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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Musées
  3. Grand-Est
  4. Marne
  5. 51700 Dormans

  6. Memorial of the battles of the Marne de Dormans

 Memorial of the battles of the Marne de Dormans dans la Marne

Musée
Musée de la guerre 14-18

Memorial of the battles of the Marne de Dormans

    4 Rue du Fortchamp
    51700 Dormans
Ownership of the municipality
Museums of France
All museums in France War Museum 14-18
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans Façade du mémorial
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Mémorial des battailles de la Marne de Dormans
Crédit photo : ADT Marne - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1914 (septembre) et 1918 (juillet)
Battles of the Marne
18 juin 1919
Establishment of the Association
18 juillet 1919
Blessing of the location
18 juillet 1920
Laying the first stone
1921-1931
Construction of the memorial
juin 2019
Historical Monument
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The memorial of the battles of the Marne, in total, including the sacristy and the house of the guardian, the gallery of the cloister, the ossuary with its room of contemplation, the lantern of the dead, the sundial and the orientation table as well as the ramps and stairs of access to the monument, its retaining wall, its terrace and the peripheral aisle, as delimited in red on the plan annexed to the decree (Box BE 332): classification by order of 3 June 2019

Key figures

Duchesse d’Estissac (Comtesse de La Rochefoucauld) - Project Initiator Founded the construction committee.
Maréchal Ferdinand Foch - Military strategy Choose the symbolic location of the memorial.
Cardinal Luçon - Archbishop of Reims Founding member of the committee.
Joseph-Marie Tissier - Bishop of Chalons Founding member of the committee.
Louis Marcel - Winner architect Designs the original plans of the memorial.
Georges-Alexandre Closson - Architect Directed the construction and adapted the plans.
Firmin Michelet - Sculptor Realized the statues and Christ the King.
Charles Lorin - Master glass Created the Art Deco stained glass windows.
Raymond Subes - Iron and steel Designs the wrought iron gate.

Origin and history

The Marne Battles Memorial, located in Dormans, Marne, was erected between 1920 and 1931 to honour the victims of the battles of 1914 and 1918. Initiated by the Duchess of Estissac, Cardinal Luçon and Marshal Foch, he symbolizes national recognition of soldiers. A public subscription, the "Journées des quatre monuments", financed its construction, alongside Douaumont, Notre-Dame de Lorette and the Hartmannswillerkopf.

The architecture combines Gothic and military influences, with a 52-metre crenelated tower, murderers and a crypt containing 1,360 remains of soldiers. The upper chapel, decorated with Charles Lorin's Art Deco stained glass windows, celebrates victory, while the crypt and the ossuary commemorate the sacrifices. The site, classified as a historic monument in 2019, was first maintained by Salesian fathers and then by a local association.

The memorial combines religious symbols (holy Joan of Arc, Saint Michael) and military symbols (armies of the provinces, patron saints of the armies). The sculptures of Firmin Michelet and the stained glass windows, including a monumental 7-metre window, illustrate the duality between mourning and hope. The L-shaped cloister details the structure of the armies of the two battles, while the lantern of the dead evokes the light of hope.

Dormans, chosen by Foch as the "synthetic point" of battles, became a major place of memory. After a decline in the 1980s, the memorial is now run by the municipality and volunteers, with a growing educational vocation towards younger generations. Its ranking in 2019 devotes its historical and architectural role.

The project was carried out by a committee including religious figures (cardinal Luçon, Bishop Tissier) and military figures (maréchal Foch), reflecting the post-Great War national union. Architects Louis Marcel and Georges-Alexandre Closson designed a hybrid building, both ex-voto and monument to the dead, marked by modern materials (steel, reinforced cement) under a medieval appearance.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Official website
Page Monumentum