"They are gone, for they wanted to be" - A contemplative walk through Dotrščina Forest

Far from the beaten tourist paths, in the eastern part of the town, Dotrščina Forest quietly offers contemplative moments of forest bathing for visitors. At the same time, just as quietly, it honours those whose moments under its tree crowns were bathed in pure terror.

Memorial for revolutionaries who died in Zagreb in WWII

There is an underlying darkness of Dotrščina that drags you far away from a joyous train of thought which could be a part of your usual walk in your usual woods. Your thoughts are bound to get intercepted by monuments of mesmerising shape and unusual placement within the forest that doesn't really show other signs of civilisation - only those unexpected art pieces. There are no bars, no playgrounds, nothing but serene forest trails and then, the abstract sculptures! You might try to unravel their mystery, but is it really possible to guess why they are here, based on the sense of place and the monuments alone? If you look closer, you will find cheat sheets. Some monuments include verses of Croatian poets Jure Kaštelan and Ivan Goran Kovačić, both active antifascist fighters in WWII.

"They are gone, for they wanted to be" - verses by Ivan Goran Kovačić, killed in WWII

And the mystery unfolds: part of the Dotrščina forest is a memorial site for the WWII victims of the fascist-like regime. The sculptures that scream and cry through their abstract shapes make a dignified memorial, but one that doesn’t immediately unveil the amount of terror that took place in this forest. The fact that the monuments are spread out, that we keep bumping into one ornamented clearing, and then the other, that it takes a while to find them all, that fact might be more revealing. The unsettling truth that whispers with each footstep we take, is that thousands of people were executed in this very forest. The exact number is still not known.

Learn more on the website of an extensive memorial project Virtualni muzej Dotrščina (Virtual museum of Dotrščina) (https://www.dotrscina.hr/).

One of the biggest forests of Zagreb is one of the biggest WWII mass execution sites in the country. After all these years, the memorial sculptures still pay homage to the victims, calling passersby to notice their purpose and shifting the train of thought of true wanderers. 

Wanderers walk their trails with observant minds and open hearts, and they will be deeply moved by the sense of this particular place. Zagreb is a town of layered history, some of it you might even wish to overlook. But for those of you who understand the power of remembrance, a walk through Dotrščina might be transformative. It is a forest for deep reflection after all, even if it's not the kind of contemplation you might experience during your usual walk in your usual woods. Deep in the beautiful forest, you will meet the darkest and brightest corners of humanity.

Author: Iva Silla