Mass Grave Cemetery of the Murdered at Krzesławice
Kraków Cemeteries
A mass grave on the grounds of the former Austrian Fort 49 "Krzesławice" (Wzgórza Krzesławickie district). Between October 1939 and November 1941 the Germans shot at least 440 people here, among them many members of Kraków's intelligentsia arrested during the AB Action. After exhumations all the remains found were buried in a single grave, and in 1956 a monument-mausoleum designed by Maria Rajnochowa was unveiled. An inscription at the gate speaks of 440 Poles murdered in 1939-1941. Please be solemn and quiet here.
History
The mass grave lies in the outer area of the former Austrian Fort 49 "Krzesławice" in the Wzgórza Krzesławickie district. After the Germans took over the fort during the Second World War, Polish patriots were executed in the fort's moats - prisoners from Montelupich and from the prison in the former monastery of St Michael on Senacka Street. The executions went on in 1939-1941. At the end of 1945, 440 bodies were exhumed from 29 graves and moved to a common grave in the outer area of the fort. A memorial plaque was unveiled on it in 1957, and a year later a monument to the Krzesławice victims of Nazi terror was erected near the fort.
Did you know?
The first plaque on the grave, unveiled in 1957, gave incorrect dates for the executions.