Memorial' 14-18

About

Standing at the foot of the hill of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, Lens' 14-18 - Centre d'Histoire Guerre et Paix presents the Great War on the soil of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Designed by the architect Pierre-Louis Faloci, the contemporary building is structured around cubes of black concrete called "chapels". Employing innovative museographic techniques, this international interpretation centre exhibits an exceptional collection of iconographic documents (letters, archive photographs, contemporaneous films) and symbolic artefacts. Sourced from across the world, these documents reflect the viewpoint of all the protagonists of the conflict (French, German, British and others). Almost 400 photographs are on display in large format. Dynamic maps illustrate the various offensives and twenty or so archive films immerse the visitor in the First World War. The exhibition, created by the French historian Yves Le maner, sets out the key stages of the conflict in a chronological and thematic fashion: the war of movement and the trench system, the bloody offensives and the occupation of the Nord region, the 1918 offensives and death on the front, the ruins and the great reconstruction. A memorial space allows visitors to consult the records of 580,000 soldiers who are commemorated on the Ring of Remembrance, the International Memorial of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette inaugurated on 11 November 2014.

At a glance

• Typical visit: about 1 hour 30 minutes