Monument to the Habsburg Soldier

A memorial of the battle against Napoleon’s army.

At the beginning of 1809, Austrian troops briefly invaded Friuli.

Under the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 this area had become part of the Kingdom of Italy under Napoleon.

As it had been only 12 years before, Val Canale once again found itself to be a theatre of war.

As before, in an attempt to protect Villach, Ljubljana and the internal areas of Austria, the Habsburgs set out their defences in the strategic areas near Malborghetto and the Predil pass.

At the time of the French attack in May 1809 neither of the defensive lines were complete.

Led respectively by Captain Hensel and Captain Hermann, they were defended by just a few soldiers.

It took three days of fighting before the French infantry and artillery finally overcame the defence of the fortifications in Malborghetto.

The events of the time were also described in the documents of Eugenio di Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy and stepson of Napoleon.