№ Словения-902386. Russian Orthodox Chapel on the Vršič Pass

The Russian Orthodox Chapel on the Vršič pass dedicated to Saint Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, was built in 1916 in the memory of the fallen Russian prisoners of war.

The history of the Chapel is inextricably connected to World War I, in which Slovenia was drawn being a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time. In July 1915, a work camp for prisoners of war, mainly Russian soldiers, was established on the Vršič pass. The POWs’ task was to build the road and to clear it of snow. On 12 March 1916, a tragedy occurred at the pass near a small town of Kranjska Gora: a huge avalanche buried a Russian POW group killing approximately 500 people. No less than 10,000 Russian POWs died from 1915 till 1917 throughout the time the Austro-Hungarian functioned.

The 2016 marks the centenary since the Russian Chapel was founded that became a symbol of friendship between the peoples of Slovenia and Russia, as well as a memorial to all the Russians, who died in these places.