DOUAUMONT OSSUARY

The Douaumont ossuary is without doubt the most emblematic remembrance site in the Meuse. It was also the scene of the historic Franco-German reconciliation ceremony and the famous handshake between Helmuth Kohl and François Mitterrand in 1984.

From 21 February to 18 December 1916, the Battle of Verdun raged, with its incessant rain of shells and artillery fire. The toll was apocalyptic: more than 300,000 soldiers, French and German, lost their lives. Thousands of them could not be identified. In November 1918, as the hour of the armistice had just sounded, Monsignor Ginisty went to the battlefield, which had remained untouched. He discovered only the horror of the mass grave and the remains of these young heroes who had died anonymously. He was inspired to create a shrine to these unknown men. The first two stones of the building were officially sealed in 1920 by Mgr Ginisty accompanied by Marshal Pétain. The architects Léon Azémat and Max Edrei, who won the competition in 1921, drew up plans for a 46-metre tower with two branches at its base forming the guard of a sword. 130,000 soldiers are buried here. Inside the cloister (1932), the names of 5,000 missing persons are engraved in stone. From the top of the 204 steps, orientation tables allow you to see the whole battlefield.

The Douaumont ossuary also houses a chapel, a shop and a projection room. Allow at least 1 hour for the visit. No species on the site.