Military cemetery in Náchod

The Military Cemetery in Náchod is a small yet historically dense burial site located just 900 meters west of Náchod Castle, along Kateřiny Zaháňské Alley. Covering only 577 square meters, it is nonetheless protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

How did this cemetery come to exist?

The cemetery was established in 1867 on the western edge of the castle park, on the site of an older burial ground containing the remains of soldiers who had died during the Seven Years' War in 1762. It was founded by the family of the then-owner of Náchod Castle, Prince Wilhelm of Schaumburg-Lippe (1834–1906). The family chose to give the site the form of a romantic church ruin, using stone salvaged from the demolished castle granary. The cemetery was solemnly consecrated on June 26, 1870.

Why was it built specifically here?

The answer lies in the events of 1866. During the Austro-Prussian War, Prussian forces occupied Náchod, and a military hospital for wounded soldiers from both sides of the conflict was set up in the castle. Patients who died there were buried in the newly established cemetery. Among them were 20 officers, whose names are still recorded on monuments and plaques set into the cemetery wall, along with roughly 200 rank-and-file soldiers resting in mass graves marked with cast-iron crosses.

What happened here during World War II?

The site's history did not end in the 19th century. About 100 meters in front of the main military cemetery lie graves from a very different period — German soldiers who died in Náchod's hospitals and during the Battle of Bělovse on May 9, 1945, as well as German victims from the Náchod brewery who died on May 10, 1945. The cemetery thus bears witness to two armed conflicts separated by nearly eighty years, both of which left their mark on the same patch of ground.

What can visitors see today?

The cemetery's distinctive design — a "romantic church ruin" — sets it apart from typical military burial grounds. Rather than a stark, regimented layout, visitors encounter picturesque, partially ruined walls evoking a former sacred building. Surviving monuments and plaques bearing officers' names offer a tangible link to the events of the 1866 war, while the mass graves of ordinary soldiers serve as a reminder of the scale of losses among the rank and file.

Frequently asked questions

When was the military cemetery in Náchod established? The cemetery was founded in 1867, with its formal consecration taking place on June 26, 1870.

Who is buried at this cemetery? Mainly soldiers who died in the military hospital set up at Náchod Castle during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 — 20 officers and roughly 200 rank-and-file soldiers. Nearby graves also hold German victims from May 1945.

What is the cemetery's architectural style? It was designed as a romantic church ruin, built using stone salvaged from the demolished castle granary.

Where exactly is the cemetery located? About 900 meters west of Náchod Castle, along Kateřiny Zaháňské Alley, on the western edge of the castle park.