Urban Exploring: Sniper Tower from Balkan War

In the small town of Mostar in Bosnia & Herzegovina you can find many locations perfect for urban exploring. As an avid urban explorer id like to share my experience with the Steemit community.

In the middle of the citys geografical centre lies a concrete skeleton of a bulinding that was once a bank. According to locals we spoke to, the buliding was overrun by the Croat army and used as a vantage point for snipers during the war that broke out in April 1992 between the Bosnian Croats and the Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims)

The building was chosen due to its exellent view of the Bosniak-controlled eastern part of the city, the old bank towers over all its neighbouring buildings making it a strategic location for the Croats to controll Bosniak movements on the ground.

Technically, entering the building is considered trespassing. The old Sniper Tower i sealed off at ground level but there are still ways to get inn around the back where there is now view from the road. We were told by locals that no one would matter even if we were spotted.

The building is a mess on the inside. There is broken glass from the shattered windows as well as trash and beer cans. You need to really watch your step due to needles used by drug addicts who use the building to get of the streets at night.

The story of the war is written in the walls. The concrete wall in the picture beneath was blasted open by what must have been a grenade or rocket launcher, when leaning out the window you can also see the bullet holes surrounding the blast area.

The view from the top is amazing, but i can't help but get an eerie feeling knowing the towers history. It is said that the Croats would fire on any Bosniak they spottet, even women who where simply out of their homes to do daily chores.

It is strange to know that just a few decades ago this building was filled with pepole wearing suits, doing their jobs not knowing what would happen to their workplace just a couple of years in the future.

The buildings walls are now covered in beautiful steet art. I snapped a shot of the ones i liked the most. Enjoy!

It is strange to see such a large building beeing left to the elements in the middle of a european city. Due to lack of funds the local government can only rehabilitate one building at a time, who knows, maby the Sniper Tower will be a bank again?

If you would like to visit the Sniper Tower before it is to late, the address and coordinates are below

Address: Kneza Domagoja 12, Mostar 88000, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coordinates: 43.3441° N, 17.8066° E

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-Mrperozzi