World War One Sites - The NETWORLD Database

Memorial site of the former refugee camp Bruck an der Leitha, Lower Austria, Austria

In 1916 Austria-Hungary commissioned construction of a refugee camp in Bruck an der Leitha. A total of around 5,000 Slovenian refugees were housed there who were forced to flee from the fighting on the Isonzo front or that had to be evacuated from the region.

Austria, Niederösterreich

Type of WWI-heritage

  • War monument
  • Non-Military Site of World War One Relevance

Dimensions

No information available.

State of repair/preservation

The memorial is in good condition.

Historical WWI Context

Millions of people were forced to leave their homeland upon the outbreak of World War I in 1914. They fled from the fighting or were forcefully evacuated and accommodated elsewhere in the hinterland. After the responsible authorities in Vienna took the decision to construct a refugee camp in Bruck an der Leitha, planning work was initiated for the "settlement" that had been designed on the drawing board. The camp initially accommodated refugees from Galicia. From 1915 onwards the Austro-Hungarian authorities then housed Slovenian refugees here. These stayed in the Bruck an der Leitha camp until the end of the war in 1918. The town with 6,000 residents at that time thus became a place of refuge for around 5,000 Slovenians.The barracks of the refugee camp are still to be seen in the town – 500 buildings still stand and serve as accommodation.
Today a memorial located on the Alten Hainburger Weg in Bruck an der Leitha commemorates the approximately 500 Slovenians who died in the camp.

State of legal protection

The memorial is not heritage-protected.

Owner

No information available.

Kind of cultural use of WWI

No cultural touristic use.

Opening

Entrance Fee

The memorial on the Alten Hainburger Weg in Bruck an der Leitha is accessible for free.

Information regarding cities, villages, other touristic attractions (non-WWI) nearby

Further information:

City of Bruck an der Leitha: www.bruckleitha.at
Region Römerland-Carnuntum: www.roemerland-carnuntum.at
Römerstadt Carnuntum: www.carnuntum.at
City of Eisenstadt: www.eisenstadt-tourismus.at
City of Bratislava: www.visitbratislava.com
City of Vienna: www.wien.info

Public Transport

Further information:

ÖBB: www.oebb.at
Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region (VOR): www.vor.at

Further information sources

Publication:

Friedrich Petznek, Das kaiserlich-königliche Flüchtlingslager in Bruck an der Leitha 1914–1918, Bruck an der Leitha (1995).

Museums Private Collections

Further information: Kultur- und Museumsverein Bruck an der Leitha, Kontakt: Obmann Kurt Helmreich, E-Mail: foto.helmreich@kabsi.at

Location

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