Collective Utopias of Post-War Modernity

During the time period defined as modernism the Adriatic coast of former Yugoslavia underwent a massive transformation. Especially the rise of (mass) tourism left a strong imprint, which characterizes the region until today. Almost unknown is that in the very same period of time the area was also prone to the establishment of one of the most important defence lines of the country. As a matter of fact a large number of military defence sites were built in strict secrecy along the mainland and island coasts, intended to protect the non-aligned country from a potential NATO attack. Since the 1990s, the majority of military sites have stood empty and are being left to decayas are a considerable number of tourist buildings from this period. These spaces are hence situated on the most coveted building land of the (now) three countries. While the socialist tourist architecture has attracted a lot of attention in recent years and has frequently been the subject of artistic and scientific works, there is still a great deal of uncertainty regarding the military spaces. The project Collective Utopias of Post-War Modernism: The Adriatic Coast as a Leisure and Defence Paradise examines these phenomena military and tourism as well as their impact on the Adriatic coast and the life of the local population. The project`s aim is to gain, interrelate and visualize collective knowledge by bringing together different protagonists such as local residents, former military functionaries, urban explorers, local historians or tourists. Through especially developed and repeatedly redrawn mappings the projects tries to connect the past and the present as well as official information and individual stories. Based on exemplary case studies a methodological sequence is being implemented, which explores different levels of interaction between the tourism and the military and opens the possibility to put them into a relation. Hereinafter, these relations are discussed into detail with regard to the terms of function and fiction. Consequently, various interpretations, qualities and manifestations of these relations are explained and visualized. On the one hand, the interim research findings will be played back onto the field with site-specific interventions and exhibitions, while on the other hand they will be made accessible to a broad range of specialists, disseminating the information via conferences, blogs and social media, thus bridging the gap between low-threshold emotional and academic-scientific approaches. By incorporating several different voices the work highlights the absence of official truths in order to subsequently serve the collective processing of this special building heritage.

The research project "Collective Utopias of Post-War Modernism" examined the urban transformations on the Adriatic coast of the former Yugoslavia during the Cold War. It investigated the simultaneous expansion of tourist and military infrastructures and their long-term effects on coastal municipalities and their populations. The project focused on six case study locations, selected due to their complex interactions between military and tourist use: Brijuni, Lošinj, Vis, Lastovo, Šepurine, and Kumbor. Particular attention was paid to the question of how the memory of this period is preserved in the region today and what role former tourist facilities and restricted military zones play in this context. The research showed that both tourism development and military use had profound social, cultural, and economic impacts on the communities. However, the development of these locations varied, depending on factors such as geographic position, size, and significance within the Yugoslav system. One of the biggest challenges of the project was the lack of accessible written sources, as military information was classified and remains difficult to find and access even today. These gaps in documentation shaped the methodological approach and were consciously addressed throughout the research work. Qualitative methods, including interviews, photographic and video recordings, archival research, and the analysis of social media data, were combined to understand the complex historical narratives and the impacts of urban transformation. The aim was to overcome the existing source fragmentation through artistic-scientific approaches. At the same time, this fragmentation was used as a creative tool, through techniques such as montage and superimposition. An important part of the project was the development of an exhibition, which was presented at the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo - former Museum of the Revolution of Yugoslavia. The exhibition brought together works created within the research project in collaboration with various protagonists, and placed them in the spatial and temporal context of the investigated topic. Within the exhibition setting, a space for exchange was created, enabling the collection of new insights and their discussion within the framework of a multidisciplinary conference. In addition, a website (leisureanddefence.org) was developed to make the research results accessible to a wide audience.