WWII-Era Barracks Demolished at Zabok General Hospital
Zabok General Hospital has removed the dilapidated structures, planning a staff parking lot and a future palliative care ward in their place.
Zabok General Hospital has removed the dilapidated structures, planning a staff parking lot and a future palliative care ward in their place.
Zabok General Hospital and Croatian Veterans' Hospital has completely removed the old barracks that had stood within the hospital grounds for decades. The structures, built during World War II, had been out of use for nearly two decades, and their demolition is part of a broader infrastructure project through which the hospital is upgrading its facilities.
The demolition work is valued at approximately €101,000 including VAT, and the contractor was Kopko d.o.o., selected through a public procurement process. Hospital director Andreja Filija stated at a press conference on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, that the work was completed within the planned timeframe.
"We carried out the demolition, held a public tender that went very well and quickly. We selected an excellent contractor who, in about ten to twelve days, as planned, demolished the old barracks that were originally built during World War II. They remained in that condition and were used until 2008 when we moved here as the departments of internal medicine, pulmonology, and neurology. That area had already become somewhat hazardous to the surroundings and neglected," explained Director Filija.
The barracks were used until 2008, when they housed the departments of internal medicine, pulmonology, and neurology. After that, they were left abandoned and, according to the director, became dangerous to the environment.
In place of the demolished barracks, the hospital plans to create a temporary platform for a parking lot designated for staff. This would free up the shared parking lot, currently used by both patients and employees, exclusively for patients and reduce congestion.
"The remediation process is underway. We will create a temporary platform for staff parking, and free up our shared parking lot, which is for patients and employees, to remain solely for patients so there won't be as much crowding and chaos in that lot. We've created the precondition to carry out what has long been planned, which is a solar canopy over the parking lot, because for that we also need part of the free parking area," said Filija.
In addition to the parking lot, the hospital also plans to build an inpatient facility for palliative care in that area. As the director pointed out, there is currently no inpatient palliative care facility in Krapina-Zagorje County, which poses a significant problem for patients in the final stages of illness.
"Our wish and goal, given that our county has no inpatient palliative care facility, is to do what we see is most needed by people because, unfortunately, in those difficult moments of palliative illness, they lack adequate inpatient space. In this area that will now be a platform, we already have a conceptual design that we made this year, which we are slowly trying to coordinate with the relevant ministry and other ministries and the government to secure funds as soon as possible and start implementing this major project that would be highly significant for our entire county," concluded Director Andreja Filija.
The conceptual design for the inpatient facility was completed this year, and the hospital is currently coordinating with the relevant ministry, other ministries, and the government to secure funding for the project. Through these infrastructure efforts, Zabok General Hospital and Croatian Veterans' Hospital aims to provide patients with higher quality healthcare and employees with better working conditions.
