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Vjesnik

Coordinates: 45°47′37″N 15°57′35″E / 45.79361°N 15.95972°E / 45.79361; 15.95972
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Vjesnik
The Vjesnik building in Zagreb prior to its fire
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBerliner
PublisherVjesnik d.d. (1946–2008)[1]
Narodne novine d.d. (2008–2010)[2]
Tiskara Vjesnik (2010–2012)[2]
Founded24 June 1940
Ceased publication20 April 2012[3] (print)
July 2012 (online)
LanguageCroatian
HeadquartersSlavonska avenija 4,
Zagreb, Croatia
ISSN0350-3305
Websitewww.vjesnik.hr

Vjesnik (lit. 'courier') was a Croatian state-owned daily newspaper published in Zagreb. Originally established in 1940 as a wartime illegal publication of the Communist Party of Croatia, it later built and maintained a reputation as Croatia's newspaper of record during most of its post-war history. It ceased publication in April 2012.[3]

After the war, the Vjesnik building was used by other media companies and newspapers as well as the Croatian Ministry of Construction.[4] On 17 November 2025, a fire broke out on the 15th floor and spread across the whole building, destroying most of its interior and heavily damaging the exterior.[5]

History

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Memorial plaque on the building that hosted illegal redaction of newspaper "Vjesnik" in Zagreb from June 1940 to December 1941
Construction of the Vjesnik Building during 1964 Zagreb flood.
Aerial view of the building, 2008

Newspaper

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During World War II and the Nazi-allied Independent State of Croatia regime which controlled the country, the paper served as the primary media publication of the Yugoslav Partisans movement. The August 1941 edition of the paper featured the statement "Smrt fašizmu, sloboda narodu" (transl. Death to fascism, freedom to the people) on the cover, which was afterwards accepted as the official slogan of the entire resistance movement and was often quoted in post-war Yugoslavia.

In its peak operations, Vjesnik complex was the major factory of journalism — a powerful media hub that produced some of the most influential print publications in the region every day, such as Večernji list, Sportske novosti, and a number of cult magazines, including Studio, Start, Arena, Svijet, and Vikend. Generations grew up reading comics by the likes of Alan Ford, which were also printed within this complex. The interior boasted the most modern technology of its time: pneumatic mail transported documents between floors, while a forest of antennas on the roof connected editors to the world’s news agencies. It was a city unto itself — a symbol of progress, technological ambition, and information power.

Its heyday was between 1952 and 1977 when its Wednesday edition (Vjesnik u srijedu or VUS) regularly achieved circulations of 100,000 and was widely read across Yugoslavia.[6] From late 1974 the publishing house ran a subsidiary office in Frankfurt in West Germany which published the edition of 5,000-10,000 copies targeted at numerous Yugoslav workers ('gastarbeiter') and other citizens living in the country.[7]

Following Croatia's independence and the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s its circulation steadily began to dwindle, as Vjesnik came under the control of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), at the time the ruling conservative party. Ever since the 1990s, Vjesnik was seen as always taking a pro-government editorial stance, and it even changed its name briefly in 1992 to Novi Vjesnik in an attempt to distance itself from its own communist history. However, the name was controversial and was changed the next year. Political shifts in the 1990s and the beginning of economic transition set off a slow but irreversible decline of the Vjesnik media empire. Waves of privatization and a turbulent media market gradually extinguished the influence it once held. One newsroom after another left the building: Europapress Holding (now Hanza Media) moved out in 2003, Večernji list relocated to Buzin. In early 2012 the paper ran into serious financial difficulties, and the final issue of Vjesnik was printed on April 20, 2012. it ceased printing.[3][8] By May 2012 Vjesnik operated only as a web portal. By 12 June 2012, the web portal was still accessible, but it was no longer updated, and in July 2012 the website was defunct.

In the years that followed, the tower became trapped in a tangle of unresolved property and ownership issues. The state ended up holding a 61-percent majority stake, while the remaining shares were split among private companies. Endless legal disputes and an unfinished subdivision of the building blocked any serious redevelopment plans, leaving its vast potential untouched.

The only sign of life came from the 15th floor, where Radio Laganini FM continued to broadcast — the last media beacon inside the abandoned concrete giant. Still, things finally seemed to move in a better direction once the state took a more active role, relocating the Reconstruction Fund into part of the complex and completing the long-delayed subdivision process. This reopened the door to revitalization and rekindled hopes of a true revival.

