Many memorials and monuments were erected in Bavaria and Austria to commemorate the construction of and resistance against the Wackersdorf nuclear reprocessing plant (WAA). The production and erection of some monuments even during the conflict was initially a "performative act of protest," but also fulfilled practical functions, such as the wayside shrine Franziskus-Marterl.Janine Gaumer: Wackersdorf. Atomkraft und Demokratie in der Bundesrepublik 1980–1989. (Wackersdorf. Nuclear power and democracy in the Federal Republic of Germany 1980–1989), Dissertation University of Jena, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-96238-073-1, p. 314

WAA Wackersdorf buildings

After the WAA project was abandoned, an industrial park was built on the former WAA construction site. The green-colored WAA buildings (module test stand, fuel element receiving storage, and workshops) are used by companies such as BMW and Caterpillar.Ein seltenes Glück – Das teuerste Industriegelände, das je in Deutschland zu vergeben war, wird nun von kleinen und großen Unternehmen besiedelt. (A rare stroke of luck – the most expensive industrial site ever to be allocated in Germany will now be occupied by small and large companies.), Der Spiegel, 24 July 1989 (more photos)

Franziskus-Marterl

The Franziskus-Marterl is a chapel-shrine in the southeast of the unfinished Wackersdorf reprocessing plant (WAA) "Im Blaubeerwald" in Altenschwand-Bodenwöhr (Schwandorf district, Bavaria). The WAA resistance marterl is dedicated to Francis of Assisi and is surrounded by several other protest monuments. The "Franziskus-Marterl" is a stone reminder of the fight against the reprocessing plant.Gedenken an den WAA- Baustopp (Commemoration of the WAA construction halt), , 31 May 2014) (more photos) Inscriptions: St. Francis pray for usGerman: "hl. Franziskus bitte für uns"

Nuclear radiation is causing the abortion of creation, and it is a deadly joke to believe in human infallibility.German: "Die Atomstrahlung bewirkt die Abtreibung der Schöpfung und es ist ein tödlicher Witz an die Unfehlbarkeit des Menschen zu glauben"

Stolen Cross of Wackersdorf

From December 26 to 29, 1985, wood sculptor carved a 1.60 m tall figure of Christ in the anti-nuclear power plant (WAA) Free Republic of Wackerland. This was attached to a ten-meter-high cross.Vor 20 Jahren kam das Aus für die WAA, Mittelbayerische Zeitung, 23 April 2009 The consecrated crucifix stood for only one week. During the clearing of the hut village on January 7, 1986, the police sawed off the crucifix and removed it. The Christ figure, returned shortly afterward, was then attached to a tree near the Franziskus-Marterl. On the night of February 20, 1986, the Christ figure disappeared. Only the broken-off hands remain, hanging next to the Cross of Wackersdorf today.Bischof für wen? Die Amtskirche hatte es schwer mit WAA-Gegnern in den eigenen Reihen, Bund Naturschutz – Mittelbayerische Zeitung, July 1989, p. 31..) (more photos)

Cross of Wackersdorf

The seven-meter-high "Cross of Wackersdorf" was created in 1986 by Zeitzeugeninterviews mit Stefan Preisl vom 11. April 2015 über sein Engagement gegen die WAA Wackersdorf, die Wackersdorfer Christusfigur, Ängste der Bevölkerung, das Ende der Bauarbeiten und die SPD-Tradition in der Region. Interview 1, Interview 2, Interview 3, Interview 4, Interview 5, Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte from Weymouth pine. On Easter Sunday 1986, when 100,000 people demonstrated in the Easter March to Wackersdorf, the crucifix was erected next to the Franziskus-Marterl. After the WAA construction halt, unknown persons placed a crown of thorns made of razor wire from the Wackersdorf construction fence onto the bowed head of Christ.Das Kreuz von Wackersdorf. in: Chrismon (magazine), August 2011. The cross's roof was not added until years later. (more photos)

