Sculptor Robert Zdarilek carved a stone sculpture of Voden from a remnant of the 19th-century bridge foundation, working with a hammer and chisel for three full years along the Sava Riverbank.
If anyone ventures down to the Sava River these days and takes a walk beneath the green Railway Bridge in Zagreb, they might be surprised by an unusual sight. According to a report from Večernji list, on the southern bank, almost imperceptible next to the river, sits a stone figure of Voden, a Slavic water deity, which artist Robert Zdarilek shaped exactly at the spot where he found the stone.
That stone is a block measuring 1.3 meters in length and weighing between 600 and 700 kilograms, which was a discarded piece from the foundations of the old Zagreb railway bridge, built in the second half of the 19th century. Zdarilek came across it during bridge renovation works and decided to give it a new purpose.
Instead of taking it to his studio and finishing the job with machines, the sculptor crafted the piece on-site, using only a hammer and chisel. The process took a full three years, mostly during the summer periods, and Zdarilek also built small steps leading to the stone to make access easier.
The location holds special significance for him because he used to fish there as a child with his father. Therefore, from a part of the old bridge, he wanted to create something that would remain by the Sava, and from the raw stone block slowly emerged a face whose identity the author deliberately leaves for the viewer to interpret.
The sculpture was completed in 2020 and is known as Voden, after the Slavic water god. It is designed as a form of 'land art,' meaning art that is created and remains in a natural setting, so the Sava occasionally floods it when the water level rises.
This unusual guardian of the river thus also represents a piece of Zagreb's past, as the stone from which it is made was once part of the old railway bridge's foundations, and now, more than a hundred years later, it has a completely new function. Zdarilek has also previously mentioned that he would like to create additional sculptures in the area, turning the Sava riverbank into a small open-air park.
The photographs of the sculpture were taken by Mia Slafhauzer.
