France
A 5-meter-thick concrete dome protects the underground complex dug out by forced laborers in 1943 for the storage and launch of German V2 rockets.
Things to discover in France
A guide to off-the-beaten-path locations in France, beyond Paris. Step inside remarkable abandoned châteaus, explore the beach of Dunkirk or explore the rich industrial heritage.
- 93 destinations
Hauts-de-France
The blue-painted headframe is all that remains of the French Sabatier coal mine, closed in 1980.
Hauts-de-France
Oignies is the last place in the French mining basin of the Pas-de-Calais region where coal was exploited. The mine did not close until December 1990.
Hauts-de-France
On the border of the French town of Lens stands this 66-meter-high colossus made of reinforced concrete: the extraction tower of Fosse n° 11-19, a French coal mine that closed 30 years ago.
Hauts-de-France
The blockbuster Dunkirk tells the story of the tumultuous flight of more than 300,000 British, French and Belgian soldiers from Dunkirk at the start of the Second World War.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Saturday, June 10, 1944, just days after the Allied landings in Normandy. Major Diekmann and his Waffen SS men marched into the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane shortly after noon.
Hauts-de-France
Just below Wissant, in Audinghen, the heavy guns of Battery Todt had a range of 55 kilometers, just far enough to hit England.
Hauts-de-France
Sagging bunkers, loose foundations, collapsed walls: the beach between Leffrinckoucke and Zuydcoote looks like a dumping ground of bunkers. You will find, among other things, the German naval coastal battery Malo Terminus.
Hauts-de-France
During the Second World War, the German "Organization Todt" rebuilt a French artillery battery in the dunes of Fort Vert, close to Calais.
Hauts-de-France
The German army misled the Allies by building a fire control post near Oye in the shape of a church tower.
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On the occasion of International Art Nouveau Day, celebrated each year on June 10, a look at how this ornate architectural movement found its way into the most unlikely of places like coal mines, power stations, and railway yards and the long, sometimes heartbreaking battles to save what remains.
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