The hills of Verdun still conceal the remnants of the millions of shells that, in just one year, caused the deaths of more than 300,000 people and injured at least 400,000. The Verdun Memorial commemorates the dead and retraces the history of the most famous battle of the First World War.  

The Memorial was created in 1967, with the guidance of Academician and former soldier, Maurice Genevoix. It is one of Europe’s principal museums of the Great War. If you want to understand what Verdun was really all about, the Memorial is the place to go. 

The Verdun Memorial Museum

After four decades of operation, the building needed restoration and modernisation. In September 2013, the Memorial Museum closed its doors so that expansion and renovation works could repair the ravages of time. In 2016, in time for the one hundred year anniversary of the Battle of Verdun, it reopened. Its re-vitalised design and layout and its interactive features have created new links with younger generations. 

One combined vision has replaced three previously separate projects. The Verdun Memorial incorporates a museum and a learning and resource centre. In the area opposite the Memorial is the Forêt d’Exception.

The layout of the exhibits offers both an educational and an emotional experience of the Great War. The special trails and the open-air museum take visitors to the very heart of the Franco-German battlefield.

The Forêt d’Exception is an area left to nature and set apart by the National Forestry Office for its special significance. The Verdun forest covers 10 000 hectares of the battlefield and commemorates the events of 1916. In the years after the war, 36 million trees were planted there. Now it is an area of great natural beauty and bio-diversity. 

There are no longer any survivors who have personal memories of the Battle of Verdun. Instead, the Memorial respects the spirit of Maurice Genevoix’s work and adapts his message for today’s visitors. Today, they can visualise the past events and imaginatively engage in the soldiers’ experiences of battle. 

Also available is a full-day guided tour of the area. You’ll see the Fort and Ossuary of Douaumont, the Trench of Bayonets, the Meuse-Argonne US Cemetery and other key battlefields. 

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Information

Website

The Mémorial de Verdun website (in English) is a comprehensive guide to the site. It offers a virtual reality experience, video, images, an online bookshop and information for your visit.

Getting there

Address: 1 Avenue du Corps européen, 55100 Fleury-devant-Douaumont, France.
From Verdun, follow the signs to ‘Champ de Bataille Vaux-Douaumont’.
From Paris or Reims: Take the A4 motorway and Exit 30: ‘Voie Sacrée’.

There are also Public Transport options