Wackersdorf - Gorleben cross

The metal memorial cross at the Franziskus-Marterl commemorates the "Stations of the Cross for Creation" undertaken by the shrine community to the Gorleben nuclear waste repository.Dieter Schaarschmidt, Evelyn Steudel, Helga Michaelsen (Hrsg.): Kreuzweg für die Schöpfung vom 27.3. bis 28.5.1988 zu Fuß von Wackersdorf nach Gorleben. Eine Dokumentation des Arbeitskreises Wackersdorf-Gorleben "Bedrohte Erde - bedrohtes Leben - bedrohte Gemeinschaft". (Stations of the Cross for Creation, March 27 to May 28, 1988, on foot from Wackersdorf to Gorleben. A documentation by the Wackersdorf-Gorleben working group "Threatened Earth - Threatened Life - Threatened Community"), Dahlenburg 1989 Around 6,000 people participated from March 27 to May 29, 1988. The Franziskus-Marterl community carried a heavy wooden cross for over 1,000 km over 63 days and finally erected it in the Gorleben Forest. When the cross arrived in Gorleben, a closing service was held on May 28, 1988, with more than 1,000 people in attendance. The was subsequently established.Beharrlicher Protest im Kiefernwald. Mal kommen zehn, mal 200, Protestanten, Katholiken, Muslime oder „Kirchenferne“ jeden Sonntag seit 25 Jahren zur atomkritischen Andacht nach Gorleben. taz, 23 March 2014Kreuzweg für die Schöpfung. Protest zieht von Gorleben nach Garzweiler. Chrismon (magazine), 9 July 2021 (more photos) Inscription: Wackersdorf – Gorleben / Stations of the Cross Creation / 1988Original inscription: "Wackersdorf – Gorleben / Kreuzweg Schöpfung / 1988"

The Torn Man

"The Torn Man" (de: Der zerrissene Mensch) stands next to the Franziskus-Marterl near the WAA (nuclear reprocessing plant). The 3-meter-high wooden sculpture by the Ingolstadt sculptor Michael Graßl - official website of the artist is intended to "express the suffering and fears of the people who have to live with and struggle against the WAA."WAA chronicle, , April/May 1987, p. 21 His torso is split from head to pelvis, and his brown body is covered with blood-red stains. Graßl saw the figure as a "memorial" and a "cry of despair" and wanted to use it to protest the "destruction of the human environment and culture." The figure was erected in January 1987 with the help of the Regensburg "Working Group for Theology and Nuclear Energy" and consecrated by pastors Richard Salzl and Dörrich after an ecumenical service.Am WAA-Bauzaun: Zeichen des Zornes und des Mutes - Holzfigur des Ingolstädter Künstlers Michael Graßl am "Franziskus-Marterl" aufgestellt. (At the WAA construction fence: Signs of anger and courage - wooden figure by the Ingolstadt artist Michael Graßl erected at the "Franziskus-Marterl"), Mittelbayerische Zeitung, 12 January 1987 (more photos)

God's bow to protect the earth

God's bow to protect the earth is a memorial plaque featuring a rainbow, was erected at the Franziskus-Marterl by the local community after the cancellation of the WAA nuclear reprocessing plant project. - Clay sculpture: Valerie Schwandner (artist from Schwarzenfeld); monument construction: ; (more photos) Inscription: God's bow to protect the earth In gratitude for the end of the WAA - The ecumenical wayside shrine communityOriginal inscription: "Der Bogen Gottes zum Schutz der Erde - Zum Dank für das Aus der WAA – Die ökumenische Marterlgemeinde"

"WAA-NO" mosaic heart

The "WAA-NO" mosaic heart was erected by the Catholic priest Richard Salzl (stove builder and tile layer) at the foot of the Cross of Wackersdorf at the Franziskus-Marterl. (more photos)

Austrians' Bench

The Austrians' Bench is a seating group at the Franziskus-Marterl. Particularly strong opposition to the WAA came from Austria (cf. WAA conflict between Bavaria and Austria). Austrian opponents of the WAA erected the seating area at the wayside shrine in the 1980s.

