BRUTALIST ZENICA YUGO TOUR
EXPLORE THE YUGOSLAV UTOPIA IN ZENICA – A MODERNIST INDUSTRIAL CITY MADE BY AND FOR WORKERS
The city of Zenica expanded sixfold in the socialist-era as a result of a huge Yugoslav state project, which combined the construction of the Zenica Iron Factory with a modernist make-over of the entire city to fulfill the needs of factory workers for housing, health, education, entertainment and other services. This makes Zenica a unique place to take a YUGO TOUR and explore the Yugoslav utopia of a modern industrial city built by and for Yugoslav workers. Read all about our Brutalist Zenica Tour here and join us, comrade!
About the Tour:
This 6h tour takes you on board a vintage YUGO car for a deep dive into the socialist-era history and brutalist architecture of the city of Zenica. On our drive to and from Zenica we make stops at two Partisan Spomeniks and two futurist mosques. In Zenica our guide takes you on a walking tour along the city’s brutalist buildings and sights.
Starting point:
The tour can start at your accommodation or at any other preferred spot in Sarajevo. Just let us know in your booking and the YUGO will pick you up as agreed.

Bare Multiconfessional Graveyard
By way of introduction to Zenica’s place in Yugoslav pop-culture we make a stop at the Bare graveyard on our way out of Sarajevo. This graveyard is mentioned along with Zenica’s notorious prison in the cult song Zenica Blues by YU-rock band Zabranjeno Pušenje. The second verse opens with: “Zenica, I hate every stone of you”, but the last verse admits that from Zenica prison you can at least return while Bare is a more permanent type of “address”.

Partisan Spomenik Vogošća
In Vogošća we make a stop at a typical example of a so-called Spomenik, a modernist Yugoslav memorial which honours the Yugoslav Partisan resistance of WWII. These modernist Spomeniks were constructed on a colossal scale in Yugoslavia with the aim of not only honouring the past but also articulating a utopian vision of a new tomorrow. This Spomenik in Vogošća was co-designed by the architect Zlatko Ugljen whose work we will also find in Zenica.

Lamela
This immense residential skyscraper, known as “Lamela”, is the most significant brutalist symbol of Zenica. Lamela was built on the banks of the Bosna river in the first half of the 1970s, at the peak of Zenica’s expansion as an industrial city and when it was completed it was the highest building of Yugoslavia with a total height of 101m. The locals were so proud of their new skyscraper that they named it Zenica’s Empire after the Empire State Building in New York.

Bosnian National Theater
The Yugoslav vision of a modern industrial city also aimed to make culture, arts and entertainment available for the working class. That’s why the Zenica city center was equipped with this state-of-the-art theater designed in modernist style by the architects Zlatko Ugljen and Jahiel Finci. This architect duo won several awards for the building’s pioneering design and upon its completion in 1978, it was the largest theater in Yugoslavia.

Gradska Kafana
Along the same central square as the Bosnian National Theater we find the brutalist style “Gradska Kafana” (City Coffeehouse). This building was neglected for years but has been stylishly renovated as a new meeting place for the people of Zenica. Gradska Kafana thereby serves as an example of how brutalist architecture can be successfully adapted to today’s standards. We make a coffee or lunch stop here

Visoko Futurist Mosque
The futuristic Šerefudin’s White Mosque in Visoko was also designed by architect Zlatko Ugljen and opened in 1980. The architect used the traditional layout of a Bosnian mosque but applied avant-garde geometries and an unusual quarter shaped roof with five skylights representing the five pillars of Islam. We make a photo stop here on our way back to Sarajevo.
THE YUGO TOUR IN SHORT
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Duration
6h
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Starting time
You decide
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Starting point
You decide
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Ending point
You decide
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Price
60 € pp (in case of one guest 90 €)
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Included
Coffee at Gradska Kafana
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Number of guests
Minimum 1 guest, maximum 30. Each car fits 3 guests.
Ready to roll?
Check out the possibilities and prices and make sure you book your unforgettable YUGO TOUR before it’s too late!