The Mausoleum of Mărăşeşti

Mărăşeşti is a small town in Vrancea County, Romania, situated 20 km north of Focşani. The Battle of Mărăşeşti, (August 6 to September 8, 1917) was a battle fought during World War I between Germany and Romania. The German army, trying to cross the Romanian-Russian front and to occupy the Romanian territories between Siret and Prut rivers, begun a huge offensive in the Mărăşeşti sector. Before launching the attack, the battle was thought to be taken at Nămoloasa, both sides were counting at that moment about 1 million soldiers. Field Marshall August von Mackensen launched an attack on August 6. The fighting lasted until September 8, when both sides ran out of fresh units. The German attempt to crush the last Romanian army led by General Eremia Grigorescu had failed, but the Romanians had not expanded their territory either. The motto of the Romanian Army during the battle was "Pe aici nu se trece" (English: "They shall not pass").



The Mausoleum of Mărăşeşti is a memorial site containing remains of 5,073 Romanian soldiers and officers (identified or not, in crypts or common tombs) killed in the First World War and dedicated to the commemoration of the Battle of Mărăşeşti and Romanian Army members who were killed during the World War I.


The memorial took architects George Cristinel and Constantin Pomponiu 15 years to build and was unveiled on 18 September 1938 by King Carol II. The great basorelief on the exterior of the mausoleum cupola, sculpted by Cornel Medrea and Ion Jalea, are inspired from some episodes from fights from Mărăşeşti.


In the museum from inside the mausoleum, there are exposed flags, arms, guns, projectiles and many other trophies from these fights. In the yard of the Mausoleum there is the section of the Military Museum where there are important documents about these fights.

Here you can find some panoramas inside the Mausoleum.