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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The monument to the dead of Bernay, located Place Guillaume-de-Volpiano, is a wall-stele building flanked by two wings in return. It is distinguished by its monumental size, accessible by a staircase of six steps leading to a terrace. In the centre, the Greek goddess Niké, carved by Louis-Aimé Lejeune, holds a branch of laurel and holds a dead hairy of her wings. The names of the 2,062 soldiers who died for France, divided by communes, are engraved on plates attached to the wall. This monument symbolizes both mourning and victory, embodied by the mythological figure and the fallen soldier.

The project, initiated to honour the victims of the First World War, led the municipality of Bernay to rethink the layout of Carnot Square. The architect of the city, Gaston Duboc, designed the places to highlight the monument, visually isolating by a grove inspired by Greek temples, according to the will of sculptor Louis-Aimé Lejeune, also architect of the project. The work, inaugurated on 31 July 1921, cost 140,000 francs, including 40,000 dedicated to the melting of the central group. Its funding and realization reflect the collective effort to perpetuate the memory of the disappeared.

Ranked a historic monument by decree of 29 July 2022, Bernay's monument to the dead is now fully protected. It is located in the public garden of the Abbey, on cadastal plot No.66, section AO. Its location, between Place Guillaume-de-Volpiano and Rue Gambetta, as well as its neat architecture, make it a major gathering place for the local community. The accuracy of its geographical location is estimated to be poor (note 5/10), but its heritage and symbolic importance remains undeniable.

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