Douaumont Ossuary

The Douaumont ossuary is a memorial containing the remains of soldiers who died on the battlefield during the Battle of Verdun in World War I. During the 300 days of the Battle of Verdun (1916) approximately 230,000 men died out here. The battle became known in German as Die Hölle von Verdun (The Hell of Verdun), or in French as L'Enfer de Verdun, and was conducted on a battlefield covering less than 20 square kilometers.

The ossuary is a memorial containing the remains of both French and German soldiers who died on the Verdun battlefield. Through small outside windows, the skeletal remains of at least 130,000 unidentified combatants of both nations can be seen filling up alcoves at the lower edge of the building. On the inside of the ossuary building, the ceiling and walls are partly covered by plaques bearing names of French soldiers who fell during the Battle of Verdun. A few of the names are from fighting that took place in the area during World War II, as well as for veterans of the Indochina and Algerian Wars. The families of the soldiers that are recognized here by name contributed for those individual plaques. In front of the monument, and sloping downhill, lies the largest single French military cemetery of the First World War with 16,142 graves. It was inaugurated in 1923 by Verdun veteran André Maginot, who would later design the Maginot Line.

The tower is 46 meters high and has a panoramic view of the battlefields. The tower contains a bronze death-bell, weighing over 2 metric tons called Bourdon de la Victoire, which is sounded at official ceremonies. At the top of the tower is a rotating red and white 'lantern of the dead', which shines on the battlefields at night. The cloister is 137 meters long and contains 42 interior alcoves.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

D913, Douaumont, France

Details

Founded: 1916
Category: Cemeteries, mausoleums and burial places in France