Fleury-devant-Douaumont (, literally ''Fleury before Douaumont'') is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...
Grand Est
Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten;
Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administr ...
in north-eastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
During the
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...
in 1916 it was captured and recaptured by the Germans and French 16 times. Since then, it has been unoccupied (official
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...
: 0), as have the communes of
Bezonvaux
Bezonvaux () is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in northeastern France.
History
Since the end of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, it has been unoccupied (official population: 0) along with Beaumont-en-Verdunois, Haumont ...
,
Beaumont-en-Verdunois
Beaumont-en-Verdunois () is a commune in the Meuse department of the Grand Est region of northeastern France.
Since the Battle of Verdun in 1916, the village has had no permanent residents (official population: 0), as is the case with other dest ...
,
Haumont-près-Samogneux
Haumont-près-Samogneux (, literally ''Haumont near Samogneux'') is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
The capture of the town by the German Fifth Army began the Battle of Verdun during World War I in 19 ...
,
Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre
Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Since the end of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, it has been unoccupied (official population: 0) along with Bezonvaux, Beaumont-en-Verdunois, ...
and
Cumières-le-Mort-Homme
Cumières-le-Mort-Homme is a ghost commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Since the end of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, it has been unoccupied (official population: 0), as have Bezonvaux, Beaumont-en-Verdunois, ...
.
History
During the war, the town was completely destroyed and the land rendered so uninhabitable that officials decided not to rebuild it. As the
land
Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...
around the municipality was polluted with corpses, ammunition, explosives and poisonous gas, it was deemed too contaminated for farming to resume. The site is maintained as a testimony to war and is officially designated as a " village that died for France." It is managed by a municipal council of three members appointed by the prefect of the Meuse department.
Before the war Fleury was a village of 422 engaged in agriculture and woodworking. Today, it is a wooded area next to the
Verdun Memorial
The Verdun Memorial is a war memorial to commemorate the Battle of Verdun, fought in 1916 as part of the First World War. It is situated on the battlefield, close to the destroyed village of Fleury-devant-Douaumont in the ''département'' of Meu ...
. Arrows guide visitors to where the streets and houses used to be.