🏛️ Lieu
Patrimoine & Culture
Nécropole nationale française de Compiègne-Royallieu
📍 Compiègne, Oise
· Rue du Maréchal French, 60200 Compiègne
À propos
This First World War (Western Front) memorial and burial site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
From November 11, 1914, just 15 km from the first trenches, Compiègne became a hospital town, playing a major role during the conflict, particularly in terms of medical advances in the treatment of war wounds. Between 1914 and 1918, no fewer than 26 temporary hospitals operated in and around the town.
In January 1917, the Compiègne town council approached the military and health authorities to create a military cemetery. Until then, soldiers who died in the town?s hospitals were buried in the communal cemeteries. The soldiers buried there died of wounds and disease. Most of them belonged to the colonial troops.
There are many graves of soldiers from former French colonies (Mali, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Tunisia) or from a current overseas department (Martinique). In addition, the presence of 367 Muslim graves testifies to the respect shown to the religion of the deceased during the Great War.
It contains 3,257 bodies, 264 of which are in ossuaries. There are also the graves of 81 Britons (26 of whom could not be identified), 11 Russians, 1 Belgian (who died on July 21, 1917), 1 German (in one of the ossuaries) and 3 French killed during the Second World War.
From November 11, 1914, just 15 km from the first trenches, Compiègne became a hospital town, playing a major role during the conflict, particularly in terms of medical advances in the treatment of war wounds. Between 1914 and 1918, no fewer than 26 temporary hospitals operated in and around the town.
In January 1917, the Compiègne town council approached the military and health authorities to create a military cemetery. Until then, soldiers who died in the town?s hospitals were buried in the communal cemeteries. The soldiers buried there died of wounds and disease. Most of them belonged to the colonial troops.
There are many graves of soldiers from former French colonies (Mali, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Tunisia) or from a current overseas department (Martinique). In addition, the presence of 367 Muslim graves testifies to the respect shown to the religion of the deceased during the Great War.
It contains 3,257 bodies, 264 of which are in ossuaries. There are also the graves of 81 Britons (26 of whom could not be identified), 11 Russians, 1 Belgian (who died on July 21, 1917), 1 German (in one of the ossuaries) and 3 French killed during the Second World War.
