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Churches & Monasteries

French Graveyard in St. Leonhard/S. Leonardo

St. Leonhard i.P./San Leonardo i.P., St.Leonhard in Passeier/San Leonardo in Passiria, Meran/Merano and environs
from center

In November 1809 thousands of soldiers from Napoleon’s army advanced over the Jaufenpass and into the Passeiertal Valley. They were heading for Meran. At St. Leonhard, however, there was a violent confrontation with Passeier insurgents, 22 of whom were killed, while 200 soldiers and 30 officers were reported dead on the French side.

According to subsequent accounts, the dead Frenchmen were buried in an old cemetery – probably a plague cemetery – at the edge of St. Leonhard. In the anniversary year of 1959, 150 years after the rebellion, the local company of marksmen affixed a marble tablet there. The French Embassy to this day sends funds for the maintenance of the cemetery, with the French tricolore flying over the grass.

No trace was found of the dead Frenchmen during an archaeological excavation carried out in 2009. This seemed to confirm earlier doubts about any mass grave containing French soldiers. But in 2013 the French Ministry of Defence arranged for further excavations; these actually found a knife and the remains of bones and articles of clothing, which suggest such a grave.

Opening hours

Location & directions

French Graveyard in St. Leonhard/S. Leonardo

Choose an environmentally friendly way to travel and use our public transport:  

  • Busline 240 from Merano/Meran towards St. Leonhard/S. Leonardo, Moos/Moso, Pfelders/Plan 
  • Busline 240 from Pfelders/Plan, Moos/Moso heading towards St. Leonhard/S. Leonardo, Merano/Meran 
  • Busline 239 from the Jaufenpass/Passo Giovo, from Walten/Valtina heading towards St. Leonhard/S. Leonardo 

 Bus stop "St. Leonhard, Busbahnhof" You can find the timetables at www.suedtirolmobil.info or on the Passeiertal app! 

Directions
  • Coming from Merano/Meran towards the Passeiertal Valley, take the Jaufenstraße/via Passo Giovo SS44 to St. Leonhard/S. Leonardo 
  • Coming from the Jaufenpass/Passo Giovo towards Merano/Meran, take the Jaufenstraße/via Passo Giovo SS44 to St. Leonhard/S. Leonardo 
  • Coming from the Timmelsjoch/Passo Rombo towards Moos/Moso, continue on the Timmelsjochstraße/Via Passo del Rombo towards St. Leonhard/S. Leonardo 
Parking
  • Free public parking in the underground garage at the bus stop in St. Leonhard/S. Leonardo 
  • Public parking in the underground garage at Raiffeisen square in the village centre of St. Leonhard/S. Leonardo 
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