Pradl Military Cemetery

Pradl Military Cemetery

Anzengruberstraße, 6020 Innsbruck

General and Historic Information

The older part (burial grounds A to E) was created in 1831 as an imperial and royal military cemetery, after the old one near the military hospital next to the railway viaduct was abandoned in 1830. It was consecrated by Dean Georg Habtmann. The new cemetery, located in the Pradl fields, was only surrounded by an embankment at first; it wasn't until 1842 that it was walled in. On November 1st, 1844, the Chapel, which had been erected in the same year, was consecrated by abbot Alois Rögel of Wilten. On July 31st, 1850, after the burial grounds had been extended to the south, the cemetery was newly inaugurated. It served only as a military cemetery until 1915, and was also managed by the military until 1918.

During the new construction in 1913, numerous old gravestones were removed, though some were considered worthy of preservation. The latter were put under monumental protection in 1933, and refurbished by order of the Austrian federal monuments office of Bundesdenkmalamt. Over the following years, both the chapel and the enclosing wall of the cemetery were refurbished. On December 19th, 1943, 50 graves were damaged, some of them severely, during the air strike on Innsbruck.

As of 1977, both the cemetery and the chapel were refurbished. In 1983, the war graves from World War I were merged with burial grounds E and G.

The cemetery is still in use today, though only military personnel or staff of Burg- and Schlosshauptmannschaft can be buried there.

Occupant:
Burghauptmannschaft Österreich (Dep, 202 – Imperial Palace Innsbruck)

Burghauptmannschaft Österreich – Departments in charge:
Building Management Dep. 305 – Building Management Innsbruck
HVAC Dep. 305 – Building Management Innsbruck
Administration Dep. 201 – Administration and Dep. 202 – Imperial Palace Innsbruck