Lonesome Memorials: #2 The Signpost and Boroević's Throne

On the Carso Plateau of the Italian Front on an old military road within the Austro-Hungarian sector stand two monuments side-by-side.  On the left in the photo above is a column erected during the war by the 43rd (Rumanian) Infantry Regiment in honour of the commander to the 7th Austro-Hungarian Corps, Archduke Joseph.  Since it was located at a crossroads, directional arrows and informational panels were mounted on it and it became known as the "Signpost".

Rare to See a Monument Built When the Battle Was Still On

The second, now known as  "Boroevic's Throne," is named after General Svetozar Boroević von Bojna (1856-1920), the commander of the Austro-Hungarian Fifth Army. The current name was adopted in the1970s; before that it was known as Karl's Chair. The chair, carved into the nearby massive stone, was apparently intended for the Emperor Karl I. when he was due to make one of his inspections of the troops on the front. In reality neither he nor General Boroevic probably ever actually sat on this chair. On its right side is carved the surname Pristan, which presumably is that of  the stonemason who carved the chair. On the northern side (back side) is a badly worn inscription, now indecipherable. 

Boroevic von Bojna

Svetozar Boroević  is worthy, however, of having a  monument to his command of this sector. He was an Austro-Hungarian field marshal who was described as one of the finest defensive strategists of the First World War. He commanded Austro-Hungarian forces in the Isonzo front, for which he was nicknamed the "Lion of Isonzo".  For his service during the First World War, Boroević rose to the rank of Feldmarschall before the end of the war in 1918, becoming the first and only Austro-Hungarian field marshal of South Slavic descent.  Sadly, he is most remembered for the failed 1918 offensive along the Piave River—which he did not believe in—and the crumbling of his forces during the Vittorio Veneto campaign.  After the war the commander who was victorious in almost he battle he  led in the war was impugned with a second nickname, "the Croatian Blockhead."  

Red Marks the Spot (Roads Visible at Larger Scale Map)

How to Get There.  Assuming you are in the area of Gorizia, all you need is one of the locally-sold tourist maps. The monuments are one a former military road about three miles directly south of Gorizia. The example shown here is from Google Maps.  Of course, there are many sites to see in the vicinity so a stop here should be folded into a full day's (at least) tour of the surrounding battlefield.

Travelers, naturally, like to pose for a photo on the Throne. 
My apologies to the members of my 2017 Italian Front
Tour for forgetting to stop the bus here for  photos. It was
really hot that day, the "Devil's Heatwave" was underway.