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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Morteau Memorial to the Dead, erected at the beginning of the 20th century, is distinguished by its realistic representation of an assault on World War I. It shows four hairs, three of which come out of a trench to climb to the front, while the fourth lies in the mud. This high-relief, designed by Georges Serraz and Louis Hertig, served as a partial model for other monuments, such as Genlis (Côte d'Or, 1925) and a project for Verdun (1928). In 1990, he was moved during the redevelopment of the Town Hall Square, after the dismantling of the gates.

As early as September 1919, Morteau City Council decided to honour the 146 soldiers who had died in combat. A competition was launched in October 1920 for an original project, refusing the monuments produced in series. In February 1921, two projects were selected, including Georges Serraz's, which was finally chosen unanimously by the victims' families. The deal was made with Serraz and Hertig in July 1921 for 32,000 francs. The monument was inaugurated on November 1, 1922.

Georges Serraz (1883-1964), a Burgundy painter and sculptor trained in Besançon, devoted himself after the war to monuments to the dead and religious. Louis Hertig (1880-1958), a Swiss-born bisontin sculptor, exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français and made numerous monuments in the Doubs and Haute-Saône. Their collaboration for Morteau could be explained by the remoteness of the Parisian workshop in Serraz. The monument, classified in 1944, is now located on the esplanade of August 24, 1944.

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