Atlantic Wall Museum, Ouistreham, France

Located at a stones throw from the beach and the Ferry terminal, the Atlantic Wall Museum (Le Grand Bunker Musee du Mur de l'Atlantique) is inside the old German headquarter which was in charge of the batteries covering the entrance of the river Orne and the canal. The 52ft high concrete tower has been fully restaured to make it look how it was on the 6th of june 1944.

You will discover on the Grand Bunker's six floors all its inner rooms, which have been recreated down to the last detail: generator room, gas filters room, casemate with machine gun protecting the entrance, dormitory, medical store, sick bay, armoury, ammunition store, radio transmission room, telephone switchboard, observation post equipped with a powerful range-finder and on the top floor a 360° view over Sword Beach.

You will also be able to see many photographs and documents concerning the construction of the Atlantic wall, the artillery, the beach defences, observation, etc. A souvenir of the assault and shock troops specially trained for OVERLORD operation to attack the Atlantic Wall, and the everyday life of the Germany Army soldiers.

References:

The Museum of the Atlantic Wall

User Reviews

Royco (11 months ago)
Very good well preserved piece of the WWII history. This was very impressive.....

Luc Baetens (14 months ago)
Interesting place. First time we saw a bunker this size and with such level of technical sophistication.

Ralph van Roosmalen (14 months ago)
It is not the best museum but when you are close, definitely worth a visit. It feels like the soldiers left. It feels authentic. It is not too expensive.

Miss Baguette (14 months ago)
The Bunker itself is impressive and has lots of memorabilia of the war. It will take you about 45 mins to see everything, it's not too big but it is worth visiting if you're in the area and interested in D-day.

Daniela Rank (2 years ago)
History at its best. Very interesting to Look around.

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Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

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Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

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In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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