Soviet Soldiers' War Cemetery in Chojna

The war cemetery of Soviet soldiers in Chojna was created in 1950-1954 as a common necropolis for soldiers who fell and were buried in the Chojna and Kostrzyn lands and in the strip along the Oder.

The creation of the cemetery

Plans for a common cemetery appeared in 1946. Chojna was chosen because Chojna County held the largest number of scattered soldiers' graves. The technical design of 1950 was prepared by the engineer Irena Kozłowska of Szczecin. The cemetery was laid out in a corner of the pre-war Protestant cemetery, by the ruined St Gertrude's Chapel of 1684. In 1953 the heritage conservator ordered the demolition of the chapel to be halted in order to save the medieval polychromes, so it was preserved as a secured ruin. The work was completed in autumn 1954, and in 1962 the cemetery was separated from the Protestant part.

Those buried and commemoration

The cemetery covers 9800 m². In three sections there are 58 graves marked with stone plaques topped with a red star. 3985 soldiers are buried here, of whom only 972 are known by name. Their names are carved on 22 plaques of black marble set by the chapel. The cemetery was rebuilt in 1969 to a design by W. Andrzejewski, and in 1971 a monument designed by Czesław Wronka was erected. The last burial took place in 2006: the remains of 91 soldiers exhumed in West Pomerania were laid to rest then.

An inscription at the entrance states that soldiers of various nationalities of the former Soviet Union who died during the Second World War in the Chojna and Kostrzyn lands rest here.

Practical information

• Location: Chojna, near the Świecka Gate.
• The cemetery is a burial place, and solemn behaviour is required there.