Fire destroys Zagreb’s iconic Vijesnik building

Zagreb’s landmark Vijesnik building, one of the city’s most recognizable modernist structures, was gutted by a massive fire late Monday night. 

The blaze broke out around 11 p.m., quickly spreading from the roof through the upper floors of the 16-story skyscraper. No injuries were reported, as the building was empty at the time.

Firefighters worked through the night and much of Tuesday to contain the flames under extremely hazardous conditions.

“It was really tense, difficult, and complicated—very unusual,” said Zagreb City Fire Chief Siniša Jembrih. “When our teams started climbing to put out the fire on the 13th floor, the fire began appearing on lower floors—the 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th.”

Temperatures inside the building rose above 500°C, forcing crews to repeatedly withdraw. With firefighters unable to operate safely from within, teams battled the blaze from the outside despite the danger of falling window panes and cladding.

Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević, speaking at the scene, said the cause of the fire remains unknown.

“There is speculation, but the investigation will determine the exact cause. Unfortunately, this is one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, and as we can see, the damage is total,” he said.

The Vijesnik building, majority-owned by the state, once housed the newsroom of the daily newspaper of the same name, which ceased publication in 2012. Since then, most of the structure has been used for storage.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said the government intends to rebuild.

“It’s important that no one was hurt. The damage is enormous. We’ll see what the cause was, but the responsible ministries will take steps to rebuild the building,” Plenković said.

Completed in 1972, the skyscraper was celebrated as a symbol of modern architecture in socialist-era Zagreb.

The area around the building, located at the intersection of Savska Street and Slavonska Avenue, remains closed to traffic while firefighters work to fully extinguish the fire and secure the structure.