The Tower is a symbol of the three-month siege of Vukovar and also of the resistance and courage of the Croatian defenders, and a silent witness to the tremendous destruction and suffering in the Homeland War but also to the resistance, defiance and invincibility.

It will remain a symbol of destruction and of resistance, of defiance and invincibility. The Vukovar Water Tower will be the only building in Vukovar to be left intact on the outside as an authentic witness of the tragic events in Vukovar and as a warning for the future.

The Water Tower as a symbol of the defence of Vukovar was formally reopened on 30 October 2020, illuminated in the colours of the Croatian flag, with the lyrics of the Croatian anthem accompanied with the patriotic songs and the national flag never to be removed from it again, In view of the epidemiologic measures the concert organised on the occasion below the tower was broadcast via several official websites of Vukovar and local televisions.

Given its imposing stature and the Croatian national flag fluttering defiantly atop of it each morning throughout the siege the aggressors targeted it daily, from all directions. Despite the 640 direct hits the Tower did not collapse but resisted the wounds and stood upright as if to say between the two explosions: “As long as I am here, the Town will be too”.

A silent witness

The Tower is a symbol of the three-month siege of Vukovar and also of the resistance and courage of the Croatian defenders, and a silent witness to the tremendous destruction and suffering in the Homeland War. Given its imposing stature and the Croatian national flag fluttering defiantly atop of it each morning throughout the siege the aggressors targeted it daily from all directions. Despite the 640 direct hits the Tower did not collapse but resisted the wounds and stood upright as if to say: “As long as I am here, the Town will be too”, between the explosions.

The Tower guards a war story about the Croatian flag, each day a new one fluttering in spite of the mines that hit it day by day. The merit goes to two brave defenders of Vukovar, Ivica Ivanika and Hrvoje Džalto, who at the time did not realise the significance of their feat. Every night they hoisted a new, undamaged Croatian flag on the top of the Tower and thus instilled new hope and strength in the people in Vukovar. The two defenders defied the time, the fear, the cold, the shells, the enemy and made history.

Ivica Ivanika was the first to climb the Tower, holding a flag, later joined by Hrvoje Džalto kept him company. Hrvoje Džalto later told to the newspapers that it took them an hour and a half to reach the top and hoist the flag, at night and on the enemy’s target.  Every time he did it, it occurred to him that he might not come down alive, but it did not matter at the time.  He does not know how many times he climbed the Tower 1 during the siege.

The stairs at the bottom were in good condition, but entire rows were missing. The two defenders climbed them only during the night, without even flashlights to avoid being spotted and fired at. They would start every night around midnight, even during the fiercest battles, though sometimes they were late and would accomplish the task at dawn, and would remain lying pressed against the concrete walls, with bursting grenades, shrapnels and stones hissing around them.

The aggressor opened fire at the Tower at dawn and would not stop until the flag was shot down, sometimes late in the afternoon. But the people in Vukovar knew that as long as the flag was there, the defenders were doing well at Mitnica. It was an invaluable boost for the defenders’ morale – with the flag atop of the Tower Vukovar was still alive and invincible.  

Sadly, Ivica Ivanika lost his life shortly before the town fell, while Hrvoje Džalto was taken prisoner and later exchanged, but died before the opening of the renovated Tower. This time, at the opening ceremony the Croatian flag was hoisted by his son Krešimir Džalto.

Water tower – a memorial   

The water tower stood upright and dignified amidst the three-month siege of Vukovar and after the collapse of the defence.

It will remain a symbol of destruction and of resistance, of defiance and invincibility. The Vukovar Water Tower will be the only building in Vukovar to be left intact on the outside as an authentic witness of the tragic events in Vukovar and as a warning for the future.

The reconstruction and conservation works were launched in May 2017, funded mostly from the donations by Croatians living in Croatia or abroad, by Croatian cities, municipalities, counties and companies.

The renovation project was assigned to the architects of the Zagreb “Architecture Workshop”, which executed two large reconstruction projects in Vukovar previously – the Eltz Castle and the Vučedol Culture Museum. The reconstruction of the tower was focussed on the static only where it was necessary to statically heal the building for safety reasons, while the damage from the projectile remained intact.

The new tower features a panoramic lift at the entrance, which offers a view of Vukovar and the Danube and leads to the Memorial Room, also accessible via renovated staircase in the load-bearing construction of the Tower. The Memorial Room features seven multimedia screens with animated maps displaying important sections of Vukovar’ s war history – the course of the Homeland War and of the Battle of Vukovar, and the photos of the Vukovar defenders revive the memories of their incredible courage, the suffering of the exiled residents of Vukovar before they came back after the Peaceful Reintegration of the Croatian Danube region, and the story of the Croatian flag, fluttering above the tower throughout the defence and a brief story of the Tower itself and the central screen pictures Vukovar in the past and today, when life returned to the town.

A 200-meter-long memorial path gradually ascends from the Memorial room and symbolises the march of Vukovar defenders towards freedom. Each step along the path that leads to the very ceiling of the Tower reveals damage from the projectiles that hit and destroyed it during the autumn 1991. The path leads to a viewpoint, with a Croatian flag on the mast in the centre, and a print stamp of the “Zenga” boots (made by Borovo) worn by the brave defenders who tirelessly hoisted it throughout the siege of Vukovar. The overall renovation and reconstruction works cost 45 million HRK, and the Tower will be under the management of the eponymous town firm.

Upright and proud despite the wounds and the hardships left behind, the Vukovar Water Tower will continue to guard the memory of the brave people and the war past of the City of Heroes, so that the past is never forgotten and never happens again…

The story of the Vukovar Water Tower 

The Vukovar water tower was built between 1963 and 1968, 50.33 m tall and shaped like an elegant slender chalice with architectural elements made of reinforced concrete. The 50.33-m tall tower was designed by Petar Kušan and Sergej Kolobov, and was one of the largest water towers in the world. With its 50.33-m capacity it stored water reserves within the water supply network.

The tower is located at the entrance to the town of Mitnica in “Najpar Garden”, a local resort and feast destination.

No one could tell at the time that the Tower was going to change its role from a water supply capacity to an iconic figure of the Homeland War.

Croatian version:

Vukovarski vodotoranj – simbol obrane, hrabrosti i zajedništva