It is one of the most emblematic sites in the world, bearing witness to human warlike barbarity, “a cathedral of the dead and a basilica of victory”, a site visited each year by hundreds of thousands of people.
This site is the Douaumont Ossuary, near Verdun.
The building, a monument 140 meters long, which rises to 46 meters and which dominates the 16,142 graves of the national necropolis of Fleury-devant-Douaumont, was inaugurated in 1932.
This inauguration would not have been possible without the gigantic contribution of funds from countries, foreign cities and French municipalities. In total, 122 French cities made a donation, like Nancy.
Heavy toll
We do not know the amount of the allocated envelope. But we must admit that it must have been substantial, since, in 2024, Nancy's coat of arms sits proudly, symbolically, on the facade of the Ossuary, near the main entrance to the site, facing the necropolis.
Nancy played an important role during the First World War. The city and Meurthe-et-Moselle paid a heavy price in the war.
