A Croatian village with 117 Mercedes cars

Zagreb (Croatia): Grubine, a village in one of Croatia's poorest regions with 800 inhabitants, probably holds a world record in per capita Mercedes ownership with 117 of the luxury cars.

A Mercedes, or "Mechka" (bear) as the locals call them, has been a status symbol in the Imotska region since the mid-1960s, when thousands joined other Yugoslavs seeking work in booming Germany, according to local media reports.

More than 200,000 Croats have moved to Germany since then.

Those who returned, for vacations or for good, felt they need a visible display of their success in the form of a large house and, of course, a Mercedes!

"When our people in Germany earned their Deutsche marks, they looked around to see what the rich were driving and wanted the same," Pero Karin, a Grubine resident, told Jutarnji List daily.

"So, they always returned in a Mercedes."

Vjeko Lasic has the most distinguished among the many vintage cars in the village, a 170 SD model from 1952.

"There are only eight of those in the world. One is owned by former US president Bill Clinton, the other by (Britain's) Queen Elizabeth," he said.

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