Cemetery of the Talcé, Begunje na Gorenjskem

Between 1942-45, the Grad Kacenštajn was a gathering center for prisoners. The prisoners were shot in the area of Begunj and in the courtyard of the castle. In 1953, according to the plans of Eda Ravnikar and with the sculptures of Borisa Kalina (1954, 1956), the park and cemetery were arranged, in which 457 prisoners were buried.

On the cemetery there are 25 common graves. In them are buried 457 shot prisoners, 12 known and 6 unknown fallen fighters.

On the cemetery of the prisoners, especially in Drago, the relatives and friends already during the war brought flowers. Organized youth and skojevci maintained the cemeteries, which annoyed the Germans, since the well-kept graves stimulated hatred and resistance against them. Therefore, the shooting ceased and the burial of the prisoners stopped at the site of the shooting. From June 1942 onwards, the bodies of the prisoners were transported back to Begunje by trucks. They were buried in the orchard garden among fruit trees, where no one had access, the garden was guarded. Here, the prisoners also shot secretly.

Memories along the way: Radovljiški zbornik, Radovljica: Občinska konferenca SDZL, 1990, pages 41-42, 46-59.

Monuments of our revolution, Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1961, page 109.

Guide along partisan trails, Ljubljana: Borec, 1978, page 236.

EŠD 9370

Survey of military cemeteries Radovljica: number of cemeteries = 1, total buried = 475 - CEMETERY OF SHOT PRISONERS IN THE ORCHARD GARDEN OF BEGUNJE, known = 469, unknown = 6

Museum of Begunje prisoners

List of prisoners/victims

Images 4/3 and 4/4 of the list of prisoners shot in the orchard garden of Begunje are from the book: PO POTI SPOMINOV, Radovljiški zbornik, March 1990

Note 1: On November 1st, 2024, the consequences of the earthquake in the year 2023 were removed and the cemetery was renovated.

Explanation: The gravestones shown in the collage were on the cemetery in the town park before the current Ravnikar arrangement. They were kept in the former mizarski workshop of the Psychiatric Hospital in Begunje and were found during the renovation works in 2025.

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