The drownings
At the Klosterkirkegården cemetery, there is a small memorial stone by the monuments for those who fell in the war 1848–50 and 1864. Written on the stone are the words:
“Zwei Kampfesbrüder ruhen hier,
Die nicht im Kampf den Tod gefunden:
Der Freund warf, um den Freund zu retten.
Sich mutig in des Dammes Wogen.
Das Wellengrab bedeckte sie
und hielt im Tod sie fest umslungen.”
The tragedy occurred on a hot summer’s day in 1849. Haderslev was at that time occupied by German soldiers. A Hessian artillery coachman wanted to let his two horses cool off in the pond. A Badensian soldier wanted to go out with them, and they rode far enough out for the horses to be able to swim. When they were in the middle of the pond, the Badensian soldier slid off the horse’s back and lost his grip of the mane. Unfortunately, he could not swim and a soldier from Schleswig-Holstein, who was also nearby, tried to save him. The Badensian soldier pulled the soldier from Schleswig-Holstein under the water when he clung on to him, resulting in the pair disappearing under the water.
Their bodies were found in the pond and both were buried at Klosterkirkegården cemetery on 6 June 1849. Later, the aforementioned stone was placed on their grave.
