Utah Beach Museum, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, France

Utah Beach was the successful landing place of a number of American Divisions on 6th June 1944, and from here they pushed inland to the Carantan peninsula to meet up with US Airborne forces around St Mere Eglise. Between D Day and 1st November 1944 some 836,000 men and 220,000 vehicles came ashore here. The beach also marks the point of 'Liberty Way' which runs from Normandy to Bastogne in Belgium, and is marked by a memorial stone every kilometer - the 00 Kilometer stone being here (with another in St Mere Eglise).

The Utah Beach Museum was originally opened in the 1960s and then renovated for the 50th Anniversary of D Day in 1994. It tells the story of the American landings at Utah and also the Airborne operations around St Mere Eglise. The museum has many rare vehicles, weapons, photographs and veterans artifacts. There is a good 1/35th scale model of the landings, and a film show. There is also a book shop.

References:

Paul Reed's Battlefields of WW2

User Reviews

Michal Thomas (2 years ago)
Incredible place to learn about the Normandy Invasion. There is much to see. There is a sweet spirit of reverence there.

Josh Howard (3 years ago)
You could spend hours upon hours inside here. The amount of information and material is truly staggering with a lot of it being incredibly interesting. Make sure you watch the film before the exhibits as it is surprisingly well-made (as I work in Hollywood, I’m particularly picky with films in tourist attractions) and gives a great overview of the history of Utah beach. The museum was a real treat. The room overlooking the beach is pretty cool. Also a large 1945 Bomber plane on display and painted to look like a wartime plane. There are a couple of abandoned bunkers in front of the museum as well, but more are around Omaha beach, visit the ones just east of the USA cemetery for better bunker remnants. Make sure you also visit the nearby village to read some interpretive signage around the village centre Relating to the Utah beach invasion and stories of paratroopers landing in the village. Super interesting!

Charles L (3 years ago)
Very straightforward exhibit, but very entertaining!!! A must do in the Normandy area besides all of the invasion stuff. This is also good for kids 7 years and up. You get an audio guide and it is a walkthrough of the tapestry depicting the Norman conquering of England with William the Conqueror.

Brandon Logronio (3 years ago)
Great experience, would definitely recommend watching the short film inside the museum before going around to have a better overall feel of the exhibits. The Sherman tank and the B26 bomber are just some of the highlights included in the museum, which boasts a wide range of authentic World War II era equipment from both the Allied and the German side. The beach itself was quite tranquil and, if I'm not mistaken, you can bring home some sand home with you via a small glass bottle you can buy in the gift shop. Definitely a must see for anyone interested in WWII.

Terry (3 years ago)
Nicely laid out museum. Well maintained displays and informative . Had the Americans not missed taking out the Maisey Battery in the beginning it would have made the landings here and Omaha a little bit easier. The Martin Marauder is a must see.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

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Lednice Castle

The first historical record of Lednice locality dates from 1222. At that time there stood a Gothic fort with courtyard, which was lent by Czech King Václav I to Austrian nobleman Sigfried Sirotek in 1249.

At the end of the 13th century the Liechtensteins, originally from Styria, became holders of all of Lednice and of nearby Mikulov. They gradually acquired land on both sides of the Moravian-Austrian border. Members of the family most often found fame in military service, during the Renaissance they expanded their estates through economic activity. From the middle of the 15th century members of the family occupied the highest offices in the land. However, the family’s position in Moravia really changed under the brothers Karel, Maximilian, and Gundakar of Liechtenstein. Through marriage Karel and Maximilian acquired the great wealth of the old Moravian dynasty of the Černohorskýs of Boskovice. At that time the brothers, like their father and grandfather, were Lutheran, but they soon converted to Catholicism, thus preparing the ground for their rise in politics. Particularly Karel, who served at the court of Emperor Rudolf II, became hetman of Moravia in 1608, and was later raised to princely status by King Matyas II and awarded the Duchy of Opava.

During the revolt of the Czech nobility he stood on the side of the Habsburgs, and took part in the Battle of White Mountain. After the uprising was defeated in 1620 he systematically acquired property confiscated from some of the rebels, and the Liechtensteins became the wealthiest family in Moravia, rising in status above the Žerotíns. Their enormous land holdings brought them great profits, and eventually allowed them to carry out their grandious building projects here in Lednice.

In the 16th century it was probably Hartmann II of Liechtenstein who had the old medieval water castle torn down and replaced with a Renaissance chateau. At the end of the 17th century the chateau was torn down and a Baroque palace was built, with an extensive formal garden, and a massive riding hall designed by Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach that still stands in almost unaltered form.

In the mid-18th century the chateau was again renovated, and in 1815 its front tracts that had been part of the Baroque chateau were removed.

The chateau as it looks today dates from 1846-1858, when Prince Alois II decided that Vienna was not suitable for entertaining in the summer, and had Lednice rebuilt into a summer palace in the spirit of English Gothic. The hall on the ground floor would serve to entertain the European aristocracy at sumptuous banquets, and was furnished with carved wood ceilings, wooden panelling, and select furniture, surpassing anything of its kind in Europe.

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