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Origin and history

The monument to the dead of Langogne, located in Lozère (Occitanie), pays tribute to the soldiers of the commune who died during the conflicts of the 20th century, including the First World War. He is distinguished by his bronze statuary group representing a hairy wrapped in a French flag, accompanied by a feminine allegory evoking Jeanne d'Arc, with religious symbols (croix) and monarchists (fleurs de lilies), unusual for this type of public monument of the time. The granite pedestal bears the names of the missing soldiers, and together, surrounded by a cast iron grid, measures 3.2 m high for 5 m wide.

The monument was commissioned by the commune on 13 July 1919 and inaugurated on 12 November 1922. The statuary is the work of the sculptor Maxime Real del Sarte, melted by Montagutelli. His style combining patriotism, religion and monarchist references reflects bold artistic choices for a memorial of the interwar period. It was listed for historical monuments on October 18, 2018, among 42 similar monuments protected in Occitanie for their heritage value.

Located on the Place de la Halle, in front of the medieval halls of Langogne, the monument integrates into a central public space, highlighting its role as a collective memory. His iconography, combining mourning (weakness) and hope (Jeanne d'Arc designating the sky), illustrates the duality between suffering and resilience after the Great War. The recent protection as a historic monument bears witness to its recognition as a work of art and a local symbol.

The municipality of Langogne, located in the former Languedoc-Roussillon region (now Occitanie), chose this monument to honor its dead, also reflecting the ideological tensions of the time. Elements such as the patty cross or lily flowers, rare in monuments to the Republican dead, could evoke local sensibilities or tributes to historical figures such as Jeanne d'Arc, reinvested as a national symbol after 1918.

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