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About half of the 16,000 registered cars in
Imotski, which is close to the border with Bosnia, are Mercedes
cars, according to Ivan Topic Nota, the main promoter of the
plan to build the Mercedes monument.
"I can assure you there are also many kept in the garages. I own
13 Mercedes old-timers (vintages) and four of them are
registered for driving," he said at a ceremony on Sunday to lay
the foundation stone for the monument.
He added that the project also aimed to make it into the
Guinness World Records by gathering the most Mercedes-Benz cars
in one spot in September.
In the 1960s and 1970s, many people from the rural Imotski area
went to work in West Germany to support their families back
home. When they came for a visit or decided to move back,
driving a Mercedes-Benz was seen as a sign of success.
"Those people earned a special kind of respect in the local
community. A love story between the locals and Mercedes emerged,
so don't they deserve a monument as well?" Topic said.
The monument in Imotski will be made of stone and will represent
Mercedes 115, a popular model among locals which was produced
between 1968 and 1976. The cost of the monument is estimated at
450,000 kuna ($67,633.58).
"We've already collected half of that from donations, even the
town authorities and our mayor were generous. In September we
plan to set a Guinness world record by organizing a gathering of
2,000 Mercedes cars on one spot. It will also bring some funds,"
Topic said.
(Reporting by Antonio Bronic, writing by Igor Ilic, editing by
Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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