War Cemetery No. 306 - ĹÄ
kta Dolna - a cemetery from World War I, located in the village of ĹÄ
kta Dolna in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in the Bochnia poviat, in the Trzciana commune. It is one of 400 Western-Galician war cemeteries built by the Cemetery Graves Division of the C. and K. Military Commanders in Krakow. Of this number, there are 46 cemeteries in the Bochnia district, in ĹÄ
kowa Dolna 3. [source: Wikipedia, 2158076]
| type of the cemetery | war |
| state of the cemetery | closed |
| [source: Wikipedia, 2158076] |
Position
It is located on a hill called NagĂłrze, at an altitude of 330 m above sea level. It is located far from buildings, among cultivated fields on the edge of the forest "DÄbiny". Thanks to this, a wide panoramic view of the peaks of the Beskid Wyspowy is visible to the south. In the vicinity there are also three other cemeteries from the same battle: No. 308, No. 305 and No. 307. To these 4 cemeteries leads from the main roads the road road ĹÄ
kta Dolna - Leszczyna. You can enter it in Leszno from the road No. 966 MuchĂłwka - Leszczyna - ĹapanĂłw, heading south, or from the road running through ĹÄ
kta Dolna, heading north (here the initial section is asphalted). Places where you have to turn from the main road to this side road are marked with original concrete boards on a concrete pillar. . [source: Wikipedia, 2158076]
History
110 Germans were buried here, who died in the surrounding fields on December 7, 1914 during the Limanowa-Pawanska operation. They were soldiers 217, 219 and 220 of the Prussian reserve infantry regiment. 106 of them are known by their last name. In the neighboring fields of ĹÄ
kta Dolna, branches of the 47 Prussian infantry divisions in bloody battles fought to gain the positions of the soldiers of the Russian army, Gen. Radko Dmitryev, strengthened on the Leszczyna hill. The allied Austrian-German troops succeeded in other sections of the front, which forced the Russians to retreat further east. In these fights, both sides suffered large losses and there are many war cemeteries around. All of them were made by the Austrians during the war, as soon as they drove the Russians further east. The designer of this cemetery, as well as others in the area, was Franz Stark. [source: Wikipedia, 2158076]
Description of the cemetery
The cemetery has a surface of 448 m and is based on a rectangular plan. It was made very aesthetically and reliably. The fence is made of low stone and massive posts, made of concrete stone, covered with concrete roofs. There is a low but massive wooden fence between the posts. Entrance through a low wooden gate. The cemetery has several decorative elements. The main decorative element is a monumental stone wall standing on one of the walls of the fence with a cross also made of stone and a concrete bench. In addition to the decorative elements significantly contributing to the artistic appearance of the cemetery are two obelisks fixed on plinths in the form of a rectangular prism. Large inscription tables were placed on them. One of the boulders has a concrete plinth, the second one is made of stone cut. On one of the tablets there is an inscription in German: "The times we have devoted ourselves to have given us more, exceedingly more than they took us, gave us the power to feel which of the slaves makes men and indicates the goals crowning the work." The tombstones are decorated with 11 concrete steles with cast-iron plaques on which Maltese crosses and laurel wreaths as well as names of buried soldiers have been embossed. In addition, there is another gravestone with a different form than that on which two boards were placed; one on its upper surface, the other on its base. There are no trees in this cemetery, grass is cut. The presence of granite obelisks differs from neighboring ones. They were founded by the father of two Cuny brothers who died here. [source: Wikipedia, 2158076]
The fate of the cemetery
In the interwar period, the cemetery was still in good condition as new. After World War II, the importance of the cemetery in the awareness of the society and the then authorities decreased, because new, more recent cemeteries and dramatic stories of the new war came. The cemetery was naturally destroyed by weather and vegetation factors. It was not until the 1990s that the first world war cemeteries began to be looked after. In 1994, the cemetery was incorporated into the list of immovable monuments. In 2001, the commune of Trzciana completed a major refurbishment of the cemetery. Grass in the cemetery is cut and the cemetery is kept up to date, also by schoolchildren. On the Day of the Dead school youth lights candles at the cemetery, and every year in October organizes rallies along cemeteries. In the Trzciana commune, this action was initiated by Tadeusz Olszewski, a junior high school teacher. [source: Wikipedia, 2158076]
