Politička Škola Josip Broz Tito
THE ABANDONED SCHOOL IN CROATIA
Explore the Croatian ‘Politička Škola Josip Broz Tito’ , a giant, modernist building where Yugoslav politicians once studied socialist theory. After 2003 the school is neglected and decrepit.
Near the village of Kumrovec, close to the border with Slovenia, stands a large modernist structure. It is where Yugoslav politicians once studied socialist theory. Admired by numerous architects and brutalism enthusiasts, the building is currently in a state of neglect, encircled by overgrown grass, its windows shattered and roof in disrepair. The interior, once grand, now lies in decay, strewn with dust, debris, and litter, with grass sprouting within the premises.
The Josip Broz Tito Political School was founded in 1975 as the central educational institution for the staff of the Communist Union of Yugoslavia. It was originally based in another building in Kumrovec, which is now known as the Memorial House of the Fighters and Youth of Yugoslavia. Tito said that the school was needed to give party members a stronger theoretical education.
Josip Broz Tito
Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito was born in Kumrovec. This Political School, in the same town, was founded by and named after him. Tito himself never got to see the finished building, as it wasn’t completed and officially opened until 1981, the year following his death. The property includes the building on four floors with a floor space of 5,901 square metres, with 145 bedrooms, gyms, a cinema, a library, a restaurant, and a bar.
During the 15 years in which the school operated, more than 600 people taught there and over 1,500 attended classes.
Refugees
It was used for political education until 1990, when the Communism collapsed. The last president of the Political School was Ivica Račan, who in 2000 became Croatian prime minister. After 1990, the school was first taken over by the Ministry of the Interior and then by the Ministry of Defense for the training of members of the Croatian Army. From 1990 until 2003 it was home to refugees of the Balkan wars.
During my visit in 2018, ‘Politička Škola Josip Broz Tito’ was in a very bad condition, with most parts of the copper roof either removed or stolen. The building was sold in 2019.
