The world's largest German war cemetery could be built in Sologubovka
could be built. There is room for 80,000 dead. The cemetery and peace park were
inaugurated in 2000.
Cemetery description
The German war cemetery Sologubovka is located about 70 kilometers
south-east of St. Petersburg, which was called Leningrad until 1991. The five hectare
area is divided into three memorial and peace sites: In addition to the
War cemetery, the Peace Park and the Russian Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
The names of 35,348 dead are inscribed on granite steles. The cemetery
offers space for a total of 80,000 dead and could thus become the world's largest
german war cemetery.
Occupancy
56,416 German soldiers who died in the Second World War rest in the cemetery
Soldiers.
History
in 1994, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (German War Graves Commission)
a suitable site for a large collective cemetery. In Sologubowka it found
found what it was looking for after inspecting numerous German military cemeteries
Cemeteries established during the war. In the district of Lezje, the Volksbund
received a church-owned site that offered sufficient space. In the immediate vicinity
there were already four smaller cemeteries with a total of 3,200 dead. A
russian architect from St. Petersburg was commissioned by the Volksbund to design the cemetery
Design. From 1996, the War Graves Commission buried the war dead from numerous
From numerous graves in the St. Petersburg region to Sologubovka. On September 9, 2000
the site was opened to the public in the presence of relatives and the local population
to the public.
An important part of the project was the restoration of the dilapidated Russian
the dilapidated Russian Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary as a gesture of reconciliation
gesture of reconciliation. During the Second World War, the basement housed a military
Hospital for German soldiers. After the restoration, the Volksbund set up a
a memorial and exhibition room in the vaults under the church with
Descriptions of the fates of German war dead. In addition, the
Names of all those who died in Russia during the Second World War, those who were missing and
and German soldiers who died in captivity. On 20.
September 2003, the Volksbund handed over the fully restored church building to the
Church building to the Russian community.
Special feature
At the same time, a peace park was created in Sologubowka. Two Russian birch trees
and a German oak were the first three peace trees on the site. Around
400 peace trees are now growing in and around the cemetery. The trees
are marked with granite stones bearing the respective tree number
number. At the entrance to the cemetery there are lists with the tree numbers and the
and the corresponding sponsors as well as the honor books with the dedications. Further
Volksbund peace parks can be found in La Cambe (France), Groß Nädlitz (Poland) and Budaörs
(Hungary).