War Cemetery No. 123 – Łużna-Pustki

War Cemetery No. 123 in Łużna, located on Pustki Hill, was established as a result of the Battle of Gorlice in May 1915, where Austro-Hungarian and German forces defeated the Russians. After the end of hostilities, it was recognized as an ecumenical site, uniting soldiers of various nationalities and faiths, including Poles, Hungarians, Germans, Russians, Ukrainians, and Slovenes. The necropolis, a unique memorial site, was designed by Jan Szczepkowski, and prisoners of war worked on its construction. In February 2016, the cemetery was inscribed on the list of European Heritage Sites. It contains the graves of 912 Austro-Hungarian soldiers, 65 Germans, and 227 Russians, as well as 46 mass graves and 829 individual ones. A sarcophagus-shaped monument and the cemetery's architectural structure, including the gontyna (wooden chapel), form an integral part of its aesthetic. The gontyna, designed by Dušan Jurkovič, was a monumental wooden chapel whose original structure was destroyed in a fire in 1985. Ceremonies with masses were held at the cemetery until 2014, when the necropolis underwent renovation. The site was meticulously restored, and the gontyna was rebuilt in 2014, reviving the cemetery's historical character. Interestingly, inside the new gontyna, there is a reconstruction of a statue of Christ carrying the cross, created based on archival photos by a local artist. The cemetery stands as an important multicultural heritage site, preserving the memory of those who lost their lives during World War I.