monument Kreuzstadl

On the southern outskirts of Rechnitz, there is the memorial site Kreuzstadl, consisting of the historical building Kreuzstadl and the associated information area built in 2012. The memorial commemorates all the victims of the Southeast Wall construction during the final phase of World War II.

The Kreuzstadl, so named for its cross-shaped floor plan, was at that time part of the Batthyány agricultural estate, and today it remains only as a ruin. In the open field near the building, about 180 Hungarian Jewish forced laborers were murdered and buried on the night of March 24 to 25, 1945. The mass grave is still being searched for today, in order to burial the victims with due respect and according to Jewish ceremony.

Since 1991, the Rechnitz Refugee and Memorial Initiative (RE.F.U.G.I.U.S.) has been working to ensure that the Kreuzstadl in Rechnitz remains a memorial. Through a private donation initiative, it was possible in 1993 to acquire the ruin of the Kreuzstadl and hand it over to the Federal Association of Israelite Religious Communities. In the meantime, the site has become an impressive symbol of remembrance, where memorial ceremonies take place annually around March 24.