{"id":121603,"date":"2023-11-27T11:59:25","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T11:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leviolonrouge.com\/?p=121603"},"modified":"2023-11-27T11:59:25","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T11:59:25","slug":"the-peaceful-looking-island-home-to-a-chilling-abandoned-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leviolonrouge.com\/world-news\/the-peaceful-looking-island-home-to-a-chilling-abandoned-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"The peaceful-looking island home to a chilling abandoned prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A tiny, inhospitable island became the “living hell” of thousands of political prisoners during the reign of Croatian communist leader Josip Broz Tito.<\/p>\n

From afar, the island of Goli Otok appears peaceful albeit with little resources to offer to a community.<\/p>\n

But a closer look at the abandoned buildings on the uninhabited island will reveal its true history, as Goli Otok was made infamous for serving as a political prison when Croatia was part of Yugoslavia.<\/p>\n

Located in the northern Adriatic Sea, the 4.5 square kilometre territory is named after its sterile land, as it literally translates to “barren island”.<\/p>\n

Today, only three decades after the world discovered the existence of the prison, the island can be visited, with the grey, crumbling buildings still standing as a reminder of Goli Otok’s dark past.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong> Beautiful European country with barely any tourists ‘much cheaper than Greece’<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The prison, abandoned in 1989, still has rusting tools in some rooms, where grey and green paint continues to chip away from the walls in ruins.<\/p>\n

While providing a chilling experience, what has remained of the prison only paints a partial picture of the horror experienced by many prisoners taken to Goli Otok.<\/p>\n

Throughout World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire sent to this island Russian prisoners of war caught during the fight on the eastern front.<\/p>\n

The transformation into a high-security, top-secret prison happened in the late 1940s, when authorities of the People’s Federal Republic of Yugoslavia built cells and set up labour camps.<\/p>\n

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The pretty European holiday hotspot that becomes a pristine winter wonderland[PICTURES] <\/strong>
The beautiful unknown island you can only reach by boat that is a must visit[REPORT] <\/strong><\/p>\n

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