TURANJ is a neighborhood in the suburbs of the city of Karlovak where our group stopped for a brief tour of a Homeland War memorial—a display of weapons used and buildings damaged during the 1991-1996 Balkan wars. Karlovak, whose major industry before the war had been the Karlovačko brewery, lay near the front lines between forces of the Republic of Croatia and those of the rebel Croatian Serbs. Turanj and other Southern parts of Karlovak were devastated by shelling from the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army. Sixteen years later, most of the damage has been repaired, but bullet and shrapnel holes remain visible in some buildings. Artillery, landing craft, tanks, a Croatian jet fighter and a shot-down Serbian counterpart, along with a “portable” concrete bunker and shelled buildings are here on display as a reminder of that conflict.

Today, Karlovak’s largest employer is a fast-growing arms manufacturer.

(click on any photo to open the gallery)