Page 133 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 133
6.4 Other Contemporary Memorial Practices and Dark Tourism
In this sense, the memory of wwi was/is not only a matter of (the King-
dom of) Italy, as written in one of the previous sub-chapters, but also
nations/states (which gained independence from the Austro-Hungarian
Monarchy) and communities in today’s Istria. The naval cemetery (K.u.k.
Marinefriedhof; see Figure 6.15) in Pula, one of the biggest European mil-
itary cemeteries, where over 100,000 people are buried – not only mem-
bers of the Austro-Hungarian army, but also Italian, German soldiers,
and local partisan fighters, can be interesting for international visitors; ⁵³
the victims of the sunken ships – Baron Gautsch, Szent Istvan and Viribus
Unitis – are also buried here.⁵⁴ The cemetery is included in the list of
monuments under the protection of The Hague Convention. Wreaths,
flowers and candles by the individual monuments or graves indicate that
casual minor commemorations are held here during the year; the most
important are at the end of October and the beginning of November.
Under the hill in the city centre, there is an underground tunnel net-
work known as the Zerostrasse (Figure 6.14). Underground tunnels were
(partly) constructed just before w w i to provide a shelter for people in
case of air attacks and then expanded under the Italian administration.
Today they present an interesting military/warfare heritage attraction for
tourists as well as a shelter for the entire population of Pula (Istria Cul-
ture, n.d.a; Milaković & Pocedić, 2015). The central location helps with
greater visibility and turnout of this dark tourism site.
Rabl’s (1907) travel guide mentions 28 fortifications that protected
Pula,⁵⁵ which, according to the author, more or less spoiled the view. Af-
ter more than 100 years, the situation in the city is still similar. The City
of Pula is dealing with the problem of rehabilitation/renovation, and pre-
sentation and management of this specific historical (military) heritage.
Meanwhile, this precious military heritage is deteriorating and is not
fully exploited for tourism purposes – except for some examples like the
Fort Musil or the Zerostrasse underground tunnels (Figure 6.14). In fact,
investments only in these two examples of Pula’s heritage are included
in the Master Plan of Tourism of the Istria County 2015–2025 (Horwath
ht l, n.d.). The opposite example are the Brijuni Islands, which were al-
ready recommended by Rabl (1907, p. 240) (because of Fort Tegetthoff on
Veli Brijun), yet today are mainly visited because of the heritage of the
⁵³ More can be found in Monte Giro d.o.o. Pula (n.d.).
⁵⁴ Underwater locations of the first two are popular diving points today.
⁵⁵ More about fortifications and their construction can be found in Benussi (1923) and Per-
ović (2006).
133
In this sense, the memory of wwi was/is not only a matter of (the King-
dom of) Italy, as written in one of the previous sub-chapters, but also
nations/states (which gained independence from the Austro-Hungarian
Monarchy) and communities in today’s Istria. The naval cemetery (K.u.k.
Marinefriedhof; see Figure 6.15) in Pula, one of the biggest European mil-
itary cemeteries, where over 100,000 people are buried – not only mem-
bers of the Austro-Hungarian army, but also Italian, German soldiers,
and local partisan fighters, can be interesting for international visitors; ⁵³
the victims of the sunken ships – Baron Gautsch, Szent Istvan and Viribus
Unitis – are also buried here.⁵⁴ The cemetery is included in the list of
monuments under the protection of The Hague Convention. Wreaths,
flowers and candles by the individual monuments or graves indicate that
casual minor commemorations are held here during the year; the most
important are at the end of October and the beginning of November.
Under the hill in the city centre, there is an underground tunnel net-
work known as the Zerostrasse (Figure 6.14). Underground tunnels were
(partly) constructed just before w w i to provide a shelter for people in
case of air attacks and then expanded under the Italian administration.
Today they present an interesting military/warfare heritage attraction for
tourists as well as a shelter for the entire population of Pula (Istria Cul-
ture, n.d.a; Milaković & Pocedić, 2015). The central location helps with
greater visibility and turnout of this dark tourism site.
Rabl’s (1907) travel guide mentions 28 fortifications that protected
Pula,⁵⁵ which, according to the author, more or less spoiled the view. Af-
ter more than 100 years, the situation in the city is still similar. The City
of Pula is dealing with the problem of rehabilitation/renovation, and pre-
sentation and management of this specific historical (military) heritage.
Meanwhile, this precious military heritage is deteriorating and is not
fully exploited for tourism purposes – except for some examples like the
Fort Musil or the Zerostrasse underground tunnels (Figure 6.14). In fact,
investments only in these two examples of Pula’s heritage are included
in the Master Plan of Tourism of the Istria County 2015–2025 (Horwath
ht l, n.d.). The opposite example are the Brijuni Islands, which were al-
ready recommended by Rabl (1907, p. 240) (because of Fort Tegetthoff on
Veli Brijun), yet today are mainly visited because of the heritage of the
⁵³ More can be found in Monte Giro d.o.o. Pula (n.d.).
⁵⁴ Underwater locations of the first two are popular diving points today.
⁵⁵ More about fortifications and their construction can be found in Benussi (1923) and Per-
ović (2006).
133
