The huge underground depots of the former Šibenik naval station in Croatia

During the Cold War years, the Yugoslav Navy had one of its main naval bases in the Croatian city of Šibenik.

Fort Musil: one of the fortresses of the largest naval base of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Island of Vis: an abandoned secret submarine base and battery in the Adriatic Sea

Šibenik has had a turbulent history. It was part of the Republic of Venice until the end of the 18th century, when it was taken over by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which established a naval base there in 1905. After World War I, the city and its naval base became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During World War II, Šibenik was annexed by Italy and occupied by Germany.

At the end of World War II, Šibenik became part of Yugoslavia. During this period, the naval base was modernised and specialised in ship repair (it actually functioned as a shipyard), until in May 1991, it passed into the hands of Croatia, together with 15 ships of the Yugoslav Navy that were based there, approximately a quarter of the naval force that that country had at the time of its dissolution.

Yugoslav forces attempted to retake Šibenik and its naval base in September 1991, in a bloody battle that ended in a Croatian victory. Finally, the shipyard was privatized in 2004, losing its military character. One of the abandoned facilities of the former Šibenik naval base are its old fuel tanks, located underground so that they could survive any attack. A few days ago, Tattooed Traveler published a video showing his exploration of these tanks:

You can see some screenshots from this video here. Please note that this exploration is not suitable for people who suffer from vertigo or are afraid of rats...

One of the strangest moments in the video was the discovery of women's clothing abandoned in a bag and also some women's clothing thrown on the stairs of a warehouse.

One of the abandoned underground tanks. The author of the video was prudent enough to visit this place equipped with a gas detector, since places like this are dangerous due to the possible presence of fuel residues and the gases they emit.

Above the depots are fortified positions from World War II, later used by Yugoslav forces. Here we see the remains of an artillery position.