Battle of the Linen 20 juillet - 16 octobre 1915 (≈ 1915)
Murderful confrontation (20,000 casualties)
1921
Historical Monument
Historical Monument 1921 (≈ 1921)
Vestiges of protected trenches
1981
Opening of the museum
Opening of the museum 1981 (≈ 1981)
First tranche opened by the Association
2015
Last enlargement
Last enlargement 2015 (≈ 2015)
Final Museum Extension
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Charles Barberot - French soldier
Died at the Linge collet
Origin and history
The Linge Memorial Museum is a historic site dedicated to the First World War, located in the commune of Orbey in the Upper Rhine. This battlefield, marked by violent fighting between July and October 1915, caused nearly 20,000 casualties, including 3,500 deaths per camp. The remains of the trenches, blockhouse and German and French positions, classified as Historical Monument in 1921, still bear witness to the intensity of this "war of trenches".
The museum, inaugurated in 1981 and enlarged until 2015, exhibits weapons, equipment and personal objects found on site, as well as photographs and videos of archives. It is complemented by two necropolises: the French national of the Wettstein Pass (3,538 soldiers, including 1,337 in ossuary) and the German cemetery (2,438 remains), created to honour the victims of these clashes.
The commune of Orbey, decorated with the Cross of War for the two world conflicts, also houses a lying symbolizing the fallen alpine hunters. This memorial recalls one of the most deadly episodes of the Great War in Alsace, where hundreds of soldiers still rest on the battlefield, preserved in the state.
