 Veuillez patienter... Musée Somme 1916 (80)
The Somme Trench Museum (Musée Somme 1916) is in one of the galleries (or muches) that the people of Albert dug in the clay soil back in the 9th century to hide from and flee Norman then Spanish invaders.
A few centuries later, Lahyre, one of Jeanne d'Arc's companions, was imprisoned in Albert (which was called Encre at the time).
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|  | | Somme Trench Museum (Musée Somme 1916). Source: Didier Cry |
| | The town of Albert was home to a British garrison during WWI. That was where soldiers set out to attack German lines. The Somme saw one of that war's bloodiest battles on 1 July 1916: 58,000 men were killed or disabled that day. The medieval galleries were put back into use. The last attempt to evict German troops from the town came in 1918, when British blanket bombing razed the town. |
| Albert town authorities decided to use the buried galleries to protect the civilian population - and thereby avoid massive escapes - in 1939. They built seven air-raid shelters.
Plans to build the museum date back to late 1991. It took several months just to consolidate the 250 metres of battered underground passageways, but the museum opened on 1 July the following year.
The Somme Trench Museum (Musée Somme 1916) in Albert casts light on the lives of soldiers in the trenches - and on the 1 July 1916 French-English offensive.
There are about fifteen alcoves and showcases in this 230-metre-long underground passageway that was used as an air-raid shelter during WWII. The background noises, images and lights take visitors back in time for a glimpse of what these soldiers endured. Shop.
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|  | | The museum entrance. Source: Musée Somme 1916 |
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| Useful information: Somme Trench Museum (Musée "Somme 1916")
Rue Anicet Godin
80300 Albert
Phone +33 (0) 322 75 16 17
Fax +33 (0) 322 75 56 33
e-mail: musee@somme1916.org
Opening hours
Open daily from 9.00 am to 12.00 noon and from 2.00 to 6.00 pm 1 February through 15 December and 9.00 am to 6.00 pm 1 June through 30 September.
This museum also caters for groups outside opening hours. Please call +33 (0) 322 75 16 17.
Admission
Full fare: €4.00
Reduced fare (6- to 18-years-olds): €2.50
€3.00 for groups (15 persons or more)
€2.00 for school groups (15 persons or more)
Day-long guided tours with Circuit du Souvenir visits are also available.
Somme Tourist Board (Comité du Tourisme de la Somme)
21 rue Ernest-Cauvin
80000 Amiens
Phone +33 (0) 322 71 22 71
Fax +33 (0) 322 71 22 69
e-mail: accueil@somme-tourisme.com
The Somme Tourist Board will be happy to provide any information you might require about the Somme battlefields and Circuit du Souvenir (remembrance events, directions, transport, private and group tours, helicopter flights, accommodation, etc.).
CDT also publishes a series of Memorial Tourism brochures. |
| | Source: Somme Trench Museum (Musée Somme 1916) |
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