The First World War claimed many lives and Romania was one of the countries that had to pay this painful toll. The Marasesti Mausoleum honors those who lost their lives in the battle that took place there.

The Marasesti Mausoleum is 35 km far from Focsani, the capital city of Vrancea County, the region where the Oriental Carpathians curve, in South-East of Romania.

In 1916, Romania entered the First World War as allied of France, England and Russia and adversary of Germany and Austria-Hungary. After some quick victories in Transylvania, the Romanian army was forced to retreat, because of a combined attack from the Austro-Hungarian and German troops, across the Carpathians, and from a German expeditionary force which crossed the Danube from Bulgaria. The situation was dramatic, the authorities and a large population from Oltenia and Muntenia had to take refuge in Moldavia and Bucharest, the capital city of the country, was occupied.

In the summer of 1917, the German army, under the command of the illustrious general August Von Mackensen, decided to launch a decisive attack against the Romanian front, in Namoloasa region. The Romanian made their stand at Marasesti, lead by the generals Eremia Grigorescu and Constantin Cristescu and motivated by the motto: ”Pe aici nu se trece” ("You won’t pass through here”). After two weeks of bloody fighting in the trenches, the Germans were forced to retreat and suffered casualties of approximately 45 000 soldiers. But the Romanian side paid an expensive price for this victory: 480 officers and 21 000 soldiers. The dead were buried on the lands of a local estate owner, named Ulise Negropontes.