French Cemetery (Koblenz)

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The French cemetery in Koblenz-Lützel
The entrance gate with the Marceau monument behind it
View over the French cemetery after the renovation in 2013; the memorial stele on the left edge of the picture
Gravestones in the French cemetery

The Franzosenfriedhof is a military cemetery in Koblenz from the time of the Franco-German War of 1870/71 for French prisoners of war who died . It is located at the foot of the Petersberg in the Lützel district in the immediate vicinity of the historic Kaiser Franz fortress . The central element of the cemetery is the Marceau memorial , which was moved here in 1818 . Part of the facility was owned by Prussia , the legal successor is the state of Rhineland-Palatinate , another part is still owned by theFrench state , which in the past has led to unclear jurisdictions.

history

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Kaiser Franz and Bubenheimer Flesche festivals were established on the Petersberg as part of the Prussian fortress of Koblenz . For this purpose, the Marceau monument erected there in 1797 , tomb for the French conqueror of the city of Koblenz from 1794 François Séverin Marceau , had to be moved to the foot of the Petersberg in 1818 .

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, the POW camp II for French soldiers was set up on the Petersberg. The soldiers from the Koblenz area who died in an epidemic were buried in the area around the Marceau monument. In the period that followed, the French cemetery was established, where a total of 312 French prisoners were buried.

The neglected cemetery was prepared in 2008 by the Rotary Club Koblenz. After that, however, the plant overran again. The last extensive renovation of the site was carried out in 2013. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty, German and French soldiers renewed the French cemetery. The gate, the edging of the property and the tombstones were cleaned, the overgrown vegetation was cut back and the historical route was restored.

construction

The area of ​​the French cemetery is surrounded by wrought iron elements. The wrought-iron wing doors of the entrance gate each hang on tower-like wall elements made of basalt lava . The national emblem of France with the initials RF (= République Française), framed by a laurel wreath and lilies , is affixed to each double door . The central element of the cemetery is the Marceau monument , a truncated pyramid made of Mendiger basalt lava.

A plaque in French and German is attached to a stele at the north end of the cemetery. It reads here:

“ In memory of General Marceau, who died in 1796, and of 312 French soldiers, buried here in 1871
François Marceau was born in Chartres on March 1, 1769 .
When King Louis XVI. Deposed (August 10, 1792) and captured, the coalition forces of Austria and Prussia invade France.
Marceau, already a general at the age of 24, played a decisive role in the victory of Fleurus , the starting point for a progressive conquest of the left bank of the Rhine .
Marceau dies on September 21, 1796 after being wounded near Altenkirchen . He was buried in the Fort of Petersberg, under a pyramid, which was built in 1797 according to the plans of the architect Krahe (to whom we also owe the theater of Koblenz ) and which was subsequently moved here. In 1820, the remains of Marceau were transferred to the Pantheon in Paris .
Imprisoned in various camps in the Koblenz area, several hundred French soldiers died of epidemics in 1871. The remains of 312 soldiers were buried here.
May no war tear Europe apart again! "

Monument protection

The Franzosenfriedhof is a protected cultural monument according to the Monument Protection Act (DSchG) and entered in the list of monuments of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate . It is located in Koblenz-Lützel on Am Franzosenfriedhof street .

The French cemetery has been part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002 .

See also

literature

  • Max Bär : From the history of the city of Koblenz. 1814/1914 , Krabbensche Buchdruckerei, Koblenz, 1922.
  • Energieversorgung Mittelrhein GmbH (ed.): History of the city of Koblenz . Overall editing: Ingrid Bátori in conjunction with Dieter Kerber and Hans Josef Schmidt
    • Vol. 1: From the beginning to the end of the electoral era . Theiss, Stuttgart 1992. ISBN 3-8062-0876-X
    • Vol. 2: From the French city to the present . Theiss, Stuttgart 1993. ISBN 3-8062-1036-5
  • Helmut Kampmann: When stones speak. Memorial plaques and memorial plaques in Koblenz. Fuck-Verlag, Koblenz 1992, ISBN 3-9803142-0-0
  • Ulrike Weber (edit.): Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate. Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany. Volume 3.3: City of Koblenz. Districts. Werner, Worms 2013, ISBN 978-3-88462-345-9 .

Web links

Commons : Franzosenfriedhof in Koblenz  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Creation of the Franzosenfriedhofs - project with the partner club Arras ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rotary1810.de
  2. ↑ German and French soldiers renew the military cemetery in: streitkraeftebasis.de
  3. ↑ General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Informational directory of cultural monuments - district-free city of Koblenz (PDF; 1.5 MB), Koblenz 2013

Coordinates: 50 ° 22 ′ 26 "  N , 7 ° 35 ′ 31"  E