Sometimes urbex involves careful planning, researching sites, and travelling to places known for desolation. Sometimes the universe drops the wreckage right in your lap.
It was the last day of our holiday in Croatia and we had perhaps an hour to kill before we headed off to the airport. We were strolling somewhat aimlessly through central Zagreb, when out the corner of my eye I spotted this behind the courtyard of a music college.
So that was that spare hour taken care of then!
History of the Site
The site is a former military hospital and barracks, with the street facing building (now converted into a music college) dating back to 1833, with this courtyard wing behind being opened later in 1861 on the site of a former monastery. Some components of the monastery were repurposed for the new hospital, giving it a unique ecclesiastical look. It functioned in various capacities as a hospital until 1991 and the outbreak of the Yugoslav war, when it came under the ownership of the new Croatian state, and was utilised until 2002 for housing refugees and those in political exile, as well as an operations base for the Military Police, Ministry Of Defence, and Zagreb's veteran associations.
Since then, the building has stood empty. There have been plans since the mid 2010s to convert the buildings for use by local music and dance colleges, however whilst this has already happened for the street-facing 1833 building, work has not started on the 1861 wing and the building has attracted increasing numbers of vandals, arsonists, homeless people and drug addicts in recent years. There's been growing discontent from local residents regarding the state of the site and lack of security, especially after a murder occurred on the site in recent years, but the city of Zagreb (who own the building) seem to be responding to this with shrugs.
Our Visit
Security at the site was non-existent. We walked off the street, past the doors of the music college, and straight into the hospital. There were no doors at either entrance, no barriers, and certainly no security guards. As someone who lives in London where any abandoned building is ring fenced, alarmed, with bolted windows and doors and signs warning of live in security, dogs, and smartwater to deter would-be trespassers, this seemed bizarre. At the time of our visit, the building had areas with very untrustworthy floors, and a lot of broken glass. There was evidence of people having at some point squatted in the building, but it was empty when we were there, and there was nothing which appeared to suggest anyone currently living in the space.
The ground floor of the building is mostly graced by the work of your garden variety "kids up to no good" levels of vandalism. There's tagging, swastikas, broken windows, and general disrepair.
Through the open windows and doors, nature has started to slowly but surely claim the building back.
You can also see the remains of what used to be a pharmacy
In the heart of the hospital is the massive spiral staircase, at the base of which is a huge number of doors and window frames ripped from the building
The first floor is in a similar state, but has grand corridors and windows. This really was once a beautiful building.
Towards the back is the clinic rooms, and also the first evidence of the repeated arson attacks on the building
Some of the rooms are entirely black. It's unclear if this is from fire or they are floor to ceiling painted in black paint. There's evidence in some places of people having been squatting here.
We didn't explore this floor too thoroughly, as there was a lot more trash than on others and in parts the floor seemed less than trustworthy. We took the stairs up to the second floor
At some point in the early 2010s an artist's collective decided to "reclaim" the building and painted several murals on the 2nd floor and some in the attic. Their supplies are dumped in a bathroom on the ground floor. This floor had some of the least stable floors due to arson, but it did have the best art.
There was this room which randomly had window frames and chunks of the flooring arranged around it
The top floor is attic space seems to have been once used as storage, and perhaps some offices. There are a lot of pleasing circular motifs and wood panelling, which aren't really present in the rest of the building.
...and just like that our hour was gone. We climbed down the stairs, crossed the courtyard, and stepped back out into the busy city street. As beautiful and grand as the building once had been, it's hard to imagine it being restored to its former glory. Perhaps I am wrong, and the vaguely referred to plans of a music college will come into fruition, but with the building in its current state and nothing to prevent anyone from entering, it seems like that ship may have sailed and become a speck of possibility on the horizon. Time will tell.
It was the last day of our holiday in Croatia and we had perhaps an hour to kill before we headed off to the airport. We were strolling somewhat aimlessly through central Zagreb, when out the corner of my eye I spotted this behind the courtyard of a music college.
So that was that spare hour taken care of then!
History of the Site
The site is a former military hospital and barracks, with the street facing building (now converted into a music college) dating back to 1833, with this courtyard wing behind being opened later in 1861 on the site of a former monastery. Some components of the monastery were repurposed for the new hospital, giving it a unique ecclesiastical look. It functioned in various capacities as a hospital until 1991 and the outbreak of the Yugoslav war, when it came under the ownership of the new Croatian state, and was utilised until 2002 for housing refugees and those in political exile, as well as an operations base for the Military Police, Ministry Of Defence, and Zagreb's veteran associations.
Since then, the building has stood empty. There have been plans since the mid 2010s to convert the buildings for use by local music and dance colleges, however whilst this has already happened for the street-facing 1833 building, work has not started on the 1861 wing and the building has attracted increasing numbers of vandals, arsonists, homeless people and drug addicts in recent years. There's been growing discontent from local residents regarding the state of the site and lack of security, especially after a murder occurred on the site in recent years, but the city of Zagreb (who own the building) seem to be responding to this with shrugs.
Our Visit
Security at the site was non-existent. We walked off the street, past the doors of the music college, and straight into the hospital. There were no doors at either entrance, no barriers, and certainly no security guards. As someone who lives in London where any abandoned building is ring fenced, alarmed, with bolted windows and doors and signs warning of live in security, dogs, and smartwater to deter would-be trespassers, this seemed bizarre. At the time of our visit, the building had areas with very untrustworthy floors, and a lot of broken glass. There was evidence of people having at some point squatted in the building, but it was empty when we were there, and there was nothing which appeared to suggest anyone currently living in the space.
The ground floor of the building is mostly graced by the work of your garden variety "kids up to no good" levels of vandalism. There's tagging, swastikas, broken windows, and general disrepair.
Through the open windows and doors, nature has started to slowly but surely claim the building back.
You can also see the remains of what used to be a pharmacy
In the heart of the hospital is the massive spiral staircase, at the base of which is a huge number of doors and window frames ripped from the building
The first floor is in a similar state, but has grand corridors and windows. This really was once a beautiful building.
Towards the back is the clinic rooms, and also the first evidence of the repeated arson attacks on the building
Some of the rooms are entirely black. It's unclear if this is from fire or they are floor to ceiling painted in black paint. There's evidence in some places of people having been squatting here.
We didn't explore this floor too thoroughly, as there was a lot more trash than on others and in parts the floor seemed less than trustworthy. We took the stairs up to the second floor
At some point in the early 2010s an artist's collective decided to "reclaim" the building and painted several murals on the 2nd floor and some in the attic. Their supplies are dumped in a bathroom on the ground floor. This floor had some of the least stable floors due to arson, but it did have the best art.
There was this room which randomly had window frames and chunks of the flooring arranged around it
The top floor is attic space seems to have been once used as storage, and perhaps some offices. There are a lot of pleasing circular motifs and wood panelling, which aren't really present in the rest of the building.
...and just like that our hour was gone. We climbed down the stairs, crossed the courtyard, and stepped back out into the busy city street. As beautiful and grand as the building once had been, it's hard to imagine it being restored to its former glory. Perhaps I am wrong, and the vaguely referred to plans of a music college will come into fruition, but with the building in its current state and nothing to prevent anyone from entering, it seems like that ship may have sailed and become a speck of possibility on the horizon. Time will tell.
