Monument to the Fallen Athletes of the First World War in Szczecin

The Monument to the Fallen Athletes of the First World War stands in the Wkrzańska Forest, on Podbórzańska Street in Szczecin (Warszewo). It commemorates members of a German gymnastics society who were killed on the fronts of the First World War.

Whom it commemorates

The monument was created in the 1920s, on the initiative of the association Turn- und Sportverein Stettin Bredow v. 1861 e.V. (the Gymnastics and Sports Society Szczecin Drzetowo, active since 1861). The names of seven fallen members are carved on the monument, together with a German dedication in honour of those who fell in 1914 to 1918.

The form of the monument

The monument consists of two halves of a split boulder, set side by side like an open book, with an inscription on its pages. Above the text are an image of an Iron Cross and the Turnerkreuz sign, that is, four letters F arranged in a cross, the symbol of the motto of the German gymnastics societies of the Deutsche Turnerschaft.

After 1945

For many years after the Second World War the monument was unknown, because the boulders had been toppled so that the inscriptions were out of sight, and the whole resembled a natural boulder field. Work to restore its original appearance began in 2007, and in August 2024 a thorough repair of the monument's base was carried out.

Practical information

• Location: Wkrzańska Forest, Podbórzańska Street, Szczecin-Warszewo.
• The monument stands in the forest, so check the route before setting out on the ground.