo. Its creator was architect Bogdan Bogdanovich.[2]

Monument to the Serbian and Albanian Partisans
Споменик рударима јунацима из НОБ

History

The idea of building the monument was put forward in 1959 on the day of the 20th anniversary of the Trepch miners' strike. The monument preserves the memory of local partisan fighters of Serbian and Albanian nationalities who formed a partisan mountain company, which fought against the occupying Axis forces, and local collaborators.

The monument is currently not protected by any law, but is in more or less good condition. As of 2019, restoration work is underway.

Architecture

The 19-meter-high monument resembles a trilithon consisting of three elements: two conical columns and a grooved structure. The sides of the gutter were originally coated with copper, with small decorative elements at each of the four corners. The columns are said to represent the two peoples of Kosovo through their unity during the anti-fascist struggle. Another definition states that the monument is similar to vans carrying ore from a mine to a metallurgical plant.

A large number of bronze plaques are installed at the base of the monument, as well as two symbolic cenotaphs: one in front and one behind the monument. The cenotaph in front of the monument consists of four white tombstones with the names of the killed Albanian and Serbian partisans. The inscriptions are written in Albanian, Serbian, and Latin. The back cenotaph is the same, only nothing is written on it.

The lower part of the columns is covered with graffiti, and most of the copper plates on the sides of the gutters fell off over time due to lack of maintenance and weather conditions.

References
  1. "Mitrovica Miners Monument". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  2. Lawler, Andrew. "The Memorial works of Bogdan Bogdanović: Their condition and situation as of 2012". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

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