Grič Tunnel () is a pedestrian
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
located in the city centre of
Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
,
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, 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 the co-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 galvanizin ...
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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
by the
Ustaše
The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...
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 Shelter (building), shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of host ...
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
rave
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
s in Croatia, and functioning as a shelter during the
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...
. 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 and
Tomić 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
During
World War II in Zagreb, in 1943, due to a fear of
Allied bombing,
the
prime minister
A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
of the
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...
(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 Shelter (building), shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of host ...
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 average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...
) 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 called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...
, 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, 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 on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gr ...
from Zagreb area and wood from
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
.
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 (), believed that its construction was driven by the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
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 ( 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 was established in 1990.
Structure
Element ...
as of July 2016.
Fall into obscurity
From the mid-20th century, the tunnel fell into disuse. It became popular with
homeless
Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
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
Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not.
These legends can be e ...
s, including the purported existence of walled-off corridors leading towards the
Croatian Parliament
The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...
palace on
St. Mark's Square (in the centre of Gornji Grad), and towards
Zagreb Observatory (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
rave
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
s in Croatia,
which was organized by the staff of the TV show ''
Top DJ Mag'',
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 Shanghai ...
. 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
Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...
.
During the
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...
(1991–95), the tunnel saw some use in its intended capacity as an
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 surroundings through the detection of Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. Although, in some cultures, five human senses were traditio ...
s", and a lift to allow people to reach Gornji Grad from the
Tuškanac 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 () 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/alarms are usually housed in plastic enclosures, typically shaped like a disk about in diameter and thick, but shape and size vary. Smoke can be ...
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 compartments of ...
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 () is a planned museum in the Grič Tunnel. The project will use display screens,
video projectors
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) system ...
and
hologram
Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interf ...
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 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 fall/winter seasons. This is wh ...
s
and an
Advent
Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...
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