The Kosmaj Monumenent Change this

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The monument was erected in 1971 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Kosmaj-Posavina Partisan detachment (2nd July 1941), which fought successfully against the Nazis and Serbian fifth column units in World War 2. The monumental architectural-sculptural composition, rising 30m tall, stands in the area of Mali vis on mountain Kosmaj, occupying an area of 10 ha. It was devised as part of the spatial programme for the layout of Kosmaj, which was drafted by Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade in the late 1960s. The monument's design was chosen as the winning solution in an all-Yugoslav anonymous public competition in 1969. The authors, sculptor Vojan Stojić (b. 1921, d. 2001) and architect Gradimir Medaković, created an abstract sculptural-architectural composition - an attractive monument whose clean lines symbolise the glory of the struggle for freedom and the heroic past of Kosmaj's Partisan movement. The sculpture is distinguished by the simple form of a thought-out, visually striking design with a dynamic distribution of masses. According to the authors, it expresses "coming together, a unity, and suddenly a forceful expansion, striving upwards and in every direction; radiance and momentous action." The dramatic and dynamic character of the composition is derived from five three-pointed concrete blocks in the shape of a lighting spark, symbolically representing the beginning of the struggle for freedom. There is a carved granite plaque reading: "Kosmajci, Posavci, Beograjčani, Smederovci, Moravci, Jaseničani, Mladenovčani." ("The people of Kosmaj, Posavina, Belgrade, Smederevo, Pomoravlje, Jasenica, Mladenovac.") On cloudless nights, when street lighting was not yet as intense, the monument used to be visible from certain parts of Belgrade. Unfortunately, it is still unrecognised as cultural heritage and is, like numerous Partisan monuments in the territory of Serbia, abandoned.

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