The central figure of this composition is a cenotaph called "Goddess of Victory" or, in Bogdanović's words, "Forest Goddess". The monument ends with spirals that symbolize the crown, thus giving a "royal" honor to all the victims. Before reaching the 12-meter-high cenotaph, we passed through a wooden gate, made reminiscent of old Serbian folk architecture, so the visitor may think that the host is waiting for him at the entrance with bread and salt and golden-yellow „rakija“ in a cup or glasses the size of thimble. However, tombstones are waiting for him along the way, a total of 34 of them, and 14 of them bear the names of national heroes and important revolutionaries, as well as 17 fallen fighters buried in the Memorial Park.
At the foot of the cenotaph, there is already an amphitheater integrated into the surroundings. The tombstones contain spirals, ancient symbols of the renewal of life, which are most reminiscent of branches of ferns, a symbol of Proto-Slavic and pre-Christian mythology of eternal life. An inscription on one of the tombstones speaks of this ageless and immaterial idea: "We are dead, but we have not fallen asleep, the stone is looking at you with our eyes."
The talent, connection, cooperation and the suffering of two nations, Serbs and Jews, intertwine in this area. This is evidenced by the lapidary built of rare preserved and broken Jewish tombstones. We should not miss the monument to the fallen Roma, which is also the work of the unique Bogdan Bogdanović. This important monument, whose significance for the tourist offer the people of Leskovac are almost unaware of, was proclaimed in a BBC documentary as an architectural marvel of sacral architecture. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the nineties, someone cut metal "earrings" from the spirals of cenotaphs. However, even damaged in this way, the monument reveals a great aesthetic and monumental value, significant in the regional and world context, just like its many times awarded, and insufficiently understood author Bogdan Bogdanović.
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Within the project “Heritage Walks & Talks” project, we are developing a new cultural and tourist product that will be able to be used freely by individual tourists, as well as travelers in groups. The concept we want to present to you is conceived as a walk through heritage, and we will be able to use it when we want to get acquainted with the cultural and historical heritage of the Western Balkans, especially the heritage that is still modestly derived from the traditions of local communities and that all the visitors have yet to find out.
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