WAR CEMETERY
Since Upper Austria was very far from the fronts in World War I, six large prisoner of war camps were built in this federal state. The heathland in Marchtrenk was very suitable for such a camp, i.e. there was hardly any agricultural yield and the gravel soil was very important for hygiene.
In this k. u.k. Prisoner of war camps housed a maximum of 35,000 soldiers. The high number of war deaths is explained by the camp hospital. A maximum of around 2,100 sick people could be cared for here. However, this occupancy was never achieved. However, many died from their wounds, epidemics and tuberculosis, which was hardly treatable at the time.
The following are buried in the cemetery: 1,393 Italians, 468 Russians, 10 Serbs, 1 Romanian, 18 deceased of unknown nationality. The cemetery is looked after by the “Black Cross”. In the middle there is an obelisk on which the deceased Italians are mainly commemorated. Today the war cemetery is a place of peace and also a stop on the “Marchtrenker Peace Trail”
Source: City of Marchtrenk (Press & Public Relations Department, March 9, 2016)