The first stage of exhumation of ancient graves was completed at the Lychakiv military cemetery (above the burial place of the newest defenders of Ukraine). Specialists of the “Fate” Memorial and Search Center have been working here since March, for four months. In total, the remains of 653 people were found.
Of them, 26 are from the First World War period, some from the Second World War, and most from the post-war period. The remains will be reburied. And the searchers will soon proceed to the study and exhumation of burials on the central avenue of the cemetery. This was announced today, August 10, during the briefing.
We will remind you that there was a cemetery from the time of the First World War on the territory where the exhumation is being carried out. Servicemen of various armies that took part in the hostilities of that time on our territory were buried here (the armies of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the German Kaiser’s army, the Turkish army, the Russian imperial army). In addition, the Soviet authorities conducted their own, “additional” burial when they came to Lviv.
According to Svyatoslav Sheremety, head of the “Fate” Memorial and Search Center, the burials were in rows and were at different depths – from 40 cm to 2 or more meters from the surface level. As it turned out, most of them are from the post-war period. The surnames of several people who were buried here could be established by the found tombstones or tables and entries in the cemetery book. It is interesting that among those found are the remains of two German soldiers from the Second World War.
“We found a very interesting artifact – a German identification token from the Second World War. Two of the people buried here were Wehrmacht soldiers. How it happened is a big mystery to us.
Other finds include coins, remnants of clothing, and Christian symbols. Identification tokens of soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire army were also found. Surnames, unfortunately, have not been preserved. Found items will be handed over to the museum. First of all – in the historical one. But if other museums would like to have such exhibits, they can apply.
They also found the remains of two crosses from the graves of the First World War. Several tombstones from the time of the Second World War were also found in the ground. According to archival photographs, such gravestones were found throughout this area. Therefore, it is interesting to find out where the main part of such tombstones went after the memorial was created here in the 70s”, – noted Svyatoslav Sheremeta.
All found burials of the First World War will be moved nearby, to fields No. 84 and No. 85, where the Memorial Complex will be built in the future.
Instead, the remains from Soviet times are kept in a special depository. They plan to move them to another cemetery.
“The Lychakiv military cemetery is included in the list of historical monuments. Monuments are, in fact, remains. And in order to move them to another cemetery, there must be approval from the Ministry of Culture. After that, it will be possible to carry out a reburial,” Liliya Onishchenko, advisor to the mayor of Lviv on matters of cultural heritage preservation, said.
In addition, exhumation work at the Lychakiv military cemetery is carried out on the basis of all necessary permits and approvals from local self-government bodies and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.
We will remind you that the city plans to announce an international architectural competition for the construction of the Memorial Complex on this territory.