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VALLEY OF HEROES
CREATED BY #62321
THE VALLEY OF HEROES IS LOCATED IN TJENTIŠTE, IN SUTJESKA NATIONAL PARK IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA — ONE OF THE OLDEST AND LARGEST NATIONAL PARKS IN THE COUNTRY. THIS PLACE COMMEMORATES THE BATTLE OF SUTJESKA (MAY 15–JUNE 16, 1943), ALSO KNOWN AS OPERATION FALL SCHWARZ, DURING WHICH AXIS FORCES (GERMAN, ITALIAN, HUNGARIAN, AND BULGARIAN) ATTEMPTED TO DESTROY YUGOSLAV PARTISAN UNITS COMMANDED BY JOSIP BROZ TITO.
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THIS BATTLE WAS ONE OF THE BLOODIEST MILITARY OPERATIONS IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA DURING WORLD WAR II. OVER 7,000 PARTISANS WERE KILLED, BUT THEIR SACRIFICE ENABLED THE MAIN FORCES OF THE RESISTANCE MOVEMENT TO BE SAVED. THIS VICTORY HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE MORALE OF THE POPULATION AND BECAME AN IMPORTANT POINT IN THE POST-WAR MYTHOLOGY OF YUGOSLAVIA.
ARCHITECTURE AND SYMBOLISM
THE CENTRAL ELEMENT OF THE COMPLEX IS A MONUMENTAL MONUMENT DESIGNED BY MIODRAG ŽIVKOVIĆ AND UNVEILED IN 1971. IT CONSISTS OF TWO 19-METER CONCRETE STRUCTURES RESEMBLING WINGS OR EXPLODING ROCKS, SYMBOLIZING THE BREAKING OF THE GERMAN ENCIRCLEMENT BY THE PARTISANS. THE MONUMENT'S SETTING IN ITS RUGGED, MOUNTAINOUS SURROUNDINGS GIVES IT AN ALMOST SUPERNATURAL DIMENSION.
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BETWEEN THE WINGS IS A WIDE PATH LEADING TO A STONE AMPHITHEATER, WHICH SERVED BOTH AS A VENUE FOR STATE CEREMONIES AND A SPACE FOR MEDITATION. MARBLE PLAQUES COMMEMORATE THE 16 PARTISAN BRIGADES THAT TOOK PART IN THE BATTLE.
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NEARBY IS THE SPOMEN-DOM (MEMORIAL HOUSE), DESIGNED BY RANKO RADOVIĆ AND OPENED IN 1975. ITS INTERIOR IS COVERED WITH POWERFUL FRESCOES BY KRSTO HEGEDUŠIĆ, DEPICTING SCENES FROM THE BATTLE, AS WELL AS OVER 7,000 ENGRAVED NAMES OF FALLEN FIGHTERS. THE BUILDING IS PARTIALLY INTEGRATED INTO THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE, WHICH ENHANCES THE FEELING OF BEING IMMERSED IN HISTORY.
VALLEY OF HEROES IN THE DARKSIDE
THE VALLEY OF HEROES WAS USED AS ONE OF THE KEY LOCATIONS IN THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR “DARKSIDE,” THE SECOND CHAPTER OF ALAN WALKER'S WORLD OF WALKER TRILOGY. DIRECTOR KRISTIAN BERG CAPTURED THE MONUMENTALITY AND AUSTERITY OF THE PLACE, GIVING IT THE ROLE OF A SPACE WHERE THE PAST MEETS THE FUTURE.
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IN ONE OF THE CENTRAL SCENES, WE SEE A GROUP OF WALKERS SCANNING A CONCRETE MONUMENT IN TJENTIŠTE. THEIR ACTIONS MAY SYMBOLIZE AN ATTEMPT TO REGAIN LOST KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTAND HISTORY. HOWEVER, THEIR MAIN TASK IS TO OBTAIN A SCAN OF THE OBJECT IN ORDER TO RECONSTRUCT IT WITH THE HELP OF AVI-8 DRONES IN A NEW CITY OF PEACE — WORLD OF WALKER.
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THIS VISUAL COMBINATION OF THE PAST AND A FUTURISTIC NARRATIVE GIVES THE VALLEY OF HEROES A NEW SYMBOLIC DIMENSION — A PLACE OF SACRIFICE IS TRANSFORMED INTO A STARTING POINT FOR THE REBIRTH OF THE WORLD.
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THESE SHOTS, COMBINED WITH ETHEREAL MUSIC AND CAMERA MOVEMENT, HIGHLIGHT THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE MEMORY OF THE PAST AND THE HOPE FOR A BETTER FUTURE. THE MONUMENT IS NOT JUST A RELIC OF HISTORY — IT BECOMES A LIVING SYMBOL OF CHANGE AND A TESTAMENT TO RESILIENCE.
THANKS TO ITS UNIQUENESS, THE MONUMENT IN THE VALLEY OF HEROES HAS BECOME A RECURRING THEME IN THE WORLD OF WALKER UNIVERSE. IT APPEARED NOT ONLY IN “DARKSIDE” AND LATER IN “DIAMOND HEART” BUT ALSO APPEARED IN MANY MUSIC VIDEOS. AMONG OTHER THINGS, IT WAS SHOWN SEVERAL TIMES ON THE PROPHECY DISCS, ALONG WITH THE NUMBER “8,” WHICH IS A REFERENCE TO THE STAIRS LEADING UP TO THE MONUMENT.
LEGACY AND CONTEMPORARY SIGNIFICANCE
THE VALLEY OF HEROES IN TJENTIŠTE IS NOT ONLY A PLACE OF REMEMBRANCE OF ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BATTLES OF WORLD WAR II IN YUGOSLAVIA, BUT ALSO A TIMELESS SYMBOL OF COURAGE, SACRIFICE, AND THE PURSUIT OF FREEDOM. ITS MONUMENTAL ARCHITECTURE, SET IN THE WILD NATURE OF SUTJESKA PARK, CONTINUES TO ATTRACT VISITORS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, INCLUDING LOVERS OF HISTORY, BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE, AND CONTEMPORARY VISUAL CULTURE.
IN RECENT YEARS, THE SITE HAS BEEN GIVEN A NEW LEASE OF LIFE BY PHOTOGRAPHERS, FILMMAKERS, AND DIGITAL CREATORS WHO FIND INSPIRATION AND NARRATIVE IN IT — THANKS IN PART TO PROJECTS SUCH AS WORLD OF WALKER.
