Villach mourns: Mourning week after a terrible attack.

Villach mourns: Mourning week after a terrible attack.

After the shattering attack last weekend, the city of Villach proclaimed a mourning week. In a moving speech, Mayor Günther Albel explained that the city could not pass the agenda and that all public events have been canceled in the coming week to pay respect for victims. The population can express their grief at a specially furnished memorial place on the city bridge, where candles and flowers can be laid down. It is also possible to enter into a mourning book that is accessible in the town hall from Monday to Friday. In order to meet the emotional needs, crisis intervention teams of the Red Cross are used to help students and other affected people, as was reported on Villach.at

memorial events and actions

The expression of grief will take place on Tuesday, February 18, a common memorial march. This march begins at Café Bernold and leads past the attack to the parish church, where an ecumenical memorial service is held. The entire city community is called to take part in this emotional meeting and to participate in the memorial event. "We have to come together to mourn and never forget the victims," ​​said the city administration's appeal. All clubs and organizations are also invited to rethink their events, as recommended by the city.

This profound funeral service in Villach not only builds on current events, but also reminds of the dark past of the city. So the “monument of the names”, built in 1999 near the city museum, stands for the victims of the Holocaust and enables citizens to give their pain and memory a public space. More than 120 names of children, women and men murdered in Villach are recorded there. Particular attention is paid to Maria Peskoller, a resistance fighter whose history was brought to light by her daughter after decades, who was looking for her mother. These profound connections between the past and the present come alive today in memory of the victims, as the city of Villach impressively shows.