Monument to the Unknown Hero on Avala is a monumental mausoleum on the top of the Avala Mountain in the southeast of Belgrade. The creator of this monument is Croatian and Yugoslav sculptor Ivan Mestrovic. It was erected in 1938.
In the vicinity of the medieval fortified town of Žrnov (12-15th century) on the top of Avala, the inhabitants of the surrounding villages erected in 1922 a stone monument at the site of the grave of an unknown fallen warrior from the First World War.
After just over a decade, according to King Aleksandar I Karađorđević's wish, in accordance with the general action of raising the monument to the Unknown Hero in other countries, allies in that war (from 1920 to France, England, Italy, Belgium, Canada, USA) were destroyed the remains of the town of Žrnova and in that area a monumental memorial was built - a mausoleum to the Unknown Hero, the most monumental public monument at the highest point of Belgrade. It became a symbolic place for honoring all the warriors in the wars of 1912-1918. years.
This is an architectural and sculptural work done according to the designs of Ivan Mestrovic, an extremely engaged sculptor in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The artist was chosen for the power that a monument of such importance was supposed to work on. In the design of the program concept, besides Meštrović, I also took the lead decision in the selection of the project, I brought King Alexander.
