The cemetery in Stari Log (Altlag) near Kočevje is one of the best preserved Gottscheer cemeteries. It is not only the eternal resting place of the inhabitants of Stari Log, at the same time it bears witness to the events that shaped Stari Log and its surroundings, as well as the wider Kočevska region. As a witness to the past and a meeting place bringing together different remembrances, the cemetery is an important place for establishing a dialogue and understanding of a shared cultural heritage.
The inter-war fate of the village of Stari Log
The idyllic forest-bound village of Stari Log was the largest village in Kočevska area before the World War II. Until the World War II, it was the seat of the municipality, the seat of the parish; there was a school, a cemetery, a gendarmerie station, taverns and shops. The war did not spare Stari Log that was caught up in the maelstrom of war. After the resettlement of the Gottscheer people in 1941, only two Gottscheer families remained in the village. To prevent the establishment of an Italian outpost, the village was burnt down by the partisans in 1942, and the Italian army deported women, children and the elderly from Stari Log and the surrounding area to concentration camps, while 74 men were shot.
Cemetery in Stari Log
Initially, the cemetery in Stari Log was located next to the St. Margaret’s Parish Church. In 1853, it became too small, therefore they started burying the deceased southeast of the village, on the site of present-day cemetery. Today, graves of Gottscheers – the indigenous inhabitants are preserved in one part of the cemetery, while another, where burials are still carried out, contains the graves of post-war immigrants, and in the third part is located the tomb of 74 partisans and hostages who were shot by the Italian army in August 1942. There remain 11 tombstones from the 19th century, the rest are more recent. Nine bear the signature of the monumental stonemason A. Plesche.
Different memories permeate Stari Log
After the World War II, the cemetery in Stari Log became a transnational memorial site – a monument to the events that marked the tumultuous history of Kočevska area. Near the entrance to the cemetery, the visitor first sees the monument “in memory of all deceased Gottscheers”, erected in 1997 – a square obelisk with a pyramidal structure at the top and a dedication inscription in Slovene, German, English and Göttscheabarisch. It was set up by organisations from Slovenia and abroad, with the participation of local societies and local communities.
In 1960, a communal grave was constructed for the killed hostages. In addition to the tomb, there is an obelisk and white marble tombstones on an area of about 1000 m2.
Less than a decade before that, in 1951, the Slovene Writers’ Association had erected a memorial or a symbolic grave to the poet, writer and puppeteer Miran Jarc. He was shot near the village of Pugled near Stari Log, but the location of his grave remains unknown. In 2002, the monument was modernised by the Association for the Conservation of Partisan Graves in Rog (Hornwald).
For many years, the cemetery in Stari Log had no cemetery crucifix. In August 2023, the villagers of Stari Log symbolically restored a cast-iron cross from one of the pre-war Gottscheer graves and placed it as a cemetery crucifix on the left edge of the cemetery, next to the cemetery walls.
Restoration of tombstones in Stari Log cemetery
The cemetery in Stari Log was built in 1997 by the Stara Cerkev Local Community with the help of Gottscheer organisations. The 45 preserved Gottscheer stone tombstones underwent a basic conservation in 2002, but many of them have been damaged by weather, subsidence and deterioration of the materials.
The Putscherle Institute, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage in Kočevsko area, has therefore initiated a more complex restoration of the six most damaged tombstones in 2023, under the direction of Dr Anja Moric. The restoration work is being carried out by the Erjavec Stonemasonry Services from Mahovnik in accordance with the instructions of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Slovenia, and the restoration is financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the Municipality of Kočevje. The work on each tombstone includes foundation stabilisation (by concreting), removal of moss and mould, restoration of the inscriptions and, where possible, restoration of the photographs in ceramic frames, construction of missing parts of the monuments, such as crosses, ornaments, etc. In the coming years, the Putscherle Institute plans to gradually restore several additional Gottscheer tombstones.
Sources:
– Resman, Blaž in Seražin, Helena. 2010. Upravna enota Kočevje: občine Kočevje, Kostel in Osilnica. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC.
– Stari Log – spominsko obeležje Tomšičeve brigade. Dostopno na: http://www.zb-kocevje.si/starilog_britof.htm
– Šmajdek, Primož. 2012. Stari Log pri Kočevju – Pokopališče. Dostopno na: http://spomeniki.blogspot.com/2012/12/stari-log-pri-kocevju-pokopalisce.html
– Šuštar, Branko. 2006.
Zgodba z nagrobnika prvega učitelja na šoli Smuka/Langenthon na Kočevskem okoli leta 1888. Kronika (Ljubljana), letnik 55, številka 3, str. 405-428.
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