Russian Chapel Vršič

The Russian Chapel at Vršič ( _sl. Ruska kapela na Vršiču) is a Russian Orthodox chapel located on the high Vršič pass in northwestern Slovenia. It was built by Russian prisoners of war during WWI.

History

In 1915, the town of Kranjska Gora was suddenly rendered strategically important by its proximity to the Isonzo Front. In order to ease access to the front, the Austro-Hungarian authorities ordered the construction of a military road across Vršič, a 1611 m pass between the Sava and Soča river valleys, to be built by Russian POWs. [ [http://www.bled.si/filelib/kranjska_gora.pdf Tourist Destinations in Kranjska Gora] ]

To ensure an uninterrupted supply of materiel to the front lines, the Vršic road was to be kept traversable year-round, and the POWs were made to clear the road of heavy snowfall. On 12 March 1916, an avalanche of snow buried a POW work camp, killing approximately 300 prisoners and about 10 guards. Exact casualty figures were never determined, either for the victims of the avalanche of for those of the brutal overwork and appaling conditions.

The Russian camp was located roughly halfway up the slope of Vršic. Between 1916 - 1917, the remaining prisoners built a small wooden memorial chapel. The buiding is of typical Russian design, with two small towers on either side of the chapel, and is surrounded by prisoners' graves.

Today the chapel serves as a reminder of the futility of war and as a symbolic link between Slovenia and Russia.

References