The funeral of the former first lady of Yugoslavia, Jovanka Broz, is drawing crowds of those who remember the ex-communist federation as a haven of peace, prosperity and equality.

Carrying roses, wreaths and symbols of the past era which broke up in bloodshed more than 20 years ago, hundreds have gathered since the early hours today at a memorial complex in Belgrade, Serbia, where Jovanka Broz will be buried close to her late husband, former Yugoslavia’s communist leader Josip Broz Tito.

We came to remember happy times

One woman in the crowd, Radojka Zivotic, says that “we came to pay our respects and remember happy times”.

Jovanka Broz became Tito’s wife in 1952. After he died in 1980, Tito’s successors accused her of planning a coup and placed her under house arrest. She died last Sunday at the age of 88.

“Today, we don’t just bid farewell to Jovanka Broz, we bid farewell to Tito’s era,” Serbia’s Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said in a speech. “Today marks the departure of the last icon of the former Yugoslavia.”

While vilified during the nationalist euphoria that followed the bloody breakup in the early 1990s, Yugoslavia has since regained in popularity, even among the younger generations that were born after the country disintegrated – a phenomenon explained by the brutal reality of postwar and post-communist transition.

Tito’s grave has been a pilgrimage point for the admirers of the former Yugoslavia for years.