In Kolašin, significant attention is still paid to monuments and memories of the national liberation struggle, and landmarks reminiscent of that part of local and national history can be found almost everywhere in the city center and its surroundings. Although times and authorities have changed, the attitude towards these landmarks has largely remained the same; they have been preserved from desecration, and care for them, within the limits of possibility, at least at the local level, is not lacking.
The Association of NOR Fighters and Anti-Fascists (UBNOR) claims that "Kolašin today preserves its anti-fascist heritage not only as part of history, but also as an important part of the city's identity, as well as its tourist offer."
This year, the UBNOR and the Municipality will traditionally celebrate the Statehood Day at the Memorial Complex - the Partisan Cemetery on Breza. This is the greatest testimony to the determination and sacrifice of the people of Kolašin during the National Liberation War. The Partisan Cemetery is still being cared for today, and for decades, the organization of the maintenance and restoration of the Memorial Complex was led by the late Gojko VlahovićThe memorial complex on Breza is included in the city's tourist offer, and many guests from abroad still want to hear the story of that place.
“During World War II, patriots from all over Montenegro who were imprisoned in the infamous Kolašin prison were shot at Breza. Over 72 of them were shot from March 1942 to May 1943. After the war, mounds were made with the names of the executed and killed partisans and a memorial complex was erected according to the conceptual design of the painter. Momcilo Vujisic", they remind "Vijesti" at UBNOR.
The association recalls the "title" of war capital that Kolašin held. It was finally liberated five months before Germany signed an unconditional surrender.
"Before that December 29, 1944, when it was liberated by fighters of the Fifth Montenegrin Proletarian Brigade, the town in the north had changed hands 23 times, and was bombed from the air 18 times...
"In just three and a half months, from January 20 to May 1, 1942, more than 200 Kolašin fighters died at Bare Kraljske, Lubnice, Sinjajevina and the "bloody" Breza. More than 1.400 fighters from the Kolašin area participated in the National Liberation War of 1941-1945, and almost 400 died. Around 250 patriots lost their lives in various occupation torture and execution sites," the association says.
The first session of the National Antifascist Council of People's Liberation (ZAVNO) of Montenegro was held in Kolašin on 15 and 16 November 1943. The First Congress of the Antifascist Youth of Montenegro and Boka Bay was also held, and in early December the First Congress of the Antifascist Women's Front of Montenegro and Boka Bay was held. In February 1944, the second session of ZAVNO was held there, while in July of the same year, marking the third anniversary of the uprising of the Montenegrin people against the occupiers, the Third Session began, which transformed ZAVNO into the Montenegrin Antifascist Assembly of People's Liberation (CASNO).
The building in which these important events were held, unfortunately, was not the subject of adequate state care, and is in an increasingly deteriorating condition.
The monument on the main square is a symbol of the city rising from the ashes.
There are many busts of national heroes in the city's green spaces in the very center. Among others, there are busts of national heroes Spasoja Dragović (1919-1943), Jelice Maskovic (1924-1942), Sava Mašković (1914-1944), Sava Drljevic (1912-1994), Vukman Kruščić (1909-1942), Boško Janković (1910-1943), Milutin Lakićević (1912-1942)... Among them is a bust of the Spanish fighter and national hero Veljko Vlahović, which also has a monument on the upper square, the work of a Belgrade sculptor Ota LogaAround are the streets of 13. jula, Četvrta proleterske, a little further the streets Dunja Djokic, Fallen Partisans, Heroes of Breza…
The monument to fallen soldiers on Kolašin's main square has been an inevitable motif on postcards, New Year's greetings and photographs of the city for more than six decades. The work of the famous Zagreb sculptor Vojin Bakić, created at a time when Kolašin was healing deep war wounds, is a symbol of the city that was raised from the ashes after the war. It is also a reminder of the great sacrifice of the Kolašin partisans.
At the time the monument was brought to Kolašin, in the summer of 1951, as recalled by a local chronicler and director of the Cultural Center Branislav Jeknic, there were only two houses on the main town square, which miraculously withstood the German bombing. Later, a narrower town core was formed around the monument and post-war Kolašin emerged.
Bakić is considered one of the greatest Croatian sculptors of the 20th century. According to some sources, the Zagreb sculptor created the Kolašin monument at a time when he was striving to break free from the “imposed canons of socialist realism and the iconography of post-war art” and opted for modernism. Apparently, at the moment of his artistic turning point, he regretted having taken on the responsibility of sculpting the monument that would later adorn the Kolašin square. In the early 1990s, for example, many of the sculptor’s works in Croatia were damaged or destroyed.
But the famous monument has been ready for restoration and conservation for years. Finally, last year, the state took over that responsibility. According to the report on the work of the Mayor of the Municipality, Petko Bakić, these works are included in the state program for the care of cultural assets, and the plan is to prevent further deterioration and preserve the original appearance.
The planned improvement of the tourist and educational potential, as expected by the Municipality, will create conditions for its greater attendance, as well as for better education of citizens and tourists about its historical significance. Improvement of the area around the monument is also planned.
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