Republic of Croatia (Hrvatska)

Located just North of Zagreb, hides the ruins of Villa Rebar, the mansion belonging to former Croatian dictator Ante Pavelić during World War II.

Who was Ante Pavelić?

During WWII Pavelić governed the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state that grew out of Yugoslavia, loyal to Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

He also founded the ultra-nationalist, fascist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929.

From 1941 – 1945 the Ustase, led by Pavelić, persecuted all political opponents as well as many racial minorities, largely antisemitic and anti-serbian but included Romani and any anti-fascist Croats.

These policies resulted in the murder and torture of over 700,000 Serbs, Roma and Jews in a network of concentration and extermination camps.

In villages, men, women and children were literally tortured and hacked to death or ordered into barns which were then set on fire.

Both Jews and Gypsies were the subject of a campaign of total annihilation. Only 1,500, out of 30,000 Croatian Jews survived at the end of the war. 26,000 anti-fascist Croatians, between 172,000 and 290,00 Serbs, and 31,000 out of the 40,000 Roma were killed by the Ustaše.

Pavelić’s radical policies prompted even the Nazi German authorities to attempt to restrain his genocidal campaign.
The Pavelić regime was the most murderous in Europe after Hitler’s Germany.

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Mansion and escape tunnels

Pavelić had his manor at Villa Rebar connect to a series of tunnels that connected to escape routes and military bunkers all over the nearby hills. These tunnels join a larger network of tunnels underneath the city of Zagreb.

As you walk through the woods you can see the guard look out points, what remains of the mansion and neighboring buildings as well as a number of entrances into the underground escape tunnel system.

After the war, Pavelić fled, and the villa was eventually remodeled and turned into a mountain resort called “Risnjak”.

The final blow to the estate would be a fire in 1979 that all but razed the manor to its stone foundations. After this disaster, the property, along with its tunnels, were simply abandoned.

We go underground…exploring the expansive tunnel system that no doubt connected to a larger system throughout the city. 

Located close to our home, this is a place we visit often….and it’s always super creepy.

Location : Not far from the city center of Zagreb lies Mt. Medivecena, a small mountain with lots of hiking trails and some skiing in the winter.

The summit area, called Sljeme (actually meaning summit in Croatian) is where the ruins of Villa Rebar can be found.

Directions : Take the #14 tram toward Mihaljevic this will be the last stop. Once there take the #15 (the older, smaller tram located near the bus stop) get off at Gračani.
At the stop, cross the tracks, walk up the small hill and take a left. Take the first right after the elementary school and follow the road up to the trails of Sljeme.
It is about a 20-30 minute hike up. The site is easy to find and marked on GOOGLE MAPS as well as MAPS.ME (if you won’t have data…best map app ever)

Tips : You should not run into any problem exploring. The property is not monitored in any way. The tunnels are completely safe, but very dark so bring light and, as always, be safe.
Expect a lot of insects in the summer months, especially in the tunnels where it can be very damp.