Museum und Gedenkstätte Peršmanhof
Memorial and museum at the mountain farm near Bad Eisenkappel where the SS murdered eleven members of two families in 1945 – on the resistance of the Carinthian Slovenes.
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About the museum
The mountain farm of the Sadovnik family, known locally as Peršman, above Bad Eisenkappel/Železna Kapla was an important base from 1942 for the partisan movement, which spread from Yugoslavia into Carinthia as well. On 25 April 1945, a few days before the end of the war, members of SS and Police Regiment 13 shot eleven people from the Sadovnik and Kogoj families on the farm, including seven children. For the Carinthian Slovenes the crime became a symbol of their suffering under the Nazi regime.
In 1965 the Association of Carinthian Partisans placed a memorial plaque on the former farmhouse and in 1982 set up a small museum on resistance and persecution. A year later the resistance monument was added in the forecourt, which had been blown up at its original location in Völkermarkt in 1953. The association remains the sponsor of the memorial to this day; the Društvo/Verein Peršman, founded in 2001, runs and further develops the museum.
In 2012 the Peršmanhof was converted into a modern museum of contemporary history. The bilingual permanent exhibition, on around 100 square metres, spans the situation of the Carinthian Slovenes around 1900, the plebiscite, the deportations of 1942 and the partisan struggle through to the massacre and its legal reckoning. Pull-out elements, drawers, listening stations and films put eyewitness accounts and biographies at the centre.
Highlights
- Site of the massacre of 25 April 1945 of eleven members of the Sadovnik and Kogoj families
- Bilingual permanent exhibition (German/Slovenian) on persecution and resistance
- Listening stations and films with eyewitness accounts
- Resistance monument in the forecourt
- Contemporary history hikes "from farm to farm" on request
Permanent exhibition
- Verfolgung und Widerstand der Kärntner Slowen:innen – Bilingual exhibition on the history of the Carinthian Slovenes from 1900 to 1990, focusing on partisan resistance, the massacre at the Peršmanhof and its legal reckoning.
- Founded
- 1982
- Operated by
- Verband der Kärntner Partisanen (Träger) in Kooperation mit dem Društvo/Verein Peršman
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
| Adults | free |
|---|
Admission free, voluntary donations welcome.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
Only partly suitable for kids
School programmes are aimed at grades 8 to 12.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
The Peršmanhof cannot be reached by public transport. The Postbus runs to Bad Eisenkappel/Železna Kapla (not on Sundays and public holidays); from there it is still about 10 km.
Travel by car is recommended, for larger groups by coach. The farm is located about 10 km from the centre of Bad Eisenkappel.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Museum shop
Book table with publications and DVDs on the subject.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 1.5 hrs |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Guided tours for individual visitors and groups during opening hours, advance registration requested. Contemporary history hikes "from farm to farm" followed by a museum visit (3–6 hours) and special programmes for multi-day stays on request. Exhibition consistently bilingual in German and Slovenian. |
