The 1809 grave — legend or history?
In the forest above Rašov, by a logging track near the Kozárov crossroads, stands a small memorial dated 1809. Locals call it Napoleonka. According to village tradition, the companion of a French officer died here. Is it true?
🕯️ What the legend says
In 1809, as Napoleonic troops moved through the region, the companion of a high-ranking French officer died between Rašov and Kozárov. She was buried by the road, and the nearest homestead — the Holcner family from Kozárov — was said to have received a generous sum for tending the grave. The place has been called "At Countess Barborka's" ever since. A stone about 70 cm tall stood here, with a cross and the year 1809. The exact site of the grave is no longer known — it was lost when the forest road was rebuilt in the 1980s.
📜 What the sources say
No written record places French soldiers directly in Rašov — the village chronicler searched for one and honestly says so. But the context is well documented: in July 1809 the battle of Znojmo was fought nearby, Brno was occupied by the French army from July to October, and requisition parties combed the villages for supplies. In nearby Lomnice, local records say Marshal Davout's troops were quartered until early November — the town handed over flour, hay, grain and beef, and counted its losses for 1809 at 25,804 gulden. Napoleon himself arrived in Brno on 16 September 1809. The legend has solid ground to stand on — it just cannot be proven.
Three stones
The original stone — about 70 cm tall, with a cross and the year 1809 — was lost in the 1980s, when the forest track was repaired with heavy machinery. The Holcner family filed a criminal complaint against an unknown perpetrator for destroying the memorial, and under that pressure the forestry company put up a replacement. Regrettably, one made of concrete.
The village chronicler Pavel Buchta wanted to replace the concrete stopgap with something more dignified. With Radim Tichý of Lomnice, who made the new memorial, they looked for white stone — for the woman buried here. Quartz, common in the woods around, is too hard to work. Chance helped: during the repair of the church of St James the Elder in Rašov, a broken marble step turned up.
The step was cut lengthwise, yielding two memorials. The first stands by the Rašov church — at the initiative of parish priest Ervin Jansa it became a waymarker to Santiago de Compostela, 3,155 km away. The second replaced the concrete at Countess Barborka's. Two memorials from a single church step.
The memorial today
The new white stone stands on the site of the concrete stopgap, by the Vrankovy forest track. It will be consecrated on Saturday 5 September 2026 at 3 p.m., with a commemoration of the 1809 campaign — re-enactors in period uniforms are expected. A pleasant 5.2 km loop leads from Rašov past the Vrankovy track to Kozárov — about an hour and a half on foot.
How to find it
Coordinates of the memorial 49.4343313 N, 16.4694393 E Open in a map →
🚗 By car, drive to the crossroads between the villages of Kozárov, Rašov and Kunčina Ves (road 37713). A forest track leaves it in the direction of Rašov; the memorial is about 350 metres along it. On 5 September there will be parking at the crossroads and the track will be signposted with arrows.
♿ On 5 September, visitors for whom walking is difficult may drive further along the forest track, with arrows leading all the way to the site. Outside the event it is a private forest track — on foot only.
🥾 On foot it is nicer: the loop from Rašov past the Vrankovy track and back through Kozárov is 5.2 km. You will be guided by the Expedition to the 1809 grave.
The coordinates mark the new stone, not the grave. The exact site of the grave was lost with the old forest road — nobody knows it today.
Try it yourself
🔍 Legend or history?
A detective game: examine the claims one by one, separate the documented from the told, and reach your own verdict. 5–10 minutes, for adults and kids.
🥾 Expedition to the 1809 grave
A guide for the 5.2 km loop to the memorial: stops, tasks, and answers you will only find out there. A diploma at the end.
The museum will not tell you what to believe. It shows you the legend and the sources — and leaves the verdict to you. That is exactly how a chronicler works.