Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday that he was happy that the government had contributed to the reconstruction of Vukovar's Water Tower, a symbol of the defence of Vukovar.

The premier visited the reconstructed water tower, a landmark of that eastern Croatian city, on Wednesday morning, at the start of the day-long programme for marking Homeland War Victims Remembrance Day in Vukovar.

The renovated Vukovar Water Tower was inaugurated on 30 October, without the presence of the public due to the pandemic. Reconstruction lasted three and a half years and cost HRK 46 million. Of that amount, 39 million was secured through donations raised by more than 7,000 donors in Croatia and in the Croatian Diaspora. Financial aid for this project was also provided by the Croatian government.

The reconstruction of the 50-metre-high water tower, which has become a reminder of the tribulations of Vukovar during its siege and fall in 1991, started in May 2017. During the project, 640 holes on the edifice which were the result of the shelling of the Yugoslav People’s Army and Serb paramilitary forces in 1991, have been preserved. The tower is seen as the symbol of the resistance during the Homeland War as it did not fall down during strong artillery attacks.

Homeland War Victims Remembrance Day is observed on 18 November as a non-working day in Croatia in memory of the suffering of residents of Vukovar and Skabrnja in the autumn 1991.

The fall of Vukovar into the hands of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) and Serb paramilitaries on 18 November 1991 marked the end of a three-month siege during which over 6.5 million shells had fallen on that eastern Croatian city. During those three months, more than 3,000 Croatian soldiers and civilians, including 86 children were killed. Vukovar was peacefully reintegrated in Croatia in January 1998.

Skabrnja fell into the hands of occupying forces on 18 November 1991 following JNA artillery attacks under the command of Ratko Mladic, who later led Bosnian Serb forces.

The village, located about 25 kilometres east of the coastal city of Zadar, was completely destroyed in the attack and 48 Croatian civilians and 15 soldiers were killed on that day. During its subsequent occupation and until its liberation in the August 1995 Operation Storm, the number of Skabrnja victims rose to 86. Another six villagers were killed by leftover mines after the war. Two thousand people were forced to leave their homes during the occupation.

According to the 2011 census, 1,776 residents lived in that municipality.