Cemetery in Josefov, Military cemetery in Josefov, Czech Republic.
The Military Cemetery in Josefov covers 21,366 m² in Rasošky, about 2 km southwest of the fortress. It holds over 2,013 recorded soldiers, officers and civilians, including 1,148 French prisoners from the 1813 Battle of Leipzig. A 9-metre monument to Russian prisoners, made in 1916 by sculptor Nikolai A. Sushkin, stands on the grounds.
The cemetery was created during the fortress construction and became the burial site for thousands of Austro-Hungarian soldiers and war prisoners during World War I. A memorial sculpture completed in 1916 marks an important moment in how the site was formally commemorated.
The cemetery holds a 1916 nine-metre monument to Russian prisoners, carved by Nikolai Alexandrovich Sushkin and funded by the prisoners themselves, erected while Russia and Austria-Hungary were at war. A plaque to Italian prisoners was added in 2000, attended by troops from Novara, and a French prisoners' monument in 2004.
The cemetery lies about 2 km southwest of Josefov fortress, in the Rasošky cadastre south of Dolní Ples. It sits on the educational trail Česká Skalice–Svinišťany–Josefov 1866, so it can be reached on foot along that marked route. The site covers 21,366 m², with the World War I extension to the northeast.
This burial ground ranks among the earliest military cemeteries in the Czech Republic established far from town limits. The location outside populated areas reflected a practical choice for managing the large number of burials during wartime.
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