Military Cemetery Bodružal

The war burial ground is located on an existing municipality cemetery in the immediate proximity of a wooden articular church which is listed in the National cultural monuments registry and also the UNESCO registry. The burial ground consists of 39 mass graves holding 400 bodies of soldiers of the first World War. The terrain of the cemetery is steep. The burial ground is bordered by the cemetery and is situated on the highest spot. The soil on the burial spot is settled. The burial ground is accessible through two entrances. As there is no system of communication between the graves, they are relatively inaccessible to an “Architectural solution”. The proximity of the wooden church has strongly influenced the overall image of the proposed solution. The cross and the benches are made of wood, or to be more precise, wooden boards stacked on each other. A connection between the church, nature and the burial ground is formed. The original terrain of the burial ground is levelled and mildly elevated which, with its square regularity and size, creates a dominant plane counting 39 evenly placed gravestones in addition to the cross and the benches. These form concrete cubicles with carved wooden age-bands representing “a cut down forest”. The area is green and therefore does not compete with the environment due to its surface and substance but rather enhances it. The original wooden cross – statue – negation of the cross is symbolically placed on the edge of the memorial and is formed by a system of 39 openings. These “lost” pieces of the whole are then placed on the green part of the memorial (gravestones). A big hole where the two pieces of the cross intersect dominates the cross and symbolizes the connection between the world of the death and the living. The bench is also an important part of the composition. It is double sided and placed in a way which provides a view of the scenery and the church below the burial ground. It also serves as the carrier of the text.