Grič Tunnel ( hr, Tunel Grič) is a pedestrian
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
located in the city centre of
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...
,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, under the historic neighbourhood of
Grič (also called Gradec or Gornji Grad), which gave the tunnel its name. The tunnel consists of a central hall, which is connected by two passageways to Mesnička Street in the west and
Stjepan Radić
Stjepan Radić (11 June 1871 – 8 August 1928) was a Croat politician and founder of the Croatian People's Peasant Party (HPSS), active in Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
He is credited with galvanizing Croa ...
Street in the east, and four passageways extending to the south. It was built during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
by the
Ustaše
The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Movem ...
government to serve both as a
bomb shelter
A bomb shelter is a structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb.
Types of shelter
Different kinds of bomb shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of hostile explosives.
Air ...
and a promenade, but following the war it quickly fell into disrepair and disuse. The tunnel saw renewed use only in the 1990s, hosting one of the first
raves in Croatia, and functioning as a shelter during the
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yu ...
. In 2016, the tunnel was remodeled and opened to the public, serving as a tourist attraction and hosting cultural events. Planned expansions include a museum and a lift.
Description
The tunnel spans from Mesnička Street to Stjepan Radić Street,
and measures in width.
The central hall measures around in length
and in width.
The tunnel has six exits – the western one in Mesnička Street, the eastern in a yard at Radić Street 19,
and four branches extending southwards to back yards in
Ilica Street Ilica is one of the longest streets in Zagreb, Croatia. The busy street is home to many shops and cultural sites and spans through most of the northwestern part of the city, from the Ban Jelačić Square in the city centre westward to the Vrapče ...
and
Tomić Tomić () is a common family name found in Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is sometimes transliterated as ''Tomic'' or ''Tomich'' outside these areas.
It is the second most common surname in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar Co ...
Street. One of these exits leads to Tomić Street 5a (Art Park), one to Ilica 8,
and the two between them are unfinished as of December 2016, leading to Ilica 28 and 30. The tunnel's floor surface encompasses around .
The tunnel is open for public access every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Two sets of public toilets, remodeled in 2016, are placed near two of the tunnel exits.
Parts of the original signage remain, but they were not fully restored in the 2016 remodeling.
History
Construction
In 1943, due to fear of
Allied bombing,
the
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
of the
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...
(NDH),
Nikola Mandić
Nikola Mandić (; 20 January 1869 – 7 June 1945) was a Croatian politician and one of the leading political figures in Bosnia and Herzegovina under Austrian-Hungarian rule. He also served as a Prime Minister of the Independent State of Croati ...
, ordered the creation of a public
bomb shelter
A bomb shelter is a structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb.
Types of shelter
Different kinds of bomb shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of hostile explosives.
Air ...
under the hill of Gornji Grad.
The shelter was to be connected to an east-west corridor spanning the entirety of the hill. A sum of 141.2 million
NDH kuna was allocated for planning and construction of the tunnel. The project was assigned to engineers Abramović, Senjaković and Vajda. The plan was to construct the tunnel in 90 working days, but the cost rose to 490 million kuna (partly due to high wartime
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...
) and the date of opening was delayed into 1944.
The project soon came under criticism. In February 1944, the Construction Committee of Zagreb, which was responsible for
urban planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water ...
, issued a statement saying that the "creation of a shelter as a transport link is completely inappropriate," and that "too much attention has been devoted to it." Another argument was that in its function as a shelter, the tunnel only had a capacity of 5,000 people. At the time of the statement, the costs amounted to 60,000 kuna per person, which was deemed too expensive by the committee. Nevertheless, the construction continued, albeit parts of the project were scrapped. In May, the
mayor of Zagreb
This article contains a list of people who have served as mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, or president of the Zagreb Assembly.
List
See also
*List of mayors in Croatia
References
External links
Grad Zagreb - svi gradonačelnici
...
,
Ivan Werner
Ivan Werner (18 June 1887 – 26 June 1944) was a Croatian politician in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Independent State of Croatia who served as the mayor () of Zagreb from 1941 to 1944. A member of the fascist Ustaše party, Werner is ...
, rejected the plans for a large central underground hall; instead, only the east-west corridor was built. The tunnel was built mostly using locally-sourced materials, including
gravel
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gravel is classif ...
from Zagreb area and wood from
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
.
Following the end of World War II, the tunnel was renovated in 1947. Additional work was performed to secure the structure against water damage.
In 1949, the tunnel was used as a warehouse by Malina, a food production company.
A document dating to 31 October 1949 proposed the construction of another corridor connecting the existing one to the area of Gupčeva Zvijezda, about to the north. There is no evidence that this corridor was ever constructed. However, the NDH plan's central hall, measuring almost in length, was built sometime after. Emil Matešić, the director of the Cultural Informative Centre of Zagreb ( hr, Kulturno informativni centar), believed that its construction was driven by the
Cold War tensions and carried out in secret with some documents concerning the tunnel not having been released by the
Croatian Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Ministarstvo obrane Republike Hrvatske or MORH) is the ministry in the Government of Croatia which is in charge of the nation's military. It is Croatia's ministry of defence. The ministry ...
as of July 2016.
