Rarely has anyone heard of Goli Otok but this was one of the most infamous prison islands in modern European History. Goli Otok means Barren Island and it got its name due to the fact the island has almost no vegetation. The island is located off the Croatian coast in the north of the Adriatic Sea and has quite a reputation!
Previously uninhabited, the Yugoslav government turned this island into a prison for political prisoners similar to the Soviet Gulags. From the 1950s up until the late 1980s, it was one of the most horrific prisons on the European continent. In the few decades it operated as a prison, the prisoners built infrastructure, buildings, and factories on the island where they were forced to work.
Nowadays world travelers have the unique opportunity to take a tour of this island and witness the horrors of the Croatian Alcatraz. A unique place, you can walk its streets and visit its factories giving you a glimpse of the everyday life of thousands of political prisoners.
The deserted buildings on the island still bear markings and boards from the communist times in this region strongly resembling the sights of the desolated Chernobyl. Finally, this strange excursion comes at a really reasonable price of around $60.
