People are donating from all over the world, and you can help too.
Project “Vukovar Water Tower – Symbol of Croatian Unity” is living up to its name, because, as Glas Slavonije reports on March 29, 2016, this massive refurbishment project is receiving donations from all parts of Croatia only months after the City of Vukovar publicly asked for help.
Vukovar water tower It is one of the most famous symbols of Vukovar and the suffering of both this heroic city and the country in the Battle of Vukovar and the Croatian War of Independence. The tower, just like the city itself, was largely destroyed by the Serbian forces was one of the most frequent targets of artillery hit more than 600 times during the siege.
Croatian cities, counties, companies, athletes, ordinary citizens, children, they are all helping the reconstruction by sending in donations, and according to Ivan Penava, mayor of Vukovar, since this project started a few months ago, they have raised around 700 000 kunas: “This story is moving in the right direction, it is a story that will unify our entire country. I am happy with the way things are progressing, especially when, on the list of donations, I see names of cities not only from every corner of our country but also all the way from Sydney and Washington. The fact that we have gotten everyone to rally around the same flag is far more important than the financial aspect of this story. And if we only talk about the togetherness that you feel within this project, I am sure we will be able to raise enough money to build two water towers. This is an emotional project and people are calling from all over the world every day” Penava said.
“First construction works on the water tower, after documentation is completed, should start in two to three months, and we expect them to be completed by summer 2017”. Penava added
The entire reconstruction project, which will stand as a permanent reminder of the city’s heroic fight, will cost around 20 million kunas. It will become a memorial park with a parking lot, playground and a café and all the elements will be constructed using so called green architecture. Entrance will remain in the same location as it is now and it will lead to a panoramic elevator overlooking the Danube. The elevator will lead to a memorial room on top of the water tower.
Holes made by heavy artillery, all 640 of them, will remain intact but they will be separated from the memorial room with a tick glass wall. A large screen will be placed in the centre of the memorial room which will show footage from 1991 while the names of all the donors and contributors will be inscribed at the bottom of the tower as a testament of the unity
which made the refurbishment of the tower possible.
List of donors is currently available on the official website of the City of Vukovar, and while it’s almost impossible to count them all, it is interesting to see donations coming in even from small companies in Slavonia and we all know life is everything but easy for them. The list contains names of companies and individuals from Split, Dubrovnik, Zagreb, Osijek, Umag, Beli Manastir, Metković, Sisak, Krapina, as well as from cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, USA and UK.
Donations range from symbolic but equally valuable 10 kn to 75 000 kn: “This story was never about the amount. This is a beautiful story about togetherness, Vukovar and Croatia. people donate as much as they can and I am deeply moved by the fact that people want to take part in this project – Darko Černok who is also from Vukovar says.
If you want to participate and donate, here are the payment instructions:
IBAN HR6525000091501143536
MODEL HR24,
POZIV NA BROJ 7765-(type in your OIB),
Description: Water tower project
If you are donating from abroad, along with the above stated IBAN use a SWIFT CODE
/ BIC Hypo Alpe Adria Bank d.d. Zagreb: HAABHR22
All photos from official project presentation
