It is hard to imagine that the beauty of an island could hide such a dark and terrifying past.
And as you get closer, not even the blue of the beautiful Adriatic Sea can calm you down and stop the rush of your thoughts about everything that once, not so long ago, happened there.
The island of St. Gregory in Croatia, located in the Kvarner Bay, was never inhabited but had a terrible purpose in the middle of the 20th century. It was converted into a women's prison as part of the notorious Goli Otok prison on the neighboring island where male prisoners were staying.
When I first heard many years ago about all the cruel acts that took place on this island in order to humiliate and torture people because of different political views, I felt bad.
I listened to the stories and confessions of people who survived imprisonment and talked openly about it when they were given the chance. The island hides secrets that have been kept for a long time. It was never entirely clear what actually happened there. Even the prisoners who were taken there often did not know the reason for it. What was known was that it was about punishing all those who opposed the then political ruling regime.
There are still ruins and remnants of a prison on the island. Some of the walls were built by prisoners, bringing stone by stone from distant places.
In addition to physical and mental torture, the prisoners also performed many forced labor that had no other purpose than to make their time there as difficult as possible. Many survived but unfortunately many never returned and left their lives on this island from which it was impossible to escape.
As you pass between the walls and enter the former prison cells, you are overcome by strange feelings. A lot of time has passed, but this island, despite its beauty, smells of sadness and hard times.
Although a memorial center was never built, there is a board on which it is written that the walls are preserved as a sign of memory for the victims of this prison, but also for all the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.
But since life goes on and one must always tend to focus on the better side of everything, on this island you cannot help but notice the amazing nature that leaves a strong impression in a beautiful way as well as the prison walls in a hard way.
The island of St. Gregory has a lot of greenery and natural shade from conifers that smell aromatic and very pleasant in combination with the smell of the beautiful Adriatic Sea.
And there are the inhabitants of the island who will make your visit really special, namely the fallow deer that move freely around the island and are completely tame and friendly.
You can feed them and hang out with them.
As you watch the deer carelessly wandering around the island and fearlessly hanging out with people, it's hard for you to imagine that fear once overwhelmed this island. Unfortunately, history doesn't always write beautiful stories, but that's why nature writes the most beautiful ones.
Thank you very much for reading.
The images and writing are original and mine.
Greetings!
Jelena
Hiya, @LivingUKTaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Top 3 in Daily Travel Digest #1968.
Your post has been manually curated by the @pinmapple team. If you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider supporting other authors like yourself and us so we can keep the project going!
Become part of our travel community:
I am so happy that my post is in the top 3, it is my great pleasure indeed, thank you so much @livinguktaiwan 🤗
Congratulations @jelenaa! Your post has been a top performer on the Hive blockchain and you have been rewarded with this rare badge
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCheck out our last posts:
Wow thanks a lot!🤗❤️
You're welcome @jelenaa! Enjoy this badge. We can't wait to see what you post next! 🌹😄
Behind those beautiful landscapes are horrible pasts...but no one would think about it if they see the island, unless they do a little research.. At least they preserved some facades in memory of the victims. Those who would visit the former prison would know its hidden past....
A beautiful island though.. Secluded and good for private outings...
!LADY
View or trade
LOHtokens.@jane1289, you successfully shared 0.1000 LOH with @jelenaa and you earned 0.1000 LOH as tips. (1/7 calls)
Use !LADY command to share LOH! More details available in this post.
The island is indeed beautiful, but I would not feel comfortable swimming and staying there out of respect for the victims. It's a pity that the past had to ruin the image of the island because the nature is very beautiful.. Thank you for the lady 🤗
Thank you very much for your support 🤗
Thanks a lot 🤗
The depths of human cruelty knows no bounds even today it still exists in the shadows, dark corners, or when we look away.
Thank you the enlightening tour @jelenaa
Unfortunately, it is true, human cruelty is still alive and humanity has not progressed in that sense... Let's hope it will.
Whar a terrible history. But the island is so beautiful. One can't help but feel a little sad and happy at the same time. The looks like it is smiling. 😄
Yes, it is a beautiful island with a terrible history and leaves no one indifferent...
Congratulations, your post has been added to Pinmapple! 🎉🥳🍍
Did you know you have your own profile map?
And every post has their own map too!
Want to have your post on the map too?
That for sure is a terrifying experience for those that were imprisoned there, I can imagine the trauma of those who survive in there too. Really a terrifying history. The place is so pretty that you will never though that something horrible has happened there.
Felicitaciones!
Gracias por deleitarnos con tan magnífica publicación, la cual fue valorada por @Womentribe una comunidad para destacar el valioso potencial del ser humano.
*Sigue nuestras cuentas:
@Womentribe
suscribete aquí @colmena-139925
twitter
Instagram
Prison looks quite, though I would imagine everything if I went through this environment. By the way I love all of your photography.
Your post beautifully captures the island's haunting history and its current allure. Thank you for sharing this moving experience with us.
This island is very beautiful, too bad it was used for bad purposes.
But the nature is great
Amazing post! I love the Adriatic Sea, it really smells super nice and offers beautiful landscapes. However it was very shocking to see that prison there, with walls built by the same people that was there. Very powerful post!
Ohhhhhh my God!! such terrifying history, I am glad things have changed now though and my heart goes out to all the victims.
I'd never thought that this beautiful island used to be a prison. Anyway, I really like how to describe how it smells of sadness there. I think it was such beautiful way to capture that feeling.