German Soldier Cemetery, Rovaniemi, Finland

The cemetery was founded in 1963 for the German Wehrmacht soldiers died in Lapland front during the World War II. It was built by the German organization Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge and consists over 2350 graves. There’s also a small and bare mausoleum made of rock.

Address

Lentosatamantie 69, Rovaniemi, Finland

See all sites in Rovaniemi

Details

Founded: 1963
Category: Cemeteries, mausoleums and burial places in Finland
Historical period: Independency (Finland)

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Arktikum (13,7 km)

User Reviews

J Coker (2 years ago)
I visited this place in the dead of winter, on my own. I am a rational person, but it was very unnerving - I had to force myself to walk about - the only place I have felt scared for no reason. A very sad place indeed, young men buried far from home.

Odd Molly (2 years ago)
Syrjemmässä sijaitseva todella hieno hautuumaa,ei paljon linnut laulellu ja satoi kun kävelimme hiljokseen kohteeseen,veti kyllä hiljaiseksi tämä käyminen täällä,tunnelma oli sanaton ja surullinen. Hyvät opasteet ja kävelypolut perille asti. Hattu pois päästä ja rispektit.

Michael Kainrath (2 years ago)
Beeindruckende Gedenkstätte für überwiegend junge Menschen, welche hier im Krieg ihre Zukunft verloren haben. Man verlässt diesen Ort sehr nachdenklich und mit der Hoffnung, daß sich die Vergangenheit nicht wiederholen möge.

tomi sorvari (2 years ago)
Käytiin isän ja velin kanssa ja kaikki tykkäsi käydä

Vesa W (2 years ago)
Hieman syrjässä sijaiseva hautausmaa. Rauhallinen ja hiljainen paikka. Täällä lepäävät tahtoivat kotiin mutta he jäivät tänne. Kaukana kodista. Levätkää rauhassa meidän kylmässä maassa.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

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Derbent Fortress

Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.

Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.

A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.

The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

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In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.

In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.

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German Soldier Cemetery