Tucked away in a quiet corner of the Wicklow Mountains is a German military cemetery and one of Ireland's true hidden gems. The Glencree German War Cemetery in the small village of Glencree, County Wicklow stands in honor of 134 German soldiers and civilians who lost their lives in Ireland during the First and Second World Wars . Set in a beautiful space inside a disused quarry with the Glencree River roaring past on one side, the German War Cemetery is a bastion of serenity and tranquility.
The Glencree River runs alongside the German Military Cemetery. Alan James. It is somewhat ironic that a place connected to the two most violent conflicts this planet has ever witnessed should be so peaceful and therapeutic, but that is exactly what Glencree stands for.
The small village has witnessed a long and storied history, first providing a home for a British Army barracks in the early 1800s as the British attempted to contain Irish rebels in the wake of the 1798 Rebellion. The barracks has since been repurposed as a reformatory for young boys in the aftermath of the Irish Famine and as a refugee center for German children following the bombing of Dresden in 1945. More recently, the barracks at Glencree has served as a peace and reconciliation center for victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland - a role it still performs to this day.
What better place, therefore, to pay homage to the German war dead than this tranquil village in the heart of the Wicklow Mountains? The German War .