Oradour-sur-Glane, an essential site of remembrance
Just 10 km from our hotel in Saint-Junien, in Haute-Vienne, Oradour-sur-Glane is a place apart.
On June 10, 1944, this peaceful village was the scene of one of the deadliest massacres committed by the Nazis in France. Today, its preserved ruins bear witness to this tragedy.
A moving visit, essential for understanding the history of the Second World War and transmitting the memory of the victims.
On June 10, 1944, soldiers of the SS Das Reich division surrounded Oradour-sur-Glane. The inhabitants are gathered together, then separated.
The men are locked in several buildings, while the women and children are taken to the church.
In total, 643 people were murdered and the village was burned.
After the war, the decision was made to preserve the ruins to bear witness to this crime. Classified as a Historic Monument in 1946, the martyr village of Oradour-sur-Glane has become a national symbol of remembrance and the duty to remember.
Before entering the ruins, take the time to discover the Memory Center, opened in 1999.
Photographs, archival documents, testimonies and projections allow us to place the massacre in its historical context.
The route returns in particular to the Occupation, the Second World War and the events of June 10, 1944.
This passage helps to better understand what we then discover in the village.
The visit continues on foot, in the silent streets of Oradour-sur-Glane, where the remains tell the story of the daily life of a village brutally destroyed.
Following the tracks of the old tramway, you pass by the facades of businesses, old signs and gutted houses.
Here, a rusty car wreck, there, a sewing machine or an abandoned stove... So many traces of the life of the inhabitants before June 10, 1944.
Commemorative plaques mark the barns, garages and other buildings where the men were locked up and then murdered.
Further on, the old church, where the women and children perished, constitutes one of the most poignant places on the route. Its charred walls still bear witness to the violence of the massacre.
The visit can extend to the cemetery and the victims’ memorial, for a final moment of contemplation.
Allow between 1.5 and 3 hours to discover the Memory Center and explore the ruins.
Located just 10 km from Oradour-sur-Glane, our hotel Le Bœuf Rouge*** allows you to easily reach this mecca of memory.
Book one of our 48 comfortable rooms now to discover Oradour-sur-Glane, and continue your stay in Haute-Vienne.
On June 10, 1944, this peaceful village was the scene of one of the deadliest massacres committed by the Nazis in France. Today, its preserved ruins bear witness to this tragedy.
A moving visit, essential for understanding the history of the Second World War and transmitting the memory of the victims.
Oradour-sur-Glane, the martyred village of June 10, 1944
On June 10, 1944, soldiers of the SS Das Reich division surrounded Oradour-sur-Glane. The inhabitants are gathered together, then separated.
The men are locked in several buildings, while the women and children are taken to the church.
In total, 643 people were murdered and the village was burned.
After the war, the decision was made to preserve the ruins to bear witness to this crime. Classified as a Historic Monument in 1946, the martyr village of Oradour-sur-Glane has become a national symbol of remembrance and the duty to remember.
The Memory Center of Oradour-sur-Glane
Before entering the ruins, take the time to discover the Memory Center, opened in 1999.
Photographs, archival documents, testimonies and projections allow us to place the massacre in its historical context.
The route returns in particular to the Occupation, the Second World War and the events of June 10, 1944.
This passage helps to better understand what we then discover in the village.
Visit the ruins of the martyr village
The visit continues on foot, in the silent streets of Oradour-sur-Glane, where the remains tell the story of the daily life of a village brutally destroyed.
Following the tracks of the old tramway, you pass by the facades of businesses, old signs and gutted houses.
Here, a rusty car wreck, there, a sewing machine or an abandoned stove... So many traces of the life of the inhabitants before June 10, 1944.
Commemorative plaques mark the barns, garages and other buildings where the men were locked up and then murdered.
Further on, the old church, where the women and children perished, constitutes one of the most poignant places on the route. Its charred walls still bear witness to the violence of the massacre.
The visit can extend to the cemetery and the victims’ memorial, for a final moment of contemplation.
Allow between 1.5 and 3 hours to discover the Memory Center and explore the ruins.
Stay in Saint-Junien, near Oradour-sur-Glane
Located just 10 km from Oradour-sur-Glane, our hotel Le Bœuf Rouge*** allows you to easily reach this mecca of memory.
Book one of our 48 comfortable rooms now to discover Oradour-sur-Glane, and continue your stay in Haute-Vienne.
