If you drive to Kosovelje today, you will see some stone ruins in a large meadow just outside the village. In this area, during World War I, stood a hospital Feldspital 808, 20 barracks and over 200 hospital beds, with a beautiful chapel in the centre, cared for by the Knights of Malta.
When the front moved from the Soča area to the Leuven area, this hospital and all its staff and equipment moved to Motta di Livenza, north of Venice, but the barracks and chapel remained here. When the locals returned to the village after the war, completely devastated by the war, they used parts of the barracks to build their own houses. Only the chapel survived until the end of World War II. When the territory fell to Yugoslavia, the authorities ordered the owner to demolish it completely. The owner demolished only the wooden part, leaving the stone part.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, the village community decided to rebuild the chapel. "That's when we started, step by step," he begins to explain. Dusan Luin. "First, the owner was persuaded to transfer the plot to the municipality. We got to the plans. This is very interesting, because we only had one photo of the chapel before. When we started talking about renovation, a gentleman from Sežana came along who collects old photographs. At a flea market in Germany, he got a package of photographs from the grandson of an officer who was in hospital here at the time. He bought them and brought them to us."
Based on these photos and real measurements, the architect drew up plans for the renovation. The model was made by a well-known model maker Franci Pogačar. They convinced Pivka Military History Parkto commission a model and prepare an exhibition. "Many small steps led to realisation," says Dušan. The municipality is now working on a change of use of the municipal detailed spatial plan (OPPN), which is the basis for the start of the renovation.
When the chapel was declared a cultural monument of local importance, many embassies from Europe came to see the exhibition at the Sežana Cultural Centre. "They came with such enthusiasm!" says Dušan. "If we had put shovels in their hands then, they would have all started building." Why? "This is our common monument. During the First World War, people of different nationalities - Hungarians, Austrians, Ukrainians, Czechs, Yugoslavs ... were treated here by force of circumstances - and the circumstances were difficult. You cannot imagine how many vehicles of different registration numbers stop here in the summer, at the ruins of this chapel. Unbelievably, I do not even know how they find this area. When you ask them why they came, they say that their grandfather or another family member was also treated in this hospital."
The exhibition of the model itself was also well received, and also attracted media interest >>
An exhibition on Fekdspital 808 is moving across Slovenia. It was recently presented in Stična >>
"People accept it. When this area came under Italian rule, nothing was allowed to be said about it, because the Austrians were enemies of the Italians. When it came under Yugoslavia, it was again not allowed to be talked about, because it was competition with Italy. But such real things remain locked in people's minds as a kind of powerful story."
The gathering also included dishes from those days, such as mashed but boiled potatoes and boiled pate with onions and greaves.
Dušan also stresses the importance of cultural heritage. "By preserving the latter, we recognise the importance of place. It is a debt you owe to your ancestors. An attachment to what they have left us. Without cultural heritage, there is no present, because it is part of it."
When you take on a project like this, you certainly don't just get encouragement and support. There are likely to be obstacles and opposition during the process. "Of course. Nothing is easy. Every step you take, there is a big obstacle that you have to go around or jump over." So why is he so keen on this? "It's part of the history of this village, part of its identity. It also seems to be a strong motivation in the people that I still have enough support here." So Dušan remains an important link, connecting, encouraging and keeping things moving forward. "It's not without that," he says.
He wants to see the chapel of Feldspital 808 become one of the central monuments of Central Europe as an important reminder of the World War and a symbol of integration.
See other projects implemented in Kosovelje to strengthen cultural heritage >>
Petra Škarja, 24 May 2025
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