Military cemetery, Tutrakan, War cemetery and museum in Tutrakan, Bulgaria.
The Military Cemetery in Tutrakan is a memorial complex in the village of Shumentsi, 6 km south of Tutrakan, holding the bones of about 8,000 Bulgarian, Romanian, German and Turkish soldiers killed in the 1916 battle. An Orthodox church stands on the grounds, and a 1922 obelisk bears an inscription in four languages.
After the Second Balkan War in 1913, Southern Dobruja passed to Romania, which had French and Belgian engineers build the Tutrakan fortress: 15 forts, two defensive lines, 150 guns and a 39,000-man garrison. On 5–6 September 1916, Bulgarian, German and Turkish troops under General Panteley Kiselov took it in 33 hours. About 8,000 soldiers died, including 1,764 Bulgarians. The memorial was built immediately after the battle, and a four-language obelisk followed in 1922.
The memorial displays inscriptions in Bulgarian, Romanian, German, and Turkish, reflecting the international nature of the conflict. These languages represent the different nations whose soldiers rest here and are remembered together.
The memorial lies about 6 km south of Tutrakan, in the village of Shumentsi, and is one of Bulgaria's 100 national tourist sites. A park area with concrete plinths and two Krupp howitzers stands in front of the ossuary, and a tribune serves official ceremonies. Commemorations and a memorial service are held on the first Sunday of September.
The memorial stands 6 km south of Tutrakan, in the village of Shumentsi. In 2002 the National History Museum in Sofia transferred two Krupp howitzers, mounted on concrete pedestals in the park in front of the complex. An Alley of Glory has been inscribed with 1,600 names of soldiers who fell in Dobrudzha, with 600 more still to be added.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,349 contributors worldwide.