Widerstandsgruppe Kirchl-Trauttmansdorff

Widerstandsgruppe Kirchl-Trauttmansdorff is commemorated by a steel hemisphere sculpture with inscriptions created by artist Hans Kupelwieser in 1988. The artwork stands in Hammerpark and serves as a physical reminder of this local resistance movement.

The group formed in the 1940s and brought together around 400 members from different walks of life to oppose Nazi rule. Many members were persecuted and executed for planning a nonviolent handover of the city to Soviet forces in 1945.

Street names throughout the city honor executed resistance members, keeping their memory alive in everyday urban life. This form of remembrance weaves their stories into the fabric of how locals navigate and understand their surroundings.

The memorial is freely accessible in Hammerpark for visitors interested in learning about local resistance history. The inscriptions on the sculpture help visitors understand the names and significance of those who resisted.

The group brought together unlikely allies: police officers, workers, farmers, and estate owners collaborated under constant threat of death. This cross-section of society reveals how widespread the desire to resist actually was.