In 2025, a flag plaque bearing the coat of arms of the Republic of Austria was reattached to the backrest of the bench, as the original coat of arms had been lost during the renovation of the bench.Schüler haben Franziskus-Marterl restauriert. (Students have restored the Franziskus-Marterl), Oberpfalz TV, 18 April 2018 Present at the subsequent wayside shrine devotion were, among others, Catholic priest , Hans Schuierer (former District Administrator), , and a representative of the Platform Against Nuclear Dangers Salzburg (PLAGE). (more photos)

Wailing Wall of the Franziskus-Marterl

The wall of mourning for the dead at the Franziskus-Marterl commemorates through memorial plaques victims of the WAAOskar Duschinger/Bernhard von Zech-Kleber: Wiederaufbereitungsanlage Wackersdorf, Historisches Lexikon Bayerns 2021 Prügelorgien und Nervengas – Vor 25 Jahren wurde ein Baustopp für die atomare Wiederaufarbeitungsanlage in Wackersdorf verfügt (Beatings and nerve gas – 25 years ago, construction of the nuclear reprocessing plant in Wackersdorf was halted), , 25 June 2014 and deceased activists who opposed the Wackersdorf Reprocessing Plant (WAA); the clay plaques were created by the artist Valerie Schwandner from Schwarzenfeld.

In 2026, a memorial plaque was dedicated to the Austrian opponents of the WAA - Nina Pesendorfer and Petri Holtari who were killed in a fatal accident in 1987 while traveling from Vienna via South Tyrol) to the "White Demonstration"Weiße Demo (PDF), Kultur gegen die WAA, p. 4 organized among others by the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). The accident occurred on the A93 motorway between Siegenburg and Abensberg, near Sallingberg.Die Fahrt zur WAA-Demo führte in den Tod - Zwei Tote und drei Schwerverletzte bei Autobahnunfall / Opfer sind Österreicher und ein Finne (The journey to the WAA demonstration ended in death – two dead and three seriously injured in a motorway accident / Victims are Austrian and a Finn), Mittelbayerische Zeitung, 27 April 1987Stenographisches Protokoll - 20. Sitzung des Nationalrates der Republik Österreich (Verbatim record - 20th session of the National Council of the Republic of Austria), Peter Pilz, 4 June 1984, p. 2240 (more photos) Inscriptions: God bless you

WAA Victims 1986 Alois SonnleitnerAlois Sonnleitner: The use of CS gas on Easter Monday 1986 allegedly triggered a fatal asthma attack in a 38-year-old demonstration participant an engineer from Gräfelfing suffering from bronchial asthma. / Johann HirschingerJohann Hirschinger: On September 7, 1986, a multiple unit rammed a police helicopter pursuing a suspect on the Schwandorf–Furth im Wald railway line. The 31-year-old helicopter passenger, Chief Inspector Hirschinger, succumbed to his injuries on September 24, 1986. Erna SielkaErna Sielka: On March 2, 1986, the 61-year-old woman from Wackersdorf presumably succumbed to a myocardial infarction after a scuffle at the construction fence. / Willi GleiknerWilli Gleikner: Carpenter and WAA construction worker Gleikner fell into a construction pit while working on the WAA construction site and died.

WAA Victims 1987 Nina Pesendorfer (20) / Petri Holtari (22) Killed in an accident while traveling from Vienna to the Wackersdorf Demonstration

Alois GietlAlois Gietl = husband of / Zacharias Hilburger

Ferdinand Keck / Maria Ebner

Trees at the Franziskus-Marterl At the Franciscan shrine, several protest trees against the WAA (nuclear reprocessing plant) were planted. Oak of Resistance

The Oak of Resistance was planted in 1985 by the Amberg Citizens' Initiative. The wooden plaque stands in front of the oak, to the left of the Franziskus-Marterl. (more photos) Inscription on the wooden plaque: Oak of Resistance A tree in whose branches birds will sing, in whose rough bark beetles will live, the wind will drive its leaves, the sunlight will cast shadows on green moss for your well-being. It shall be a symbol of our will not to leave our homeland unprotected.