Already in 1914 and shortly following the start of the war, representatives of the Austro-Hungarian military authorities and civil departments discussed possible locations for POW camps. As a consequence, several large barrack camps for POWs were erected in Styria during World War I, such as at Feldbach, Lebring and Knittelfeld in Upper Styria.
The camp at Knittelfeld was erected on the property of the large landowner and industrial entrepreneur Otto Zeilinger at his own initiative. A barrack settlement was constructed on an area of approximately 450,000 square metres to the north-west of the original town centre. The number of prisoners, primarily from Tsarist Russia, approached 30,000 in 1915 and therefore significantly exceeded the number of residents in Knittelfeld. The camp itself consisted of 220 buildings – mainly barracks but also a swimming pool – and had its own water supply system.
After Italy entered the war in May 1915 a new front, the Southwestern Front, was created between Austria-Hungary and Italy, and the camp then also served as a military hospital for the Austro-Hungarian army from 1915 onwards.
After World War I the barracks were not demolished but initially used as “emergency apartments”, and these were gradually replaced by new buildings. As a consequence the area developed to become a new town district of Knittelfeld – the “Neustadt”.
Still existing today from the former Knittelfeld POW camp are the soldiers' cemetery, originally called the camp cemetery, the pump house and the officers' villa. The pump house is a timber construction with a tower-like addition for supplying the camp with water. The officers' villa with an L-shaped ground plan consists of a brickwork lower level and upper levels of wooden constructions.