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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Old Craonne corresponds to the old village of Craonne, located in the department of Aisne, completely destroyed in 1917 during the First World War. The site, located on the Chemin des Dames between the valleys of Aisne and Ailette, was the scene of violent fighting between French and Germans since 1914. In April-May 1917, the ruins of the village were razed by French artillery, leaving a devastated landscape classified as a red zone after the conflict.

The village was not rebuilt at its original location. Between 1921 and 1927, a new Craonne was built 800 metres below with financial aid from Sweden. The Old Craonne site, preserved in the state since 1919, was listed as a historical monument in 2003. Today run by the National Forestry Board, it houses an arboretum, a walkway with explanatory panels, and an observatory with views of the old battlefields.

The Old Craonne cemetery houses the tomb of writer Yves Gibeau, buried in 1994. The California plateau and the remains of the village, fossilized by the forest, symbolize the memory of the murderous offensives of spring 1917 and mutinies linked to the extreme conditions of the fighting. The site remains a place of recollection and transmission of the history of the Great War.

Ranked as a national place of memory, Old Craonne illustrates the devastating consequences of modern conflicts on civilian populations and landscapes. Its maintenance in the state, without reconstruction, makes it a unique testimony to the violence of war and the resilience of the affected territories. The protected elements include the old village, its cemetery and the California plateau, distributed among private, communal and state properties.

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