NOB (National Liberation) monument

The National Liberation Monument stands on Freedom Square beside Maribor Castle. Created by sculptor Slavko Tihec, the seven-metre-high bronze monument was unveiled on 27 November 1975. Openings in its rounded outer form reveal an inner sphere bearing images of participants in the resistance movement. It commemorates resistance, the victims of occupation and liberation during the Second World War.

A distinctive feature is the collection of wartime documents reproduced in bronze on the monument's base. These include public notices announcing the executions of hostages and resistance fighters, alongside the farewell letter of Jože Fluks, who was sentenced to death during the war. The inscriptions connect an imposing work of modern sculpture with individual experiences of wartime violence.

Locals call the monument Kojak, or Kodžak in Slovenian, because its smooth, rounded shape resembles the bald television detective. The monument has become a familiar landmark of Freedom Square and an example of modern Slovenian public sculpture. It brings memories of the Second World War into the city's everyday surroundings.