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At the Caverne Du Dragon

At the Caverne Du Dragon

La Caverne du Dragon Des lieux d’histoire dans l’ Musée du

RD 18 Chemin des Dames La Caverne du Dragon 02160 Oulches la Vallée Foulon Musée du Chemin des Dames

Tél. : +33 (0)3 23 25 14 18 Fax : +33 (0)3 23 25 14 11

E-mail : [email protected] www.caverne-du-dragon.fr

The Chemin des Dames The Caverne du Dragon The Ladies Road A former quarry Between and , over thirty kilometres, a narrow Originally the site was a ‘creute’. In the past, the word referred and fertile plateau rises between the Aisne and valleys. to the quarries where stones where dug out of the chalky plateau. Overlooking the plain between and , one hundred More than just a makeshift shelter, it became a strategic stake. metres high, it forms a fantastic natural lookout point. The old 14 The Germans seized it on January 25th 1915. They dug out a tun- path, which had been used by the lookouts over the years, nel to link the Creute to a quarry located on the southern part of became a road at the end of the eighteenth century when the the Ailette Valley. They converted this large space into an under- Countess of Narbonne, a lady-in-waiting to Adelaïde, one of the 18 ground barracks, complete with an electricity network, first-aid daughters of Louis XV, decided to make it suitable for coaches so posts and firing positions. Just as the German soldiers often did as to gain easier access to her country mansion, the Château de for other quarries, the Bavarian soldiers who occupied it gave it la Bove, near Bouconville. a name inspired by Germanic mythology. It was known as the ‘Drachenhöhle’, the ‘Dragon’s Cave’, and the 16 French kept the name after they recaptured the place on June At six in the morning, General Nivelle launched the great offen- 25th 1917. Some traces of the successive troops occupying the sive which was supposed to put an end to the endless trench cave remain, like German inscriptions and, in areas sometimes out warfare. More than one million men had gathered between of reach, names, dates which remind us that men have lived in and Reims. Despite an intensive initial assault by the those places of war, now empty. artillery, the German positions were not destroyed. The bloody The Museum of the Chemin des Dames defeat, illustrated by The Song of Craonne, ‘Goodbye life, goodbye love’ ignited outbreaks of mutiny among the soldiers. As early as the 1920s, the Caverne du Dragon became a tourist spot. A first museum was opened in 1969, under the aegis of GPS : the Souvenir Français. Managed since 1995 by the departmental Other battles Long. : 3.73127 / Lat. : 49.44160 Council of the Aisne, the Caverne du Dragon has become the hi- At the end of October, the French troops took the Malmaison Free carpark: car et coach Fort. The German troops left the plateau and beat a retreat to ghlight of tourism development in the Chemin des Dames area. the north of the River Ailette. Nearby a memorial in the shape of nine sculptures created by Christian Lapie and called Constellation of Pain was erected to After 1918 pay homage to the Senegalese soldiers who were very heavily engaged in the fighting. After 1920, the battlefields became places of pilgrimage for To prepare the centenary of World War 1, the present building of veterans and families. A new kind of tourism appeared. It has the Dragon’s Cave will be refitted to offer the visitors a better been booming for the past fifteen years thanks to the renewed understanding of this exceptional battlefield, the Ladies Road. A interest shown by the grandchildren and great grandchildren of La Caverne du Dragon Chemin des Dames www.aisne.com new life for this site which has a special place in history and must the soldiers who fought in the Great War. Musée du Chemin des Dames caverne du dragon La Caverne du Dragon be protected. musée du chemin des dames Musée du Chemin des Dames vers Laon vers Laon All along the Chemin Sainte-Croix

CHEMIN DES DAMES Bienvenue Welcome des Dames Willkommen Pancy- Neuville/Ailette Courtecon Bouconville-Vauclair 2 Lac de Monampteuil L' Ailette RN 2 3 Lac de l'Ailette 9 D 104 D 18 CD 5 Cerny en Laonnois Oulches 14 4 la Vallée Foulon 12 1 4 CHEMIN DES DAMES 6 11 Bienvenue Welcome 13 Willkommen Braye en Laonnois 7 8 Craonne Sancy les Aizy-Jouy Vendresse Beaulne D 18 Cheminots Nanteuil 10 15 la Fosse La Ville aux Bois Fort de Condé Moussy Verneuil Moulins 17 Berry 16 au Bac Vailly/Aisne vers Soissons L' Aisne vers Reims L' Aisne 1 - Moulin 2 - Calvaire de 3 - Fort de La 4 - La Royère 5 - Chapelle 6 - Cerny 7 - Hommage 8- Caverne du 9 - Abbaye 10 - Monument 11 - Statue de 12 - Plateau 13 - Arbore- 14 - Tour-ob- 15 - Stèle en 16 - Monument 17 - Musée de de Laffaux l’ange gardien Malmaison an evocation Sainte-Berthe en Laonnois aux Tirailleurs Dragon musée de Vauclair des Basques Napoléon in de Californie tum du vieux servatoire du hommage à national des Vassogne the scene the ruins of of the offen- the memorial sénégalais du Chemin the ruins of in memory memory of Trenches’s Craonne Chemin des Apollinaire chars d’assaut Historic of bloody a ‘Séré de sive of La next to two Constellation des Dames. the Cistercian of the 36th the battle of remains. site of the old Dames in memory Center of fighting dur- Rivières’ fort Malmaison German of Pain, by abbey foun- infantry Craonne on 7 village which of the engage- the World of and French ing the two (1883). in October Christian ded in 1134. division. March 1814. was destroyed ment of the first Work. 1917. cemeteries. in 14-18. World Wars. Lapie, 2007. French tanks at the Chemin des Dames.

At the Caverne du Dragon 10 am - 6 pm September to June Opening 10 am - 7 pm in July and August times Guided Tours only Closed on Tuesday mornings Open on public holidays Investiga- Guided tours Caverne and Discovery tour Caverne English Theme tion at the of the Mal- the Malmaison PRICES du Dragon Tours of Chemin des Tour Guided Tours Guided tours of the museum maison fort fort Dames 10 am - 4.30 pm Malmaison Fort Adults 7€ 7€ 6€ 4€ 8€ 8€ 8€ (5.30 pm in July/August) 4th Sunday of the month Tours every 30/45mn Departure 10.30 am and Children 6 -18’s 3.50€ 3.50€ 4-12 years : 3€ 4€ 4€ 4€ 4€ English tours every day at 2.30 pm from the Museum Under 6’s free free - 4 years : 0€ free free 4€ 4€ noon except on Tuesday Family ticket 16€ / / / / / Duration : 1.15 – 12°C The historic tour of the Limited to 49 persons Student /Teacher /Soldier/ Chemin des Dames 3.50€ 3.50€ 6€ 4€ 8€ 8€ 8€ Job seeker « Investigation at the Every Thursday in July and War veterans free free 6€ 4€ 8€ 8€ 8€ museum» August Departure 2 pm from the Disabled free free 6€ 4€ 8€ 8€ 8€ Tour for kids and families Museum Adults’ group > 30 5€ 5€ / / / On quotation / Wednesdays - Saturdays 2 pm School group 2.50€ 2.50€ / / / On quotation / And many other events to follow on www.caverne-du-dragon.fr

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