Did you notice the simple roadside memorial? This is the Unfallkreuz. Unfallkreuz is German for accident cross. It marks a spot of sudden death. Unfallkreuz memorials are common around the world. This Unfallkreuz commemorates a historical event.
This Unfallkreuz is a type called Fünfwundenkreuz. Fünfwundenkreuz means five wounds cross. This Unfallkreuz recalls a special historical event in Stühlinger. Another Fünfwundenkreuz in Herdern asks for God’s protection. The crosses share a similar design.
Let me tell you about this Unfallkreuz in Stühlinger. The wooden cross is darkly lacquered. It features five metal plaques. These plaques represent Christ’s wounds. The artist who made it is unknown. The head’s image resembles the Veil of Veronica. Three plaques show hands and feet nailed to the cross. Another plaque at the center displays the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A plaque with an inscription hangs at the bottom above a skull and bones. The background is a green diamond pattern. Arabesques are in Schlag gold. The cross is sheltered.
This Unfallkreuz dates back to 1816. There is evidence of burials around 1680. The inscription on the lower tablet clearly refers to 1813 to 1814.
It reads: “Around this cross rest thousands of sons of the German fatherland who fell ill and died as soldiers on the way through Freiburg in the war years 1813-1814. Remember these poor souls in a devout Our Father. O Lord give them eternal rest.”
During the wars against Napoleon, Freiburg became a transit point. It was a collection point for allied troops. These troops included Austrians, Bavarians, Württembergers and Russians. Over 500000 soldiers needed supplies. Poor sanitation caused outbreaks of dysentery and typhus among soldiers. To stop the spread, mass graves were made. They were near today’s Metzgergrün and Eschholz. The Adelhausen Monastery likely erected this cross in 1816. It honored the victims.
As the area west of the Offenburg to Basel railway expanded, the memorial was moved. People saw the Unfallkreuz as a disturbance. They considered moving it to the Herz-Jesu-Kirche’s western choir wall. In 1907, some deemed the cross worthless. In 1908, they moved it slightly. In 1920, entrepreneur Heinrich Brenzinger paid for its restoration. In 1925, Brenzinger added a concrete base. Later, the local Freiburg-Stühlinger club maintained the cross. In the 1950s, they moved it to its current spot. It is near the former district nursing home’s entrance on Eschholzstraße’s west side.
As you stand before this Unfallkreuz consider the lives lost. Think of the soldiers. Remember their suffering. Reflect on the history. The Unfallkreuz serves as a reminder of the past. It calls for remembrance. It asks for peace.