From Army Stories to Community Heritage

In this Citizen Science project, particular experts investigate a so far little explored and sometimes taboo topic: Cold War military installations on the former Yugoslavian coast. After the end of the Second World War, several high-security military zones with cannon systems, ship bunkers, barracks and training grounds were built along the coast and the islands. They were meant to protect the non-aligned country from a possible attack from the sea. At the same time, a great number of tourist facilities for the newly emerging (mass) tourism were built in the very same coastal zone, partly in the immediate vicinity. Most of the military facilities as well as many tourist buildings from this period are vacant today and face an uncertain future. The tourism history of the Adriatic has been fairly well researched in the last years, but very little is known about the military development. Many years of military secrecy and then the Yugoslav wars, which split up the previously joint military, left large gaps in archives but also in the consciousness of the population. The only people who really know about the premises and their usage are their former users: Mostly men, currently aged 47+, who served in the still common army before the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Women were only allowed to do voluntary military service for a short period of time (1983-1985). For the purpose of promoting the united Yugoslav society, the conscripts were distributed to barracks as far away from their homes as possible. Thus, today`s knowledge about the matter is scattered far and wide. The once common military is not a popular topic in the official narrative of any successor state. But the former recruits have found ways to exchange memories of what was for them a very formative time on internet forums and social media sites. The TCS project follows up on this widespread practice and tries to process the history of the forgotten (or suppressed) spaces with the help of these special experts. The internet platforms they are already active on are used as research platforms. The establishment and use of once military spaces on the coast will be explored collaboratively, as well as their influence on the local area and population. The aim is to find out in a collective process whether and which spaces and buildings are worth preserving, but also which experiences and memories should be passed on to later generations. The project "From Army Stories to Community Heritage" is a TCS extension project to the FWF-Peek funded project "Collective Utopias of Post-War Modernism. Adriatic Coast as Leisure and Defence Paradise." Project lead: Antonia Dika, Institute for Space and Design, University of Art and Design Linz Research partner: Anamarija Batista, Institute for Art Theory and Cultural Studies, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna Project website: leisureanddefence.org

Bringing together citizen science and artistic research, the project examined military sites built along the Yugoslav Adriatic coast during the Cold War. For decades these places were were kept under strict secrecy, leaving almost no documentation and large gaps in both archives and collective memory. What is known about them comes mainly from former conscripts who served on these sites before the breakup of Yugoslavia. Today they are scattered across the world, and their knowledge is fragmented. Some, however, use internet forums and social networks to exchange memories of their time in the military. Building on this practice, the project involved these eyewitnesses directly in the research through digital platforms. With their participation, it explored how the sites were used, what role they played in the coastal regions, and what questions arise today about their future. Citizen science was employed on several levels: by collecting specific knowledge through online forums, through close collaboration with individual participants, and through specially created formats of exchange. A key platform was the exhibition The Distance View at the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. An accompanying conference brought together scholars, artists, and former conscripts as experts from different fields. Contributions by the citizen scientists-such as on the role of women in the military or on digital cultures of remembrance-showed how combining different forms of knowledge can generate new insights. As part of the project, Antonia Dika and photographer Zara Pfeifer created the collaborative work Close to Portonovi, which examined the transformation of the former barracks in Kumbor into a tourist resort. The work juxtaposes postings by former conscripts with photographs of the site and offers a critical reflection on the tension between past and present, memory and reinvention. In addition, Anamarija Batista investigated the interconnections between labor migration, tourism, and military infrastructure through interviews, archival research, and film. This perspective opened up new insights into land-use competition, spatial control, and social inequality along the coast. The project demonstrated that the military remains of the Adriatic are not just physical relics, but also carriers of memories and questions of cultural heritage. Collaboration with former conscripts proved essential for reconstructing this neglected chapter. At the same time, it became clear how artistic research and citizen science can help to assemble fragmented knowledge, foster cross-border dialogue, and encourage reflection on the future of these sites.