Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Thiers Memorial to the Dead, built in the first half of the 20th century, is integrated into a pre-existing staircase whose three double flights are reworked to accommodate geographical inscriptions related to fighting. The concrete base of hydraulic lime supports a stone-cut structure, adorned with seven spans, listing the names of the 500 soldiers who died in combat. A golden dedication to the dates of the conflict, decorated with laurel crowns and surmounted by a cock. Two bas-reliefs in white limestone, representing a peasant in prayer and a worker, frame the central figures: a Gaul (perhaps Vercingetorix) and a hairy 14-18, symbolizing the transmission between national heroes.

The monument, designed by architect Gabriel Deroure and sculptor Joanny Durand, unites two Thiers squares thanks to a device of stairs and bearings. Inaugurated on August 5, 1923, he used a vertical topography to create a monumental composition, where the upper square, bordered by trees, formed a "landscape attic". Joanny Durand, trained at the Beaux-Arts de Paris and wounded during the war, reuses recurrent motifs of her work, such as the juxtaposition of a Gaul and a hairy man, already present in other monuments of the Loire.

The project is the result of a contest launched by the City in 1922, won by Deroure, which joins Durand (second come) in finalizing the plans. The monument, classified entirely since 2019, illustrates a desire for collective memorialization, combining local historical references (the Gaulish) and national (the hairy). The materials, such as the stone of Lens for statues, and the techniques (bumped masonry) reflect the artisanal know-how of the time, while urban integration underlines its central role in the community life of the Thuernois.

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