It is all too easy to forget about the sights near to us. And in the case of old antiquity, we all dream about the Italian capital, about the fields of ancient temples in Jordan and about the Acropolis of Athens. But if we wish to experience the architecture, whose stones still remember the time of the ancient emperors and Austrian monarchs, we need not travel any further than the capital of Istra, Croatia: Pula. This cultural city is all around ripe with the sense of history, whether it be from the period of the Middle Ages, Old Yugoslavia or from the birth age of civilization, the Antiquity. However, one of its most amazing sights of this Adriatic city is hidden even from its inhabitants: The Catacombs under the Muzil peninsula.
This secret of war was built in the time of the Empress Mary Theresa and served as a hidden military base from the Austrian army. It was manned by the Yugoslav People’s Army until the year 1991, when control over it was taken by the Croatian military. We are talking about several kilometers worth of various underground tunnels and stairs leading to outside defense position on an area about the size of 180 hectares – The entire size of the peninsula. The labyrinth of underground paths even stretches beneath the city itself. It is more or less known that Muzil has been under military control for the past 150 years, but the details about the place are unknown even to the Croatian natives, residing only a couple of kilometers away.
In 1895, the Austro-Hungarian Empire made Pula the main military port in the Adriatic Sea and ever since then Muzil has been closed off for public, with its secrets being revealed only to the Austrian, Italian, Yugoslav and today Croatian armies. Defensive corridors have been carved into the bare rock, while the stones for the constructions have been dug in the Meglič quarry, five kilometers away. The quarry can be seen while driving towards Pula and today there is a natural climbing wall in it. Rocks for most of the Pula ancient and medieval architectural marvels came from there. Next to the base stands a 1210 meters long rampart that was used for the defense of the harbor from enemy ships as well as the mercilessness of the sea. Some claim that the peninsula of Muzil is connected even with the island of Brijoni, a former fort of Tito’s, but stories of these underground tunnels beneath the seabed so far remain just an urban legend. Besides this island, the cliffs open up towards Pula, all ancient there on the shores of Istra, and Cape Kamenjak, now known for its camps and resorts, even though it has been, much like Muzil, recently closed off for public on account of some military matters.
From the cliffs overlooking the Adriatic, from the bare rock, gaze openings, aimed towards the enemies of the Habsburg Monarchy and Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. And as one walks these halls one is struck with an awe-inspiring realization as to how huge an architectural feat this had had to be, then, at the end of the 19th century and how many unfortunate souls dying digging these tunnels, and how large a graveyard of historic divers who built the embankment lies beneath the azure Adriatic. Muziil’s endless hallways lead to bedrooms, hospitals and other army infrastructure giving testament to the toils of the underground soldiers. Walking these tunnels, a curious feeling takes over you, as you become aware of the lives of servicemen and prisoners who dwelt here, and the incredible history spoken by their walls. Particularly awesome is the very depth of the catacombs and tunnels, testifying of the incredible suffering of underground workers, who, without modern-day equipment, dug and cut at the stone that came to make up the building blocks of this place.
Today, entrances to Muzil, which on the western size stretches out towards the sea, are guarded by fences and military personnel. However, the army has already gave control of it to local authorities to be transformed and someday marketed as a tourist attraction. But the road there is still long, as the surface of Muzil is currently nothing more than a badland, full of sharp grass and snake-ridden Mediterranean undergrowth. It is, in fact, not an attractive place. Over a century old tunnels are intertwined with newer railroads, leading underground, towards the heart of Muzil catacombs, as well as with newer buildings, made by the Yugoslav People’s Army. At the sight of that, it is indeed possible to feel the merciless flow of history, for one can literally see how armies come and go, how they conquer, build and then one day vanish.
Probably most of Muzil’s attraction comes from its mysteriousness, from the militaristic silence into which it is shrouded, and so it is worth taking a look at it now, when it is closed off for tourists. Indeed it is sealed away beyond fences, guarded by Croatian soldiers, but if you know someone in their army, who would be willing to show you around this military mystery, by all means have them do so, for it is a truly unique experience.