The last blow came in 2022, when the printing house shut down, leaving the 30,000-square-meter complex an empty shell abandoned, and steadily decaying. A sharp drop in average daily circulation occurred from 1997 (21,348) to 2005 (9,660)[9] down from over 100,000 in 1960.[10]

Building

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The building was designed by Croatian architect Antun Ulrich according to a competition project from 1957, the construction started from 1963 to 1972 and lasted full 9 years, mostly because of lack of financing. Inspired by American business architecture - Lever House building in New York, at the time of its completion it was one of the most modern office buildings in Europe, and soon became the tallest buildings in Croatia with the height of 67 meters. Its recognizable facade of reflective glass in brown and orange tones, which reflected heat but let in light, earned it the popular nickname “Chocolate Tower”. It introduced the then revolutionary concept of open office spaces on the floors, perfectly adapted to the hectic rhythm of the newspaper editorial offices that found their home there.[11]

November 2025 fire

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Vjesnik building after the fire

On the evening of 17 November 2025, around 23:00, the top floors of the Vjesnik building caught on fire and the flames spread downward. Due to a high level of danger, the firefighters could not stay in the building and pulled back from the interior, and instead focusing on putting the fire out from outside.[12][13] The building remained alight throughout the night and the following day, engulfing the upper half of the building and the roof. According to the Civil Protection Directorate, 93 firefighters were battling the blaze with 30 vehicles on site. No one was injured.[14]

The Republic of Croatia co-owns the business complex together with several other legal entities. The section affected by the fire was used as an archive, while the side wing of the complex (the so-called annex) which housed employees of the Ministry of Construction, Spatial Planning and State Property was not touched by the flames.[14] The cause of the fire is unknown and an investigation is underway.[15]

Editors-in-chief

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  • Šerif Šehović (1945)
  • Živko Vnuk (1950)
  • Frane Barbieri (1950–1953)
  • Joško Palavršić (1953–1955)
  • Božidar Novak (1955–1963)
  • Milan Beslać (1963–1966)
  • Josip Vrhovec (1968–1970)
  • Milovan Baletić (1970–1971)
  • Stjepan Košarog (1971–1972)
  • Drago Auguštin (1972–1975)
  • Pero Pletikosa (1975–1983)
  • Davor Šošić (1983–1986)
  • Uroš Šoškić (1986–1987)
  • Stevo Maoduš (1987–1990)
  • Hidajet Biščević (1990–1992)
  • Radovan Stipetić (1992–1993)
  • Krešimir Fijačko (1993–1994)
  • Ante Ivković (1994–1996)
  • Nenad Ivanković (1996–2000)
  • Igor Mandić (2000)
  • Zlatko Herljević (2000–2001)
  • Krešimir Fijačko (2001–2004)
  • Andrea Latinović (2004–2005)
  • Darko Đuretek (2005–2010)
  • Bruno Lopandić (2010–2012)

References

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  1. ^ "Vjesnik d.d.". Croatian Encyclopedia (in Croatian) (online ed.). Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography. 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Narodne novine više neće izdavati Vjesnik" [Narodne novine will no longer publish Vjesnik] (in Croatian). net.hr. 16 June 2010. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Danas tiskan zadnji broj Vjesnika, od sutra samo na internetu". Poltika Plus. 20 April 2012. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  4. ^ "U plamenu Vjesnikova nebodera izgorio je simbol grada i slavna medijska povijest" (in Croatian). dnevnik.hr. 18 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  5. ^ "Vjesnikov neboder je iznutra potpuno uništen, bivši radnik: To je stvoreno da gori kao šibica" (in Croatian). www.tportal.hr. 18 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  6. ^ Malus, Siniša (13 February 2012). "Jedan glas protiv gašenja Vjesnika". SEEbiz.eu (in Croatian). Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  7. ^ William Zimmerman (1987). Open Borders, Nonalignment, and the Political Evolution of Yugoslavia. Princeton University Press. p. 121. ISBN 0-691-07730-4.
  8. ^ Ugašen zagrebački "Vjesnik" (in Serbian)
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "60. GODINA VJESNIKA". Vjesnik. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007.
  11. ^ "Povijest Vjesnikovog nebodera: Prve stanare primio je 1972. godine, u svom zlatnom dobu bio je kucajuće srce novinarstva". www.poslovni.hr. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  12. ^ "VIDEO: Major fire destroys Vjesnik building in Zagreb". Croatia Week. 18 November 2025. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  13. ^ "Huge fire in the Croatian capital destroys landmark tower". ABC News. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  14. ^ a b "FOTO/VIDEO Vatrogasci morali napustiti Vjesnik zbog sigurnosti: 'Dečki su rekli da se čuju pucanja'; Dogovorene prve mjere". vecernji.hr. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  15. ^ "Božinović o požaru Vjesnika i izvidima: 'Većina su bili maloljetnici'". net.hr (in Croatian). 20 November 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
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45°47′37″N 15°57′35″E / 45.79361°N 15.95972°E / 45.79361; 15.95972

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