Memorial for Soviet POWs at the Villach Central Cemetery

In Villach was located in the area of Magdalenerstraße/Reitschulgasse an Arbeitskommandolager for Soviet prisoners of war. Their living conditions in camps within the „Deutschen Reich“ were so bad that in comparison with people of other origins, disproportionately many Soviet citizens died. The corpses of six fallen and 37 Soviet prisoners of war, as well as further Soviet citizens, including possibly forced laborers, a total of 114 people, were buried at the Villacher Zentralfriedhof or relocated there after the war ended. A monument in the form of an obelisk made of dark stone with a golden Soviet star and an inscription, initiated by the Soviet occupation authorities, commemorates them.
When entering the cemetery via the entrance of St. Magdalener Straße at the corner of Friedensstraße, one must turn left at the „Kreisverkehr“ at the large cross and then proceed to the end of the cemetery to reach the monument; it is located at the eastern edge of the cemetery.