Haunting footage shows abandoned communist college that's been left to rot

Haunting pictures show an abandoned communist college named after a former Yugoslavian leader in his hometown that has been left to rot.

The Josip Broz Tito Political School in Kumrovec, Croatia, was once one of the most prestigious seats of political learning in the country when it opened in 1975.

But it now sits as a relic with broken windows and a damaged roof, while its once impressive interior is full of dust, dirt and rubbish.

Photos taken by urban explorer Kyle, from Leeds, show the deserted building in a sorry state of disrepair.

Piles of discarded textbooks lie abandoned and rotten on the floor, while the college's long corridors lead to empty, abandoned bedrooms.

Inside the bedrooms, posters of 90s pop icons TLC and Puff Daddy adorn the walls, an insight to the lives of displaced youngsters once housed there during the Balkan wars.

In the college's main auditorium, the roof has collapsed in parts, leaving the mammoth room covered in dust and dirt, resembling a disaster zone.

Moss has completely taken over large sections of the building, including the bar area which is now strewn with graffiti and empty beer bottles.

Kyle said: "It's in a proper run down state. The roof is collapsing, there's a massive pile of books that have just been left and have rotted away.

"Upstairs the rooms were pretty stripped out and on the lower floors, the decay started to fully set in with the floors and walls fully taken over by moss.

"Once inside the auditorium, the decay was next level with the chairs and books fully rotted away.

"It made me feel quite sad in a way to see all the books chucked in a pile and rotted and decayed beyond recognition."

More than 1,500 students studied at the college by more than 600 academics in the 15 years in operated.

It was so popular that a new facility had to be built, which boasted two conference halls, 145 bedrooms, a cinema and a sports hall when it was completed in 1981.

After its closure as a college in 1990, it was first taken over by the Interior Ministry and then used by the Defence Ministry for training Croatian troops.

It was later used to house refugees during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

But since its closure in 2003, the building has fallen into a state of disrepair. It was sold in 2019 to a Chinese investor, but remains derelict.

Kyle, who tries to squeeze in as many urban explorations on his holidays as he can, added: "I was on my way to Zagreb and I got into a conversation with a taxi driver.

"He started telling me about this school that was abandoned, so I wanted to explore it for myself.

"It was very eerie, because I was on my own in this massive complex.

"Overall I would rate it as my top explore completed in Croatia and one I would even probably put in my top five of all explores completed.

"It was an amazing experience to explore such a unique building."

The school was founded in 1975 in Kumrovec, a tiny village in Croatia, the birthplace of former Yugoslav prime minister and president Josip Broz Tito.

He said at the time that the school was needed to give party members a stronger theoretical education.

The last president of the Political School was Ivica Racan, who went on to serve as the prime minister of Croatia from 2000 to 2003.