Nécropole nationale de Notre-Dame-de-Lorette

Atop the Notre-Dame de Lorette hill in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, more than 42,000 French soldiers who died in the First World War on the Artois, French and Belgian Flanders fronts lie eternally dormant.

A strategic promontory occupied by the Germans from the start of the conflict, the hill of Notre-Dame de Lorette was marked by terrible fighting until its recapture by the French in May 1915. Such were the losses that the hill was nicknamed "the hill of 100,000 dead".
At the end of the conflict, it was decided to build a cemetery for soldiers killed on the Flanders and Artois fronts. Inaugurated in 1925, it contains 20,000 individual graves and the remains of over 22,000 unknown soldiers in 7 ossuaries. At the center of the cemetery stands a chapel, replacing a small chapel destroyed in 1914, and a 52-meter-high tower to serve as a "lantern for the dead". These Romanesque-Byzantine-inspired buildings are the work of architect Louis-Marie Cordonnier. The site offers a fine panorama over the Bassin Minier and the Artois hills.

In the middle of the necropolis stand the lantern tower and chapel, watching over all the soldiers. Like a lighthouse, the light projected from the top of the tower can be seen from dozens of kilometers away. Both monuments, richly decorated, were designed by architect Louis-Marie Cordonnier. With its dominant position and the terrible battles it witnessed, the hill of Notre-Dame de Lorette became a place of commemoration for the sacrifice of thousands of combatants in 1919. Today, the temporary cemetery created during the Artois battles has become a necropolis grouping together more than 150 cemeteries. More than 42,000 soldiers are buried there, making Notre-Dame de Lorette the largest national necropolis. At Notre-Dame de Lorette necropolis, meet the honor guards! More than 4,500 of them volunteer their time each year to watch over the necropolis and welcome you to this unique place of remembrance. They can answer all your questions and help you find a burial site.

Since November 11, 2014, an International Memorial has stood opposite the necropolis. Designed by architect Philippe Prost, it pays tribute to the 580,000 soldiers of all nationalities who fell in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region.

DATAtourisme France