Postcards from Verdun catalogue

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Verdun was originally a Gallic oppidum (“ver” = river ford + “dun” = height) which later became a Roman castrum, situated on the Meuse overlooking strategically important areas. More

Verdun was originally a Gallic oppidum (“ver” = river ford + “dun” = height) which later became a Roman castrum, situated on the Meuse overlooking strategically important areas.

During the Middle Ages and afterwards, the area changed hands several times, but from 1648 onwards Verdun definitively belonged to France.

After the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), France built a ring of forts around Verdun—the Séré-de-Rivières Line—including Fort Douaumont and Fort Vaux.
Fort Douaumont, completed around 1885, was the largest and most powerful, equipped with reinforced concrete and firing towers, designed to withstand prolonged sieges.

From 21 February to 18 December 1916, Verdun was the site of the longest and bloodiest battle of World War I. German General Falkenhayn pursued a strategy of bafflement, targeting Verdun as a symbol of French pride.
More than 1,200 German artillery pieces and approximately 140,000 soldiers formed the front line at the start, leading to a massive artillery barrage.

Nine villages in the area were completely destroyed and later reburied as “died for France”.
The landscape remains heavily affected: the red zone (“Zone Rouge”) still contains millions of unexploded ordnance.
The Douaumont Ossuary, completed in 1932, contains the bones of approximately 150,000 unidentified soldiers.

Verdun received numerous national and international awards and became a place of pilgrimage.

For the 2024 Olympic Games, Verdun will be a waypoint for the Paris flame, to contrast the wartime past with the future vitality.

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