History of the structure

In 1945 the bodies of the Silesian insurgents were exhumed from an unnamed grave from 1921, which was located in the cemetery in Krapkowice. A new mass grave located to the left of the entrance gate to the municipal cemetery in Staszica St. in Krapkowice was formed. The remains of 14 Silesian insurgents who died during the German offensive on St. Anne’s Hill in May 1921 are buried in this mass grave. In 1945, a monument was erected to the insurgents made of grey stone. The inscription on the base of the monument reads: HERE / REST THE ASHES OF 14 SILESIAN INSURGENTS / FROM THE YEAR 1921. Below, on a rectangular plaque, there was an inscription: PEOPLE OF SILESIA, LOOK / / THESE ARE YOUR SONS / THOSE WHO FOUGHT FOR FREEDOM / OF THIS BEAUTIFUL SILESIAN LAND/ AND WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR BLOOD IN OFFERING / FOR POLAND, WHICH THEY LOVED DEARLY / KRAPKOWICE 1921 - 1945 / HONOUR TO THE HEROES / THE INSURGENTS!

In 1987 the grave was entered in the register of historic monuments of the Opolskie Voivodeship. In 2005 the tomb was renovated. At that time, the inscription on the inscription plaque was also changed.

Description of the structure

The grave of the Silesian insurgents is located in the municipal cemetery in Staszica St. in Krapkowice, to the left of the cemetery entrance gate. A framed grave with a lower step in the middle. In 2005 a gravestone made of grey granite was placed on the grave. It consists of three parts: two rectangular slabs ended on the sides with pillars with semi-circular endings and the highest part - the middle rectangular pedestal topped with a semicircle. On the pedestal is a metal eagle from the interwar period. On the middle slab of the tombstone there is a black plaque with the inscription: PEOPLE OF SILESIA, HERE LIE / YOUR SONS, WHO / GAVE THEIR LIVES IN SACRIFICE / FOR THE FREEDOM OF THIS LAND / ESPECIALLY BELOVED HOMELAND / HERE REST THE ASHES / OF 14 SILESIAN INSURGENTS / KRAPKOWICE / 1921 - 1945 - 2005. The tombstone is decorated with metal decorations: a cross lying on the central tombstone, in front of which there is a candlestick.

Visitor access: the site is accessible to visitors

Author: Joanna Banik, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Opole, 1.07.2019

Bibliography

• Encyklopedia Powstań Śląskich, Opole 1982, p. 109 and 429-430;
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, ed. T. Chrzanowski, M. Kornecki, Vol. VII, woj. opolskie, z.14. powiat strzelecki.
• Kossak Z., Nieznany kraj, Katowice 1958.
• Pszczyński K., Muzeum Czynu Powstańczego w Leśnicy i Pomnik Czynu Powstańczego na Górze Św. Anny, Opole 1971.
• Teczka obiektu (Object file, record sheet of the National Memorial Monument, decision on the entry into the register, correspondence, etc.) [in:] resources of the Voivodeship Heritage Protection Office in Opole
• Wyglenda J., Plebiscyt i powstania śląskie, Opole 1966.