Fleury-devant-Douaumont

Fleury-devant-Douaumont

Sign indicating the site of the destroyed village
Fleury-devant-Douaumont

Coordinates: 49°11′44″N 5°26′07″E / 49.1956°N 5.4353°ECoordinates: 49°11′44″N 5°26′07″E / 49.1956°N 5.4353°E
Country France
Region Lorraine
Department Meuse
Arrondissement Verdun
Canton Charny-sur-Meuse
Intercommunality Charny-sur-Meuse
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Léon Rodier
Area1 10.27 km2 (3.97 sq mi)
Population (1999)2 0
 • Density 0.0/km2 (0.0/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 55189 / 55100
Elevation 227–390 m (745–1,280 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Fleury-devant-Douaumont is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.

Since the end of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, when it had been captured and recaptured by the Germans and French 16 times, it has been unoccupied (official population: 0) along with Bezonvaux, Beaumont-en-Verdunois, Haumont-près-Samogneux, Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre, and Cumières-le-Mort-Homme.

History

During the war, the town was completely destroyed and the land was made uninhabitable to such an extent that a decision was made not to rebuild it. The area around the municipality was contaminated by corpses, explosives and poisonous gas, so no farmers could take up their work. The site of the commune is maintained as a testimony to war and is officially designated as a "village that died for France." It is managed by a municipal council of three members appointed by the prefect of the Meuse department.

Before the war Fleury was a village of 422 that produced agriculture and woodworking. Today, it is a wooded area next to the Verdun Memorial. Arrows guide visitors to where the street and houses used to be.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fleury-devant-Douaumont.