Dubrovnik and Vukovar, a special bond.
Among the officials who were in attendance of the spectacular St. Blaise celebrations in Dubrovnik on February 3, 2016 was the Mayor of Vukovar, Ivan Penava, as a guest of the Mayor of Dubrovnik, Andro Vlahusic.
The successful cooperation between Dubrovnik and Vukovar is long standing, it is a friendly relationship that has created many bonds and strong ties through various public activities, from education to the cooperation of veterans associations and development agencies. Mayor Penava presented a project to renovate the famous water tower which has become the icon of Vukovar, this imposing symbol of both sadness and victory sadly needs major works to keep it structurally sound. Mayor Vlahusic said that the supplementary board of the City of Dubrovnik will provide approximately 200,000 kuna and invite all their citizens, companies and institutions to join in funding and repairing the building.
The water tower will be made available to visitors, and the coming and going will be regulated in a way that does not interfere with the safety or the structure of the building. The entire cost of the renovation is estimated at 21 million kuna. Therefore, the City of Vukovar calls on all Croatian cities, counties, businesses and agencies, as well as the president and the government to get involved and help in the reconstruction, with the huge humanitarian concerts that will be held as part of this project, Mayor Andro Vlahusic says Dubrovnik will also pull its weight in gathering donations through charity and humanitarian concerts.
Mayor Penava expressed happiness and gratitude at this show of solidarity and willingness from the City of Dubrovnik, it was added that it is never too much to ask when it comes to helping and continuing to build the already strong bond between the two once utterly devastated cities – Heroes of war.
Dubrovnik and Vukovar signed a memorandum of friendship while the war still raged on in 1993, growing stronger and stronger even after the war ended. During a recent visit to Vukovar, Vlahusic handed over the keys to official vehicles, which were donations from Dubrovnik to go towards the cost of the Vukovar Memorial Center. The value of that grant was approximately 200,000 kuna.
The Vukovar water tower will be renovated and restored through donations coming from throughout Croatia and possibly beyond, with the total amount to be collected estimated to be around 21 million kuna.
