Ossuaire de Douaumont / The Douaumont Ossuary (France) - World War I Memorials and Monuments on Waymarking.com

The Douaumont Ossuary was raised by a committee led by the Bishop of Verdun who collected subscriptions not only throughout France but internationally as well. Around the outside of the building you can see the coats of arms of all the cities which donated money towards the project.

Work was begun on August 22, 1920, by which time there was already a provisional ossuary on the site. The remains of the dead were transferred to their vaults in the new ossuary in 1927 and the monument was finally opened after twelve and a half years on April 7, 1932.

The 46 metre central tower is roughly shaped like a shell and the monument is 137 metres long. Inside there are 18 Alcoves, each containing a pair of tombs. On the wall above each tomb there is an inscription showing the area of the battlefield from where the bodies were recovered. Each tomb covers an 18 cubic metre vault. Some areas gave up far more bodies than could be contained in a single vault and these extra bodies are housed in two 150 cubic metre vaults, one at each end of the cloister.

For a small fee you can climb the tower for an excellent view of the battlefield. The building in the background is the Fleury Memorial Museum. In front of the Ossuary the French National Cemetery contains the graves of 15 000 French Soldiers. As in other French cemeteries each grave is marked by a white cross with a name plate. Muslim soldiers are buried beneath a suitable gravestone facing towards Mecca.

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The Battle of Verdun 1916 - the greatest battle ever

The Battle of Verdun is considered the greatest and lengthiest in world history. Never before or since has there been such a lengthy battle, involving so many men, situated on such a tiny piece of land. The battle, which lasted from February 21, 1916 until December 19, 1916 caused over an estimated 700 000 casualties (dead, wounded and missing). The battlefield was not even a square ten kilometres. From a strategic point of view there can be no justification for these atrocious losses. The battle degenerated into a matter of prestige of two nations literally for the sake of fighting...

Date the Monument or Memorial was built or dedicated: 08/07/1932 Private or Public Monument?: Government Name of the Private Organization or Government Entity that built this Monument: Verdun National Necropolis Department Geographic Region where the Monument is located: Europe Website for this Monument: [Web Link] Physical Address of Monument: Douaumont Ossuary DOUAUMONT, France 55100 Rate this waymark: Photo or photos will be uploaded.: yes

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