Domaine et Fort des Ayvelles

On a self-guided or guided tour, you'll be immersed in a period of French history between 1870 and 1914. Domaine des Ayvelles is ideal for nature lovers and history buffs alike. You can walk or cycle along the paths surrounding the Fort. This structure, built between 1877 and 1879, is part of the Seré de Rivières fortified system (forts built on a line from the English Channel to the Mediterranean Sea). Typical of early Third Republic military architecture, it is the only such structure built in the Ardennes. Fort des Ayvelles is built of ashlar and surrounded by a ditch and a counter-escarp. To the east of the Fort, another building known as the Battery completes the ensemble. Its masonry was covered with earthen blocks to withstand the artillery fire of the time. The invention of new explosives in 1885, which rendered the new fortifications vulnerable, and the priority given to Eastern France, led to the downgrading of the fort in 1899. A battleship casemate and a cavernous powder magazine were the only modernizations made. In August 1914, it witnessed the rapid advance of the invaders into France.the estate is located on the edge of the départementale 34, halfway between Villers Semeuse and La Francheville.the entrance to the estate is indicated by an information panel.

Ardennes Tourisme