Cmentarz wojenny nr 51 - Rotunda
Facts and practical information
War cemetery no. 51 - Rotunda - Austrian cemetery from World War I, now completely reconstructed, located on the top of Rotunda mountain in Low Beskid near Regietów.
The cemetery was designed by Dušan Jurkovič. Forty-two Austro-Hungarian and twelve Russian soldiers killed in February and March 1915 are buried here.
The object on a circular plan is surrounded by a stone wall. Originally there were 5 high wooden towers - crosses in Lemko style on the cemetery - the central one was 16 meters high and 4 side ones, 12 meters high. In May 1979 all towers were still planked. In 1980 the cemetery was entered into the register of monuments, however, no restoration works were started. At that time fragments of three out of five wooden towers were still preserved.
In 1995, on the 80th anniversary of the Gorlice Operation, the cemetery was cleaned and secured with the help of the Austrian Black Cross. On the initiative of the SKPB in Warsaw, the Social Committee for Rebuilding the War Cemetery in Rotunda was established. In 2004, thanks to financial help of Austrian Red Cross, 24 new crosses and plaques were made. In 2008, one of the towers was reconstructed, and the following year, the second tower was reconstructed. In 2013 the foundations for another smaller tower were laid and in the fall of 2014 it was completed. In 2016, the final two reconstructed towers were built.
The stone inscription plaque features a carved Maltese cross and a four-line poem in German by Hans Hauptmann. In translation it reads:
Lesser Poland
Cmentarz wojenny nr 51 - Rotunda – popular in the area (distance from the attraction)
Nearby attractions include: St. Paraskevi Church, Cerkiew Opieki Matki Bożej, Cmentarz wojenny nr 62 - Banica, 1.st World War Military cemetery.