War In Lorraine

Verdun and its famous “red zone” lies at the heart of this area, with its underground citadel, the Douaumont Ossuary, the Bayonets’ Trench, Fort Vaux and Fort Douaumont, to name but a few. The World Centre for Peace gives visitors a chance to stop for a while and try to comprehend what really happened here. The Sacred Way between Bar-le-Duc and Verdun is a good starting point for some moving sightseeing. Close to the Sacred Way are villages that were destroyed during the war and will lay silent for ever. The memorial on the Butte de Montsec or the Pennsylvania Memorial in Varennes-en-Argonne are both dedicated to the American soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice.

The Vosges Hills look towards other areas deep in memories like Le Linge, Le Vieil Armand and La Fontenelle and the Argonne has the famous Kaiser Tunnel. This area has been endlessly subjected to invasion, and it has tried out every possible system of defence such as the First World War forts and the Maginot Line. There are also older wartime constructions including the remains of 3rd-century Roman walls in Metz, the fortresses and feudal enclosures of Châtel-sur-Moselle and the Vauban-type citadels in Bitche, Toul, Thionville, Montmédy, Verdun or Phalsbourg.

Other reminders of the past can also be seen in Longwy and Marsal with its famous “Porte de France” (“France Gate”). All these places are well worth visiting, as are the fortifications dating from the days of the German Occupation, the so-called “Festen”, and the fortifications in Thionville and Metz. And don't forget to visit the fortified village of Villey-le-Sec designed by Séré de Rivières to whom we also owe the forts in Troyon, Vaux, Douaumont, Uxegney and Bourlémont. Or the fortress in Châtel-sur-Moselle where the original castle, erected around a keep in the 11th and 12th centuries and which underwent extension work in the 15th century.

There are also many museums in this area working to keep memories alive such as the Fortification Museum in Montmédy, the Citadel in Bitche, Gravelotte, the Verdun Memorial, the Resistance Museum in Thionville and the municipal museum in Saint-Dié.