Monument to the Unknown Hero

Monument to the Unknown Hero Споменик Незнаном јунаку Spomenik Neznanom junaku
Serbia
Monument to the Unknown Hero
For Balkan Wars and World War I heroes
Unveiled	1938
Location	Belgrade
Designed by	Ivan Meštrović

The Monument to the Unknown Hero (Serbian: Споменик Незнаном јунаку / Spomenik Neznanom junaku) is located atop Mt. Avala in the south-east Belgrade periphery, and was designed by the sculptor Ivan Meštrović.

Memorial was built on the location of Žrnov fortress.

The construction of this monument was ordered by King Alexander I of Yugoslavia, to commemorate the victims of World War I. Marked only by the dates 1912-1918, the monument also commemorates those lost in the Balkan Wars (1912–1913).

In order to show his support for Yugoslav unity, the King ordered that this monument include caryatids representing all the nations over which he governed following the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. They represent Serb woman from Šumadija (Šumadinka); a woman from Slavonia and Vojvodina (Panonka), a woman from Montenegro (Crnogorka) and Kosovo (Kosovka); Croat women from Dalmatia (Dalmatinka) and Zagorje (Zagorka); one Slovene and one Macedonian woman.

The Monument to the Unknown Hero was declared Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1987, and it is protected by Republic of Serbia.

See also

• Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance
• Tourism in Serbia

References

• Spomenik neznanom junaku na Avali. Website of the monument.
• Споменик Незнаном јунаку на Авали (Београд)
• Vjekoslav Šojat, dipl.ing.građ.- Gordana Jonaš, dipl.ing.građ: Spomenik neznanom junaku na Avali, 6 August 2008 (Serbian)