War Memorial Mainz Hauptfriedhof

In 1909 the small court of honour was created with monuments erected on three sides of the court, commemorating German, French and Austrian soldiers. At the front is the monument to the 200 German soldiers from Mainz who died in the war of 1870/1871 (34 soldiers as a result of their injuries and 186 from illnesses). The smaller French monument made of sandstone stands above the mass grave of about 700 French soldiers. The inscription in French and Latin reads: "Built by their compatriots to commemorate the French soldiers who died in Mainz in 1870. And now they are striving for the better fatherland."

The soldiers were Prisoners of War who received treatment at the Rochus Hospital and the garrison hospital (now the site of the University hospital). Of the 5 820 French POWs cared for, 981 died, roughly half from typhus and half from wounds received in the war.

The monument erected opposite on the south side commemorates the Austrian soldiers who fell in the war against France in 1814 and in the war against Prussia in 1866.

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Source

• Text: Andy Pegler
• Photos: Andy Pegler