Podzemni grad Paklenice

Useful Information

Location:	Paklenička ul., 23244, Starigrad. In the National Park Starigrad-Paklenica, under the peak of Mount Velebit at Paklenica. Motorway A1 E71 exit 15 Rovanjska, coastal road E65 toward Karlobag/Starigrad 6.5 km, turn right Put Jukića 1.3 km. 10 minutes walk to the bunker. (44.3056353, 15.4725513)
Open:	APR to OCT daily 9-15. [2024]
Fee:	Adults EUR 5, Children (7-18) EUR 2.50, Children (0-6) free. [2024]
Classification:	Secret Bunker
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	Ar=1,500 m².
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Javna ustanova Nacionalni park Paklenica (National Park of Paklenica), Dr. Franje Tuđmana 14a, HR - 23244 Starigrad-Paklenica, Tel: +385-23-369-155, Fax: +385-23-369-202. E-mail: E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1950-1953	bunker built by the Yugoslav Army, after Tito's rift with Stalin, amid a tense political climate between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union (USSR).
1991	used by the Croatian army during the "Homeland War".
1995	bunker system became known to the public.
2000	Paklenica National Park begins renovation.
AUG-2016	opened to the public.

Description

Podzemni grad Paklenice (Underground City of Paklenica) is an exhibition at the Visitor Center of Javna ustanova Nacionalni park Paklenica (Paklenica National Park). The exhibition is not only about a military bunker system, it is actually located inside the bunker system. The bunker is used by the Paklenica National Park as Visitor Center, for an exhibition about the geology and biology of the park, and as a bunker and a historic exhibition about the bunker. There is an exhibition about the animal bones found in the caves of the park, the archaeological excavations, the people living in this area over the centuries. It also contains a climbing wall for children. There is a café and a souvenir shop. The new use also includes the opening of an art gallery in a part of the tunnels and various cultural events which take place underground.

During the Cold War, many countries, including Yugoslavia, built atomic bunkers, and this one is now open to the public. Once only accessible to certain members of the Yugoslavian army and government, today any tourist can have a look. Most of the visitors are definitely the former enemies.

The bunker was built soon after World War II, when Marshall Tito was trying to protect the independence of his country against Stalin. But as Yugoslavia was part of the Warsaw Pact, it was more or less a war on two sides. The bunker was maintained over decades at a cost of millions. However, with the end of the Cold War, it became obsolete. The bunker seems to have had no name, probably it had a military designation.

Then the so-called "Homeland War" or Croatian War of Independence began in 1991, the split of Yugoslavia started. The Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). There were quarrelys, and the bunker was rectivated and used by the Croatian Army.

After the end of the war in 1995 the bunker was transferred to the Javna ustanova Nacionalni park Paklenica (National Park of Paklenica). The National Park authorities have decided to open it for tourists. So the existence of the bunker became known to the public. There was some planning and the actual renovation work started in 2001. During this time it had numerous names, Tunelsko sklonište Bunkeri u Paklenici (Tunnel shelter Bunkers in Paklenica), Tunelsko sklonište "Bunkeri" (Tunnel shelter "Bunkers") or short Bunkers, Atomsko sklonište (Atomic shelter), and Tito's Nuclear Bunker. Finally, it was opened to the public in AUG-2016, but works were not completed, they went on until 2022. The various names are obsolete now, we just mentioned them, so you know this site is meant if you read an older publication which uses one of them. Today the site is called Podzemni grad Paklenice (Underground City of Paklenica).