Russian Chapel Vršic
Encyclopedia
The Russian Chapel at the Vršič Pass is a Russian Orthodox memorial chapel located on the Vršič
Pass road in northwestern Slovenia
. It was built by Russian
prisoners of war engaged in forced labor in the area during World War I
.
suddenly became strategically important due to its proximity to the Isonzo Front
. To facilitate access from the town to the front, the Austro-Hungarian authorities ordered the construction of a military road across Vršič
, a 1,611 m pass between the Sava and Soča
valleys, to be built by Russian POWs.
The road was begun in May 1915, and was completed by the end of the year. To ensure an uninterrupted supply of materiel
to the front lines, the pass was to be kept traversable year-round, and the POWs were made to clear the road of heavy snowfall. On 8 or 12 March 1916 (sources vary), an avalanche buried a POW work camp, killing approximately 300 prisoners and about 10 guards. Exact casualty figures were never determined, either for the victims of the avalanche of for those of the brutal overwork and appalling conditions.
The Russian camp was located roughly halfway up the slope of Vršic. Between 1916 and 1917, the remaining prisoners built a small wooden memorial chapel. The building is of typical Russian design, with two small towers on either side of the nave, and is surrounded by prisoners' graves and a pyramid-shaped memorial marker to the immediate right of the chapel.
The site was renovated in 2005, at a cost of €90,000, and serves as both a war memorial and a symbolic link between Slovenia and Russia. The pass road was renamed Ruska cesta ('Russian Road') in July 2006.
Vršic
Vršič is a high mountain pass across the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia.The road across the pass was built for military purposes, to supply the Isonzo front of World War I. Opened in late 1915, it was originally named after archduke Eugen of Austria-Hungary...
Pass road in northwestern Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. It was built by Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
prisoners of war engaged in forced labor in the area during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
History
In early 1915, the small town of Kranjska GoraKranjska Gora
Kranjska Gora is a town and a municipality on the Sava Dolinka River in the Upper Carniola region of northwest Slovenia, close to the Austrian and Italian borders.Kranjska Gora is best known as a winter sports town, being situated in the Julian Alps...
suddenly became strategically important due to its proximity to the Isonzo Front
Battles of the Isonzo
The Battles of the Isonzo were a series of 12 battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I. They were fought along the Soča River on the eastern sector of the Italian Front between June 1915 and November 1917...
. To facilitate access from the town to the front, the Austro-Hungarian authorities ordered the construction of a military road across Vršič
Vršic
Vršič is a high mountain pass across the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia.The road across the pass was built for military purposes, to supply the Isonzo front of World War I. Opened in late 1915, it was originally named after archduke Eugen of Austria-Hungary...
, a 1,611 m pass between the Sava and Soča
Soca
The Soča or Isonzo is a 140 km long river that flows through western Slovenia and northeastern Italy. An Alpine river in character, its source lies in the Trenta Valley in the Julian Alps in Slovenia, at an elevation of around 1,100 metres...
valleys, to be built by Russian POWs.
The road was begun in May 1915, and was completed by the end of the year. To ensure an uninterrupted supply of materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
to the front lines, the pass was to be kept traversable year-round, and the POWs were made to clear the road of heavy snowfall. On 8 or 12 March 1916 (sources vary), an avalanche buried a POW work camp, killing approximately 300 prisoners and about 10 guards. Exact casualty figures were never determined, either for the victims of the avalanche of for those of the brutal overwork and appalling conditions.
The Russian camp was located roughly halfway up the slope of Vršic. Between 1916 and 1917, the remaining prisoners built a small wooden memorial chapel. The building is of typical Russian design, with two small towers on either side of the nave, and is surrounded by prisoners' graves and a pyramid-shaped memorial marker to the immediate right of the chapel.
The site was renovated in 2005, at a cost of €90,000, and serves as both a war memorial and a symbolic link between Slovenia and Russia. The pass road was renamed Ruska cesta ('Russian Road') in July 2006.