Abandoned grain silos near Vukovar
- darkometer rating: 2 -
A set of former grain silos and a grain elevator just outside the town of Vukovar, eastern Croatia. They'd be rather unremarkable were it not for the dramatic war scars these now abandoned huge structures still bear.
More background info: for general background about the Homeland War see under Croatia, and for the battles in this particular corner of the country under Vukovar.
As regards the history of these industrial buildings themselves, I have not managed to find out anything. But that doesn't really matter, as their history and former purpose is unrelated to why they they are given a short entry here.
What there is to see: Not all that much, but it's still an impressive sight to behold, worth a little detour and stop.
The main thing is really just the size of these structures, and of course the numerous big holes from mortar shells all over them, plus the various parts that are sprayed with bullet holes from machine-gun fire. So it's obvious enough that the Battle of Vukovar didn't spare these industrial giants.
You can just walk around and get up close. At some points you can look into the base of the silos, but the basement levels were mostly flooded when I was there (in March 2018).
At the central grain elevator tower, you can enter the lower floor, and there I also found the access to the flight of stairs that lead up to the top. Whether they do indeed go all the way up I don't know, however, since I did not attempt to climb up. Partly because of the time (and my wife was waiting in the car), and partly because I had already climbed such a grain elevator not so long before (namely in Russia, see the full report here!), so it wasn't so enticing so soon after again.
So I just poked about for a bit at ground level mostly, then made my way back to the car after barely half an hour.
It's the sort of site where pictures say more than words anyway – so I refer you to the photo gallery for more impressions.
Location: about two miles (3.2 km) west of Borovo on the outskirts of Vukovar, eastern Croatia, by the main road
Google maps locator: [45.3691, 18.9284]
Access and costs: easy enough to get to by car (or bike), only partially accessible inside; free.
Details: To get to these ruins you need a car, or at least a bike, as they are too far out of town to be walkable from Vukovar. If you're coming from Zagreb via Vinkovci, chances are that you'll pass these grain silos on your way to Vukovar on the No. 55 route.
Otherwise leave central Vukovar on the main road leading west and at the roundabout just before Borovo, where there is a petrol station and a Toyota car sales and repair building, take the second exit towards Vinkovci and the motorway. This road is called Vinkovačka ul. Two miles down that road, and past some large industrial complex, you'll already see the grain silos on the right. There's an approach road branching off to the right that leads past a current bio diesel plant and towards an area where you can park.
The grain silos are abandoned, that is they are not officially a memorial. But I did not see any no-trespassing signs, so they are more or less freely accessible at all times.
Time required: not long, perhaps half an hour or even less – unless, that is, you want to climb the stairs up to the top of the central grain elevator. I did not attempt this at this site (but see the chapter for this Russian equivalent that I did climb), so I can't say if the stairs even still lead all the way to the top, but if they do you'd have to add another half an hour or so for the way up and back down.
Combinations with other dark destinations: in general see under Vukovar.
Since the grain silos are on the eastern approach road to Vukovar, the first other site of interest you'd come to driving there would be the mostly abandoned Borovo shoe factory on the eastern edge of town.
Taking a left turn before getting to Borovo takes you to the road that leads to the Croatian Defenders Memorial.
If instead you carry on along the road from Borovo into Vukovar, you pass another set of grain silos/elevators that stand right by the Danube. These were also damaged in the war but unlike the ones further inland, these harbour silos have been repaired and are apparently back in use.
A short distance further you pass the harbour and the old train station ruin, one of the most atmospheric of the lot. Yet further into the centre you come to the Vukovar Hospital memorial.
So all of these sites to the west of central Vukovar combine very well with each other, whereas the remainder of the dark sites of the area lie to the south and east of the town.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: see under Vukovar.
