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  2. Patrimoine
  3. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
  4. Loire
  5. 42000 Saint-Étienne

  6. Monument to the dead

Monument to the dead à Saint-Etienne dans la Loire

Loire

Monument to the dead


    42000 Saint-Étienne
Monument aux morts
Monument aux morts
Monument aux morts
Monument aux morts
Crédit photo : Chabe01 - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1922
First discussions
1924
Competition won
11 novembre 1930
Start of work
23 octobre 1933
Official Inauguration
13 mars 2019
First protection
28 décembre 2021
Final classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The monument to the dead, in total, located Fourneyron Plan, with its metal fence, not cadastral, as shown in purple on the plan annexed to the decree: classification by order of 28 December 2021

Key figures

Alfred Rochette - Sculptor Author of the sculptures of the monument.
Jean Larrivé - Initial architect Died in 1928 before completion.
Jean Farat (ou Fara) - Final architect Completed the project.
Antoine Durafour - Mayor of Saint-Étienne Start the project after 1920.
Albert Lebrun - President of the Republic Inaugurate the monument in 1933.

Origin and history

The Saint-Étienne Memorial to the Dead, located in Fourneyron Square, was designed to honour the 6,000 inhabitants of the city who had fallen during the First World War. Inaugurated on 23 October 1933 in the presence of President Albert Lebrun, he houses in his crypt a guest book listing the names of the victims. This book, originally kept in the monument, was transferred to the municipal archives in 2005. The monument adopts a triangular shape, evoking a catafalca, with a soldier's girdle draped from a shroud at the top, surrounded by bas-reliefs depicting weeping.

The construction of the monument has experienced many delays and controversies. By 1922, the municipality, marked by political divisions including Communist elected officials opposed to the 11 November commemoration, was slow to launch the project. A competition in 1924 identified sculptor Alfred Rochette and architect Jean Larrivé as winners, but the latter's death and financial problems blocked the initial project. In 1930, a new project, entrusted to architect Jean Farat (or Fara) and still involving Rochette, was finally completed at a reduced cost of 585,000 francs. The inauguration in 1933 was marked by social tensions, the cost of the monument being criticized in a context of labour misery.

The monument is distinguished by its original architecture, with an accessible crypt and a basin for the flame of Remembrance, completed later by a sphere partially masking the date of 1918. Later plaques also commemorate the victims of World War II, deportees, and conflicts in North Africa and Indochina. Ranked a historic monument on December 28, 2021, it is one of 40 protected monuments in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes for their heritage value.

The location of the monument on Fourneyron Square required urban development, such as the detour of National Road 88 and the tramway. This choice was preferred to an installation on the Place Jean Jaurès. The monument, owned by the municipality, is today a strong symbol of local memory, incorporating tributes to the various conflicts of the twentieth century.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum