November 14, 2019 – The long-awaited construction of the monument to Mercedes, a favorite vehicle for generations of Imotski citizens, has finally begun in the Inland Dalmatian town.
Vijesti.hr reports that the terrain has been cleared and foundations will be laid when weather conditions allow. The monument to the legendary 115 model will be built in its original size and will weigh 36 tonnes.
Brand in the pocket, home in the heart, Mercedes in the garage – the old rule of Imotski natives.
“If you don’t have a Mercedes, you’ll have a hard time finding a girl. You cannot even sit in the front rows at church. Mercedes has one big rating, all the other cars, I will not name the brands, I must not, are for one use and can no longer be improved,” said Imotski Oldtimer club president Ivan Topic.
“It doesn’t make sense for me to look for another car at all – only Mercedes, and that’s it. I don’t even think about looking at anything else,” said Ivan’s daughter, Matea Topic.
The iconic 115 model will be carved with Imotski stone.
“The stone is from Imotski and we collected it carefully. He had to wait a year to keep it from cracking. The sculptors are ready; it is already slowly being processed. We will lay the foundation on the first beautiful day after these rainy days,” said Topic.
“It’s a positive to me. Otherwise, this is the city with the most Mercedes and that’s the only thing people adore; it’s Volkswagen and Mercedes in the Imotski region,” said Viktor Dropuljic of Imotski.
“Factories should be erected, not monuments to some idols,” said Hrvoje Glavota of Imotski.
“Mercedes is one ordinary thing that drives you from point A to point B. It doesn’t matter to me, Mercedes, Renault, Fico,” said Zora Celan of Imotski.
On the other hand, statistics say that of the 16,000 cars in Imotski, more than 8,000 are Mercedes. Thus, the monument will be built by June next year.
“There was a big storm, my wife and I had been married for a long time and we had no children – and then what happened, we conceived in this car. She gave birth to a beautiful son,” said Ivan Topic.
The whole project will cost around 300,000 kuna, and apart from the Mercedes Museum, the monument will be an even bigger attraction in the area.
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