Padlým vojínům

The Fallen Soldiers Memorial (Pomník padlým vojínům) is a small village monument to the victims of World War I in Strachovice, a municipality in the České Budějovice district of South Bohemia, Czech Republic. It stands beside the road leading out of the village toward Bílá Hůrka and commemorates six local men who died between 1914 and 1918.

Where does the memorial stand?

The monument is located right at the turn-off toward Bílá Hůrka, on the edge of Strachovice's built-up area. This is a typical placement for such memorials in Czech villages — visible from the road and easily reached by residents and passers-by, rather than set in a central village square. The memorial is officially registered in the Czech Ministry of Defence's central register of war graves under the number CZE-3102-37048.

What does the inscription say?

The main inscription reads: "NA PAMĚŤ PADLÝM VOJÍNŮM VE SVĚTOVÉ VÁLCE 1914–1918" — "In memory of the soldiers who fell in the World War, 1914–1918." Below it, six names are listed together with each man's years of birth and death. Beneath the names is a fragment of a memorial verse that speaks of prayer, tears and words of gratitude offered to the fallen; the final two lines of that verse are no longer legible and, according to records of the site, appear to have been removed from the pedestal. Lower on the monument the year 1923 is still preserved, most likely marking when the memorial was erected or dedicated.

Who are the men named on the memorial?

Six men from Strachovice are listed, killed in different years of the war:

• Jakub Dušek (born 1898, died 1916) — killed at age 18
• Josef Holub (born 1892, died 1917) — killed at age 25
• Jan Holub (born 1889, died 1918) — killed at age 29
• Matěj Dušek (born 1886, died 1914) — killed at age 28, in the war's first year
• Jan Žemlička (born 1886, died 1915) — killed at age 29
• Antonín Dvořák (born 1865, died 1916) — killed at age 51, the oldest of the six

The age range of the fallen — from eighteen-year-old Jakub Dušek to fifty-one-year-old Antonín Dvořák — shows how deeply the war reached into a small village, claiming both the youngest men fit for service and older, established householders alike.

Why is it worth a stop?

The Strachovice memorial is not a monumental structure or a well-known tourist attraction — it is one of many modest, local memorials found across Czech villages, yet each carries its own documented history. Stopping here means reading the names and dates of six specific people whose deaths marked this small community more than a century ago. The site holds value chiefly for visitors interested in local history and traces of World War I in the Czech countryside, rather than for those seeking a spectacular landmark.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the memorial in Strachovice dedicated to? Six residents of the village who died during World War I between 1914 and 1918: Jakub Dušek, Josef Holub, Jan Holub, Matěj Dušek, Jan Žemlička and Antonín Dvořák.

Where exactly does the memorial stand? Beside the road on the edge of Strachovice, at the turn-off toward the village of Bílá Hůrka.

When was the memorial built? The year 1923 is preserved on the pedestal, most likely marking the year it was erected or dedicated.

Is the memorial officially registered anywhere? Yes — it is listed in the Czech Ministry of Defence's central register of war graves under the number CZE-3102-37048.

Has the entire inscription survived intact? No — the last two lines of the memorial verse beneath the list of names are no longer legible and appear to have been removed from the pedestal.