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Sitting on the edge of a thick Croatian forest, the Villa Rebar is a haunting ruin that looks more like something out of a horror movie than the former estate of a high-ranking fascist dictator/Nazi puppet who built secret tunnels connecting the place to military bunkers. Oh, wait, that's pretty scary too.
The Villa Rebar was first built in 1932, and would become the home of Croatian dictator, Ante Pavelić. During World War II, Pavelić led the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet government that was loyal to Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, and was responsible for genocidal actions against Serbians, Jews, and Romani. During his parts of his dark reign, he made the Villa Rebar his home. While living there, Pavelić had a system of tunnels built that connected the manor to military bunkers in the nearby hills, as well as some that acted as escape tunnels.
After the war, Pavelić fled, and the villa was eventually remodeled and turned into a mountain resort space, seemingly unafraid of it being the former home of genocidal monster. 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.
The above ground foundations of the home remain to this day, overgrown and marred with graffiti. Urban explorers have also taken to tagging up the tunnels beneath the estate. However exploring the tunnels beneath the ruins of a genocidal dictator's former mansion is, obviously, not recommended.
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Know Before You Go
Take the #14 tram to the end of the line at Mihaljevac. Take the 233 bus towards Markuševac and get off at Bliznec. Turn left onto Bliznec then walk 1 km and take a sharp left onto the trail just before the Bikčevićeva staza bus stop.
Published
November 24, 2015