Fall into obscurity
From the mid-20th century, the tunnel fell into disuse. It became popular with
homeless
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
* living on the streets, also kn ...
people and drug users.
A police report from around 1950 stated that squatters used the edifice for warmth and shelter from elements, as well as a hideout and a meeting place.
The
Yugoslav Government's lack of transparency regarding the tunnel led to the rise of a number of
urban legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
s, including the purported existence of walled-off corridors leading towards the
Croatian Parliament
The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sab ...
palace on
St. Mark's Square (in the centre of Gornji Grad), and towards
Zagreb Observatory
The Zagreb Astronomical Observatory ( hr, Zvjezdarnica Zagreb) is the astronomical observatory located in Zagreb, the Croatian capital, and founded in 1903. It is managed by the Zagreb Astronomical Society; its main purpose is educational.
Eq ...
(the northernmost point of the neighbourhood)
and on to Gupčeva Zvijezda.
Grič Tunnel was not mentioned again in media until 1993,
when it served as the site of the Under City Rave, one of the first
raves in Croatia,
which was organized by the staff of the TV show ''
Top DJ Mag
A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect.
Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a f ...
'',
and featured DJs from as far as Germany and the UK. At the time, the tunnel was under ownership of the
Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to:
Africa
* Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi
Asia East Asia
* Museum of Contemporary Art Shangha ...
. The event was attended by over 3,000 people, far more than the organisers planned for and the tunnel infrastructure allowed for.
In 1994, it was part of an exhibition celebrating
Earth Day.
During the
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yu ...
(1991–95), the tunnel saw some use in its intended capacity as an
air raid
Air raid may refer to:
Attacks
* Airstrike
* Strategic bombing
Other uses
* ''Air Raid'' (album), by the improvisational collective Air
* Air Raid ''(Transformers)'', the name of three characters in the Transformers universes
* ''Air Raid'' ...
shelter.
During this time, temporary toilets were built at the Radić Street exit.
Renovation
In the early 21st century, there were several proposals to remodel the tunnel. Proposals included a "museum of
sense
A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system rec ...
s", and a lift to allow people to reach Gornji Grad from the
Tuškanac
Tuškanac is a neighborhood located in Gornji Grad - Medveščak city district of Zagreb, Croatia. It has a population of 2,455 (2011). It is best known for its parks and the Tuškanac cinema.
Apparently, its name derives from the name of Tuscan ...
parking garage without climbing the steep hill on foot. Both proposals were shelved.
A renovation plan was finally announced in April 2015.
The work began on 18 April 2016. It was to be done in three phases: the first phase was the renovation of the tunnel, the second phase the addition of a lift to Gornji Grad surface, and the third phase adding cultural facilities to attract tourists. A sum of 1,350,000
kuna
Kuna may refer to:
Places
* Kuna, Idaho, a town in the United States
** Kuna Caves, a lava tube in Idaho
* Kuna Peak, a mountain in California
* , a village in the Orebić municipality, Croatia
* , a village in the Konavle municipality, Croati ...
() was allocated for the first phase.
The renovation phase was completed on 6 July
and the Grič Tunnel was officially opened to the public.
Only the Mesnička Street entrance, Art Park exit and Tomić Street exit were opened at the time; Radić Street and Ilica 28 and 30 entrances remained closed.
The execution of the renovation was criticised for not following safety precautions; the tunnel was said to be damp and to lack
smoke detector
A smoke detector is a device that senses smoke, typically as an indicator of fire. Smoke detectors are usually housed in plastic enclosures, typically shaped like a disk about in diameter and thick, but shape and size vary. Smoke can be detecte ...
s,
fire door
A fire door is a door with a fire-resistance rating (sometimes referred to as a ''fire protection rating'' for closures) used as part of a passive fire protection system to reduce the spread of fire and smoke between separate compartment ...
s,
sprinklers, or a mechanical ventilation system, and the fire escape route was problematic because two exits were narrowed to allow space for toilets.
Cultural content
The Museum of Senses ( hr, Muzej osjeta) is a planned museum in the Grič Tunnel. The project will use display screens,
video projectors
A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens system. Video projectors use a very bright ultra-high-performance lamp (a special mercury arc lamp), Xe ...
and
hologram
Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other Holography#Applications, applic ...
s to exhibit the history of Zagreb, while the central hall would be used for temporary exhibitions, concerts and other events.
Additionally, two glass
lifts are planned to connect the central hall with the Vranyczany Meadow overhead.
Both ideas were considered by the city government as of 2005, but were eventually shelved for more than a decade.
The 2016 opening of the tunnel was followed by several performances, including
fashion show
A fashion show (French ''défilé de mode'') is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fal ...
s
and an
Advent
Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity.
The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''.
In ...
celebration.
The tunnel complex was also used as a location in the pilot episode of the CBS TV series "FBI: International", broadcast 21 September 2021.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gric Tunnel, Zagreb
Buildings and structures in Zagreb
Gornji Grad–Medveščak
Pedestrian tunnels
Tourist attractions in Zagreb
Tunnels in Croatia
Pedestrian infrastructure in Croatia