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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Riva-Bella's fire direction post is a bunker built between September 1943 and June 1944 by Todt as part of the Atlantic Wall. Located behind Riva-Bella beach in Ouistreham (Calvados), it was used to coordinate artillery fire on Seine Bay, with an observation range of 50 km. Its construction used an innovative formwork technique in parpaings, allowing a quick realization despite its late start. Unlike other bunkers, it followed no standard plan (Regelbau), but was designed as a Sonderkonstruction (special construction).

The bunker, measuring 17 metres high, has six levels equipped for technical functions (machine room, ventilation), military (weapon room, command post with telephone exchange) and logistics (sleeps, infirmary). Its roof was a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1994, it now houses the Museum Le Grand Bunker, dedicated to the history of the Atlantic Wall, with re-enactments of atmosphere (radio, telemetry, telephones) and period elements.

The site illustrates German defensive architecture during the Second World War, while at the same time demonstrating accelerated construction techniques implemented from 1942 onwards. Its strategic location near the beach made it a key point for coastal defence, before being reinvested as a place of memory. The museum's management association preserved its structural integrity and original atmosphere, offering an immersion in the daily lives of the soldiers stationed there.

The bunker is located at two referenced addresses: 21 avenue du Six-Jun (base Mérimée) and 150 Avenue de la Plage ( GPS coordinates), in Ouistreham. Its inscription in the title of historic monuments underlines its heritage importance, both for its role in history and for its exceptional conservation among the remains of the Atlantic Wall in Normandy.

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